Koning van Katoren is made after the award-winning children's book by Dutch author Jan Terlouw. He wrote the book in 1971. The movie tells the story of 17-year-old Stach, who was born the very day the last king of Katoren died. As the king left no heir, after his death the king's cabinet ministers took over the reigns and turned the kingdom into a country that was always waging war on its neighbours and in which singing and fireworks were forbidden. At seventeen, Stach - young, reckless and lacking all respect for authority - goes to the palace and asks what he has to do in order to become king. The ministers decide to set him five impossible tasks. If Stach succeeds, he will become king.
Let me start by saying I am not this movie's target audience. Koning van Katoren is a children's movie, not a picture for nostalgic adults who have read the book (repeatedly) in their childhoods. And let me add, secondly, that I understand that screen adaptations most often require changes and cuts in the original story. Having said that, some of these adaptations bother me. First of all, the story is dragged into the 21st century by adding laptop computers, mobile telephones, etc. In some cases, this effort is successful; controlling the wandering churches of Uikumene (one of the five tasks) with navigation software is a good find. In other cases, the effort is too obvious, annoying (when text messages are dancing in balloons across the screen) and just plain incongruous with other aspects of the story - dress, sets - that have a much older feel. It is also too bad that the makers made no effort to blend the 'real' images of modern fighter jets more seamlessly into the picture. Secondly, I really don't understand why girlfriend Kim is turned into a reporter in the movie. I don't see what that adds to the story. Thirdly, using distinct Italian, German, and Almere settings for the various tasks feels disharmonious, as if you are watching different movies. Finally, the dragon of Smook was a disappointment, in that the makers turned it into some kind of futuristic transformers beast.
To end with a positive note: the acting is up to scratch, and (four of) the five tasks are a pleasure to watch. I'm sure children will spend an entertaining afternoon in the theatre watching this picture.
Let me start by saying I am not this movie's target audience. Koning van Katoren is a children's movie, not a picture for nostalgic adults who have read the book (repeatedly) in their childhoods. And let me add, secondly, that I understand that screen adaptations most often require changes and cuts in the original story. Having said that, some of these adaptations bother me. First of all, the story is dragged into the 21st century by adding laptop computers, mobile telephones, etc. In some cases, this effort is successful; controlling the wandering churches of Uikumene (one of the five tasks) with navigation software is a good find. In other cases, the effort is too obvious, annoying (when text messages are dancing in balloons across the screen) and just plain incongruous with other aspects of the story - dress, sets - that have a much older feel. It is also too bad that the makers made no effort to blend the 'real' images of modern fighter jets more seamlessly into the picture. Secondly, I really don't understand why girlfriend Kim is turned into a reporter in the movie. I don't see what that adds to the story. Thirdly, using distinct Italian, German, and Almere settings for the various tasks feels disharmonious, as if you are watching different movies. Finally, the dragon of Smook was a disappointment, in that the makers turned it into some kind of futuristic transformers beast.
To end with a positive note: the acting is up to scratch, and (four of) the five tasks are a pleasure to watch. I'm sure children will spend an entertaining afternoon in the theatre watching this picture.