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The Flying Liftboy

Original title: Abeltje
  • 1998
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Rick van Gastel in The Flying Liftboy (1998)
AdventureFamily

Pupil Abel is the victim of Laura's nasty prank, yet gets accidentally blamed and overreacts. His ma withdraws him from school and gets him a job as lift-boy. But its' a special lift: when h... Read allPupil Abel is the victim of Laura's nasty prank, yet gets accidentally blamed and overreacts. His ma withdraws him from school and gets him a job as lift-boy. But its' a special lift: when he pushes the forbidden green button, it takes him, Laura, Jozias Tump and Maria Klaterhoen... Read allPupil Abel is the victim of Laura's nasty prank, yet gets accidentally blamed and overreacts. His ma withdraws him from school and gets him a job as lift-boy. But its' a special lift: when he pushes the forbidden green button, it takes him, Laura, Jozias Tump and Maria Klaterhoen to Manhattan. There he's mistaken by a rich woman who looks like his mother for her long ... Read all

  • Director
    • Ben Sombogaart
  • Writers
    • Burny Bos
    • Annie M.G. Schmidt
  • Stars
    • Victor Löw
    • Elleke Vervat
    • Roxanne Stam
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    1.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ben Sombogaart
    • Writers
      • Burny Bos
      • Annie M.G. Schmidt
    • Stars
      • Victor Löw
      • Elleke Vervat
      • Roxanne Stam
    • 6User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 3 nominations total

    Photos5

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    Top cast85

    Edit
    Victor Löw
    Victor Löw
    • Schraap
    Elleke Vervat
    • Vriendin Laura
    Roxanne Stam
    • Vriendin Laura
    Afroditi-Piteni Bijker
    • Vriendin Laura
    • (as Afroditi Piteni Bijker)
    Taina Moreno
    • Vriendin Laura
    Nicole Sanchez
    • Vriendin Laura
    Soraya Smith
    • Laura
    Rick van Gastel
    • Abeltje Roef
    • (as Ricky van Gastel)
    • …
    Kees Hulst
    Kees Hulst
    • Schoolmeester
    Annet Malherbe
    Annet Malherbe
    • Moeder Roef…
    Arnita Swanson
    • TV Presentatrice
    Marisa Van Eyle
    • Juffrouw Klaterhoen
    Frits Lambrechts
    • Jozias Tump
    Nora Kretz
    Nora Kretz
    • Mevrouw Tump
    Joseph Gudenburg
    • Politieagent
    Jur van der Lecq
    • Directeur
    Leny Breederveld
    • Burgemeester
    • (as Leny Brederveld)
    Chris Bolczek
    • Brigadier
    • Director
      • Ben Sombogaart
    • Writers
      • Burny Bos
      • Annie M.G. Schmidt
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews6

    6.01.8K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    10Lakie99

    This is a great movie

    This movie is great for little children. Do you really think that children will turn in to Geert Wilders because of a movie about a flying elevator?:S If you start stuffing your child's head with illusions and stupidities that "The US is bad and the western way of life is not good", they will turn into ignorant and shallow racists themselves. This movie is made to entertain children and at that it does a good job, this movie is not about political statements. Racists (which Geert Wilders is not, he is a realist) are crafted by their parent who stuff their heads with all kinds of delusional ideas and therefor don't let the child develop it's own perspective on the world. Parent who don't let their children think for themselves create people who can't think. I ask you on behalf of your child, stop messing with his mind. thanks!!
    2pravda-5

    If you don't want your children to grow into ignorant racists, don't show them this film!

    "Nice movie for little children?" Allow me to totally disagree! I saw it for the first time today and I am still in shock! Thank god my children are too small to see it. Wat een racistische flauwekul! Here you have it, the whole standard racist lot: "good"Americans, "evil" Indians who kidnap children, always drunken Latin American "revolutionaries", Latin Americans who desperately "want" a Dutchman for their president and all whose sicknesses can be cured if they swallow mothballs! Not to mention that the evil Latin Americans (who have some Germans with "nazi accents" among them)force children into slavery (not a word of the West profiteering from child labour in Third World countries, that's too complicated for a little Dutch mind,of course!)... How much worse can it get?? If children in Holland grow up reading such books and watching such films,does it surprise anybody that they grow into Geert Wilderses?? Or that it is one of the most racist countries in Europe at present? The sad thing is that if I tell my Dutch friends about it, they won't even understand what I am talking about, as this is something they simply grew up with... I wanted to see this film because I liked "Minoes" so much. Apparently, Ms. Schmidt is not racist only when it comes to cats... Sad, really sad.
    7Doctor_Dexter

    Amusing kids' story

    The movie is based on the well-known children's book 'Abeltje' by the (locally) famous Annie M.G. Schmidt. The book is, as in most cases, better than the movie, which has been altered to appeal to another generation. Enter the skateboard and an earring for Abeltje, a mother who runs a garage instead of a florist's, and the 'girl next door' who suddenly became a 'love interest' of sorts. These modernizations show again their age today, probably more so than the original story would have done. I would have preferred it if they had stuck a bit more to the original story, although it must be said that they added a fair bit of adventure, which isn't all bad.

    It's a decent (though rather wacky) children's adventure story the young ones will surely enjoy, and some parents may like it too.

    NB: Comments about so-called 'racism' are not only ridiculous, they are simply moronic. And false. Clearly, ALL adults in the story are portrayed as goofballs, as is the case in most children's books. That's probably how it should be. Let the kids laugh about those silly grown-ups. Most likely some left-wing extremists can't handle the fact that the movie (also) pokes fun at some Fidel-wannabe revolutionaries in the fictional (hello!) country 'Perugona'. So yeah, don't confuse 'Pravda' (what's in a name) with the truth. It's blatant propaganda, just like in the old days.

    Enjoy your movie. :-)
    10MasterB

    Great!

    I think it's a great movie for the whole family to go. Too bad for you, because the movie only available in The Netherlands is. But soon it'll come too to France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. If you live in Holland, you have to see this movie! It's not only a movie for kids, think older people will like this movie too.
    9Filmcity

    A kindly movie written by Annie M.G. Schmidt

    When I saw this movie I thought I was in my childhood. Slow but a nice movie for little children. Nice because I read the novel years ago. The movie is about a lift boy en fly through the air. High in the sky Abeltje discovers how to 'move' the elevator.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Rick van Gastel was almost killed in the scene where Abeltje's mother lands the seaplane near the scaffolding he stands on. The plane crashed into the scaffolding, and Van Gastel only escaped by jumping out of the way. The footage of the incident is included in the film.
    • Goofs
      The airplane is shot, leaving bullet holes along the port side, but then when it later takes off, the bullet holes are gone.
    • Quotes

      Abeltje Roef: Het is uit Laura en uit is uit.

      Abeltje Roef: En nou opzouten.

    • Connections
      Edited into The Flying Liftboy (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Coming Home
      Music & Lyrics by Henny Vrienten

      Arrangements: Jakob Klaasse

      Music publisher: HV Music

      Sung by Michelle David

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    FAQ16

    • How long is The Flying Liftboy?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 26, 1998 (Netherlands)
    • Countries of origin
      • Netherlands
      • Luxembourg
      • Belgium
      • United States
      • Germany
      • Spain
    • Languages
      • Dutch
      • English
      • German
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Абелтье - летающий мальчик
    • Filming locations
      • Bant, Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands
    • Production companies
      • Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (AVRO)
      • Belgische Radio en Televisie (BRTN)
      • Bos Bros. Film & TV Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €4,400,897 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 50m(110 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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