Bibi & Tina: boys against the girls – Bibi & Tina: Mädchen gegen Jungs (2016)

Directed by: Detlev Buck | 110 minutes | adventure, comedy, family | Actors: Lina Larissa Strahl, Lisa-Marie Koroll, Louis Held, Michael Maertens, Martin Seifert, Winnie Böwe, Fabian Buch, Emilio Sakraya, Detlev Buck, Charly Hübner, Philipp Laude, Tilman Pörzgen, Erika Rabau, Lena Urzendowsky, Max von der Groeben

Bibi and Tina have summer vacation again and this time the summer vacation is spent in a different way. A geocaching competition has been organized by Tina’s school, which includes not only her classmates, but also exchange students. Bibi and Tina obviously form a team, but when Alex is claimed by two newcomers, he no longer dares to say that he actually wants to join the girls in the group. That immediately angers Tina, and further developments during the camp do not improve matters… The rivalry between the groups is great, which escalates into a song: it’s the boys against the girls, oh pardon, the girls against the boys !

‘Bibi & Tina: boys against the girls’ is the third cinema adventure by Bibi and Tina, who are immensely popular in Germany among (almost) teenage girls. Tina is a talented rider and Bibi can do magic, witches actually. That is no secret, but she is restricted during the competition, because magic to win, that is of course not done. Of course, Bibi and Tina are not types who go astray, but on the other hand, Alex’s teammates do everything to win. The course of the story can hardly be called exciting, the only question is when Alex will realize the betrayal and the quarrel between Tina and Alex will be settled again.

What is striking about ‘Bibi & Tina: boys against the girls’ – even more than in the previous two films – is the splendor of colours, which gives the film a surrealistic atmosphere. The sky is not a clear blue, but turquoise. It just doesn’t hurt your eyes, the colors are so bright. The songs are back in full force, but by no means all successful, with the cringe-inducing low point being the song sung while putting out the fire at the end of the film, although the mushroom trip-inspired ‘I dance with monkeys’- song that almost equals.

The story isn’t that much. The match itself is nice, but it quickly becomes repetitive. The rivalry between the boys and the girls is a bit over the top, but that fits in with the Bibi & Tina universe that Detlev Buck created. Horse girls will have to adjust their expectations regarding the riding scenes, because in the third ‘Bibi & Tina’ that is really just an afterthought. ‘Bibi & Tina: boys against the girls’ makes you long for long summer evenings and outdoor activities.