Buurman & Buurman are experimenting on their own! (2019)

Directed by: Marek Beneš | 57 minutes | family, animation | Dutch voice cast: Siem van Leeuwen, Kees Prins

Buurman & Buurman are masters of ‘out of the box’ thinking. No problem is too complex for them or they will come up with something. But often it is not the most obvious solution they come up with. In fact, they are sometimes very difficult and complicated. But let that be the charm of the neighbors. The Czech heroes Pat and Mat (as they are actually called) are a creation of Lubomir Beneš, who created the puppet series in 1976. They didn’t always wear their signature hat and beret; in the first episode they were bareheaded and had eyebrows. Mat’s sweater was also once gray, when the color red was sensitive because of the communist regime and gray was neutral. The males are still extremely popular, especially in the Netherlands, the only country where Buurman & Buurman can not only be seen but also heard. The brilliant performances by Siem van Leeuwen and Kees Prins in all their simplicity certainly contribute to the success and popularity of the series. Just like the positive vibe that the neighbors radiate: they always remain calm, respect each other and never argue, even if things get out of hand again and again.

After almost 44 years, new Buurman & Buurman films are still appearing. These are directed by Marek Beneš, Lubomir’s son who died in 1995. The clumsy neighbors have also appeared on the silver screen a number of times. Not with a full-length film, but with a compilation of about seven short films that are all hung on the same theme. And so there is now ‘Buurman & Buurman experimenting on it!’ (2019). The neighbors are always experimenting, so we get a variety of crazy movies fired at us. From something as simple as baking pancakes or preparing popcorn, the neighbors already know how to make a whole situation, which of course gets completely out of hand. When the car needs to be washed, they decide to make their own car wash. But whether that makes the car that much cleaner… An apple thief also tackles the neighbors in their own way: they build a security system around the apple tree. And another one from the category ‘why make it easy when it can be difficult’: Buurman & Buurman decide to assemble a flying machine themselves. Hope it turns out fine…

Of course there is a lot going on in the soup. That is the strength of ‘Buurman & Buurman’, in addition to the hilarious ingenuity of the males and the bone-dry improvised commentary of Van Leeuwen and Prins. Each film follows the same pattern – neighbors encounter a problem, look for a solution in a rather creative way, after which the problem either gets bigger, or gives rise to a new (often much bigger) problem – but that shouldn’t spoil the fun. Because despite that tried and tested recipe, the films are always slightly different. The appeal of ‘Buurman & Buurman’ goes beyond all age limits, because the charm of these figures is universal. Moreover, they convey a valuable message: you can learn from trying and there are no mistakes, only learning moments.