Lotte and the moonstone – Lotte ja kuukivi saladus (2011)

Directed by: Heiki Ernits, Janno Põldma | 75 minutes | animation, family | Dutch voice cast: Nathalie Haneveld, Lucas Dietens, Thijs van Aken, Jelle Amersfoort, Hein van Beem, Filip Bolluyt, Alexander de Bruijn, Wiebe Pier Cnossen, Jan Elbertse, Sander de Heer, Bas Keijzer, Peter de Kroon, Marieke de Kruijf, Ine Kuhr, Lucie de Lange, Stan Limburg, Jurjen van Loon, Nine Meijer, Jan Nonhof, Han Oldigs, Sjoerd Oomen, Leo Richardson, Jurgen Theun, Hymke de Vries, Tijn van de Wetering

Most Dutch people do not know much about Estonia. We don’t know much more than that it is the most northern of the three Baltic states and that they speak a language related to Finnish. That’s why it’s a good thing there’s cinema. Through the film world, we also get to know the girl dog Lotte in our country, a cartoon character who is immensely popular in her homeland and, in addition to having its own theme park, also has an airplane named after her. Lotte stands out because of her cheerful, positive attitude that is contagious. She is curious and adventurous and that will appeal to children all over the world. The first film about the cheerful dog, ‘Lotte van inventersdorp’, was released in 2000. Eleven years later, there is finally a second film, entitled ‘Lotte en de Maansteen’ (2011).

The animated film is cheerful, imaginative and unconventional, as a film aimed at young children should be. When everyone in the inventor’s village goes to bed, Lotte is still awake. She stares at the moon and wonders who lives there. She finds out sooner than she thinks, because it doesn’t take long before she catches two rabbits dressed in pointed hats in her Uncle Klaus’ bedroom. They try to steal the stone he once brought back from one of his distant journeys. Lotte discovers that the stone has magical powers and persuades her uncle to go on an adventure together. In search of the three complementary stones, they find themselves in many exciting situations. They end up in a dance school, meet a raindrop-obsessed professor and eventually end up on Penguin Island. However, the two rabbits follow them closely and another hijacker appears on the shore: a cat madly in love who wants to use the stones to win his beloved.

What is immediately noticeable about ‘Lotte and the moonstone’ is the remarkable style in which the animations are made. The more classic and very beautiful backgrounds seem to have been made by a completely different artist than the much less beautifully animated figures in the foreground. In addition, there are sequences that very clearly have a computer-controlled character. This special mix of styles looks messy, but idiosyncratic. Maybe we’ve been spoiled with the brilliant animations that major Hollywood studios like Pixar, Disney and DreamWorks treat us to time and again, because it takes some getting used to the approach of the Estonians. But instead of staring blindly at the somewhat amateurish-looking style, we prefer to be surprised by the colorful and imaginative approach of the filmmakers. The story manages to captivate enough, but there is especially that endless fantasy that fascinates. A rain labyrinth, a hospital in which the patients are transported via train tracks to the correct ward and a fantastic underwater ‘pancake house’; come on.

In addition to common themes such as friendship, courage and overcoming fears, the power of fantasy is the main message that ‘Lotte and the moonstone’ wants to convey. The film does not carry heavy pedagogical mottos, but simply wants to be a positive viewing experience for the young viewers. ‘Lotte en de Maansteen’ seems to want to encourage children to let their imaginations run wild and to dare to take up the adventure, and that gives this film its charm. The fact that the animations are far from high tech does little to detract from this.