Fireman Sam: UFO Alert! – Fireman Sam: Alien Alert! The Movie (2016)

Directed by: Gary Andrews | 60 minutes | animation, family | Dutch voice cast: Stan Limburg, Job Bovelander, Hildegard van Nylen, Huub Dikstaal, Jannemien Cnossen, Dennis Kivit, Jan Elbertse

For many small children he is a real hero: Fireman Sam. Originally the animated ejaculator is from Wales and his name is ‘Fireman Sam’. As early as 1985, the first Fireman Sam adventures appeared on British television (the first series of episodes were spoken in Welsh); five years later he was first seen on Dutch television. The series was created by Dave Gingell and Dave Jones, two former firefighters who incorporated their own experiences into the stories. Mike Young, producer of the cartoon series ‘SuperTed’, saw some potential in their ideas and commissioned illustrator Rob Lee to further develop the characters and the storylines. The experiences of Fireman Sam were initially recorded in stop-motion, the animation technique with puppets in which frame by frame is recorded. An enormously time-consuming job, because twenty-five frames are made in one second. In 1994 the series seemed to have come to an end, but because its popularity among the little ones continued to be great, it was revived in 2003 in ‘Fireman Sam’. The twenty-first-century films are made using computer animation techniques. Not only can the videos now be made faster, it also costs significantly less. Although the old, stop-motion films do have more charm than ‘Fireman Sam’ in the new style.

For those who don’t know him; Fireman Sam lives in the seaside town of Piekepolder (originally Pontypandy). Led by Commander Staal, he and his colleagues Elvis and Jenny spring into action in case of fire or when someone is in need. Sometimes they are helped by helicopter pilot Tom. In every episode there is a fellow villager who asks for help. Not infrequently, the fire brigade has to turn out because the enterprising boy Norbert Puk has done something naughty and therefore got into trouble. In addition, many episodes pay attention to keeping home and hearth fire safe. Just about every successful animated series is now being featured in a feature film, including ‘Fireman Sam’. In 2010 there was ‘Fireman Sam: the great fire in Piekepolder’, which was followed in 2014 by ‘Fireman Sam: Heroes of the City’. A third feature film has also been released, entitled ‘Fireman Sam: UFO Alarm’ (2016). Here too it is Norbert Puk who cranks things up. He believes that he saw a flying saucer during a nighttime car ride with his mother. The story immediately spreads like wildfire (!) through Piekepolder, because in no time everyone is looking around to see if UFOs might be passing by. Because where there are flying saucers, there must also be aliens, you would think. The nefarious TV presenter Buck Douglas has also settled down with his crew in Piekepolder, he appears to be extremely interested in UFOs. When Norbert goes in search of the flying saucer with a group of friends, things go badly. His girlfriend Sara falls into a ravine and breaks her arm. Lucky Sam is around to save the kids. Let the alien he was chasing run; it is much more important to get everyone home safely. But Norbert doesn’t give up and continues his investigation. He and Sam discover that strange things are going on in the village…

Fireman Sam’s films often revolve around a message – think: don’t play with fire, think before you act, et cetera – wise lessons that can help the youngest youth (because even though many adults are disturbed by that thumb-thick imposed morality , the little ones hardly notice that they are being treated to a message). The most important life lesson in ‘UFO Alarm’ seems to be that you shouldn’t be fooled and use your own common sense at all times. This message is conveyed on the basis of manageable situations for three to six-year-olds. For them, the adventures of Sam, Norbert and their friends are exciting enough; for adults who look over the shoulder of their offspring, it is all a bit obedient. ‘Fireman Sam’ has moved with the times – drones, mobile phones and other modern technological gadgets can be seen in this film – but the animations look stale and wooden. Of course we are spoiled, with all the beautiful things that come from the stables of Disney/Pixar, DreamWorks, Laika and the Japanese Studio Ghibli, among others, but even if you take into account the limited resources with which the British HiT Entertainment has to do it all, the animation level is too low. As mentioned earlier; the little ones won’t mind. They will undoubtedly be completely absorbed in the adventures their hero experiences and with a playing time of sixty minutes it is all exactly tailored to their wishes.