The Amazing Wiplala

Not as bad as I thought it would be, was expecting to give this one about a 3/10. Fun plot, I myself have never read the book however me and 2 other friends watched it and we had a blast. I didn't like some of the poor acting however the music ("How We Belong" to be specific), the lighting, and the CGI/green screen was all quite good! I still don't understand how this is supposed to be a Christmas movie, its more or less a movie with Christmas mentioned every now and then. The actors weren't all that bad however, some of the facial expressions were pretty funny. Overall not too rubbish of a movie, its dubbing however and the closed captioning weren't all that great.

"wannabe wizard can't drive"

Similarly to Sven I had high hopes for this film and just like him I feel that I was left disappointed. The CGI is decent for a European film, but the writing is less than impressive—to say the least. Characters are behaving irrationally and the whole plot is full of illogical twists. Why was it necessary to deviate from the book that much? Also I did not like the choice of the actor to portray Wiplala - in the book he comes across as a nerdy character and younger/slimmer than Géza Weisz is/was.

However, for someone not too familiar with the book it's an acceptable entertainment and non-Dutchies will appreciate the renowned Amsterdam landmarks featured in the film.

9 year old Johannes finds a leprechaun but nobody believes him. In an emergency, the magical Wiplala, not a leprechaun, shrinks the whole family but can't quite turn them back.

It's always fun to play with giant props. I wish the movie does more of it. I would also change Wiplala. The character needs to be more magical. The guy is in his twenties and he's not fun enough. He should either be a kid or be played by someone like Robin Williams. The father is rather annoying although that's his job. Maybe he shouldn't get shrunk and has to search for his kids. That way, his negativity can be minimized and separated from the main group. This is almost fine but it doesn't elevate the magic of this often done premise.

Decades ago, when I was about 10 years old, the book Wiplala was one of my favourites; it is still on my book-shelf, a bit worn... Its translation was excellent, I remember, even the verb "tinkelen" was distinctively translated into my native language.

So, when I heard about the film, under appropriate opportunity, I decided to introduce its mood and characters to my young relatives and their friends. They liked it, but they told it was unusual to them: no violence, only a few rude words (mild ones), values and nice ideas presented in a pleasant and convincing manner without further blathering... Still, there was a lot of excitement, and the hot car ride was fast and catchy. Both I and my younger fellas could easily identify ourselves with the characters as well.

I was a bit disturbed about the plot brought into today (the book was published in 1957) and not-so-smooth depiction of airy-fairy stuff - under superb digital opportunities the world currently has. But still, a nice family film to all those tired of constant obscenities and cruelties present in various modern creations.

This is a really good movie. If you watch with your family, it is better. It is full of good values for your family and your life too. The adventures in this movie are really entertaining and fun. Plot of the movie is paced reasonably. The conflict is well displayed and my family enjoyed throughout the movie. I don't read yet the original book but I am really sure the book is excellent. I would like to read it one day. Because of that, I can give it 9/10. I would like to watch a movie like this in the future. I love to watch good movies from European countries to escape from Hollywood films and this is one of the movie I recommend to watch with your family.