Review: Wickie en de schat van de Goden – Wickie on a long journey (2011)

Directed by: Christian Ditter | 96 minutes | action, adventure, comedy, family | Actors: Jonas Hämmerle, Waldemar Kobus, Valeria Eisenbart, Nic Romm, Christian Koch, Olaf Krätke, Mike Maas, Patrick Reichel, Jörg Moukaddam, Mercedes Jadea Diaz, Sanne Schnapp, Eva Padberg, Ella-Maria Gollmer, Hoang Dang-Vu, Günther Kaufmann, Christoph Maria Herbst | Dutch voice cast: Ralf Mackenbach, Ernst Daniël Smid, Lucie de Lange, Jack Wouterse, Giel Beelen, Gerard Ekdom, Frans Bauer, Tara Hetharia, Hans Ligtvoet, Fred van der Hilst, Georgina Verbaan, Guus van Dam, Leo Richardson

Vicky the Viking will need little explanation for most people. This little Viking, with his characteristic long orange hair that makes him look more like a girl than a tough Norseman, has been a well-known cartoon character for decades. Shortly after “Vicky the Viking” in 2009, “Vicky and the Treasure of the Gods” is the second feature film starring this little Northman.

Of course, Vicky is not a tough, broad or heroic Viking. This worries his father Halvar very much. He wants nothing more than to see his son finally become a brave warrior like himself. But the opening scene of the film makes it painfully clear that this is not yet the case. When an enemy camp has to be conquered, Wickie tries, much to the annoyance of his father, to negotiate with the enemy in order to achieve his goal, instead of attacking them. It goes without saying that the consequences of this are disastrous. No, we should not expect really great deeds from Vicky, it seems. All this changes when, upon returning home, Vicky’s father’s great enemy, named “Terrible Sven”, raided Vicky’s village and kidnapped Halvar. Because he is Halvar’s son, Vickie is chosen as the new leader of the Flaken, as his tribe is called, and must lead the Vikings in their search for Halvar. As if this were not enough, Terrible Sven is also on the hunt for the weapon of the Gods, an unprecedented powerful weapon with which he can rule the entire world. It is up to Vickie the almost impossible task to free his father and stop Terrible Sven.

The adventurous journey that follows takes Wickie and his crew to all kinds of exotic places. From an island full of beautiful but dangerous women to wild, rough passages in the ocean to eventually even arrive in Antarctica. There’s no shortage of adventure in this film.

“Vicky and the treasure of the Gods” has been dubbed in Dutch and we see many famous Dutch people in the voice cast. Georgina Verbaan, for example, provides the voice of the cunning Svenja, the little girl that Wickie soon encounters in the film. Ralf Mackenbach also voices Vickie, just like in the previous film. Other voices are provided by the radio DJs Giel Beelen and Gerard Ekdom, who are responsible for the duo Tjurre and Snorre. Finally, we also encounter Frans Bauer as the voice of the musical Ulme. Later in the story, Frans Bauer gets the chance to demonstrate his singing talents a number of times. The voices are fine and ensure that the film is easy for the little ones to follow.

The story of “Vicky and the Treasure of the Gods” is not very special and there are certainly a number of flaws to be seen. The addition of 3D, for example, is really unnecessary. Rarely if ever does the film come up with 3D effects that are worthwhile. Furthermore, the story is very predictable, but this is nowhere disturbing. The film ripples on nicely and the story has just enough to keep it interesting. In addition, adults will not be able to suppress a smile at certain times, such as during the scenes in the castle of Terrible Sven. “Vicky and the Gods’ Treasure” is a great children’s movie. Vickie may not be one of the toughest Vikings, but he is still one of the funniest.