Fergie the little gray tractor – Gråtass får en ny venn (2011)

Directed by: Trond Jacobsen | 80 minutes | family | Actors: Joachim Berg, Tiril Heide-Steen, Ole-Kristian Lima, Dan Robert Thorsen

Shortly after the Second World War, the Irishman Harry Ferguson invented a new type of tractor, the Ferguson TE-20. Ferguson achieved worldwide success with his invention and the tractor was nicknamed in every country. In the 1990s, the Norwegian company Fantasy Factory devised an entire universe around one of these tractors, which are still popular with farmers, Fergie. Fergie is a special tractor: he is alive. You can tell by his eyes that move. In Norway Fergie seems to be quite popular, perhaps comparable to Thomas the Train or Bob the Builder in other European countries. In addition to a TV series, Fantasy Factory also released a clothing line, children’s books, CDs and toys. The ‘Fergie the little gray tractor’ (‘Gråtass får en ny venn’ – literally translated: Fergie gets a new friend) is the first film that introduces Dutch children to the friendly hero on wheels, but it is not the first film about Fergie. It is the successor to ‘Hemmligheten på gården’ (2009).

The old tractor Fergie is happy on the farm where he lives, together with Govert, Grandpa and Inge. Still, he is lonely at times, because he is the only living machine on the farm and no one knows his secret. He manages to get Govert to use his great-uncle’s building plans for an invention: a living scarecrow. Fergie hopes that he will get a boyfriend, but when it turns out that Govert’s invention, Clunky, has been so successful that Govert completely forgets about Fergie, the gray trigger soon regrets it.

Meanwhile, we meet two shady scrap dealers, Hubert and Hyronymus, who have their sights set on the living tractor. Fortunately, they are not too bright and Fergie always outsmarts them. Govert decides to participate with Clunky in the inventor’s competition at the annual fair and Inge and Grandpa are going to sing a song together. But the two silly crooks also visit the fair and shift their attention from Fergie to Clunky. Will Fergie save the Scarecrow from these two thieves or not? Because without Clunky everything will be the way it used to be…

‘Fergie the little gray tractor’ has a nostalgic look to it. Although the film was recently made, the print exudes a 70s atmosphere. Perhaps that has to do with the rural Norwegian setting, where the mischievous-looking Inge walks around in dungarees and two ponytails. Apparently a lot of budget was not available, because the sparse special effects look amateurish. The acting, which here amounts to exaggerated facial expressions, is of the caliber ‘fun for the little ones, annoying for adults’. The crooks are the cliché bumbling and do not instill fear. Young viewers may still be able to laugh at their slapstick antics, but from the age of eight ‘The Little Gray Tractor Fergie’ will be dismissed as too childish. Scandinavia is generally known as a supplier of quality youth films, but ‘Fergie’ is unfortunately not one of them. The story is too thin to keep you interested throughout the entire runtime. Nice entertainment for children who have something with life on the farm, but not necessarily recommended.