The Drekkies: Welcome to Stinky Town – Smelliville (2021)

Directed by: Toby Genkel, Jens Møller | 85 minutes | animation, family | Dutch voice cast: Matheu Hinzen, Jannemien Cnossen, Oscar Siegelaar, Stefania Liberakakis, Pixie Ramboer, Dries Van Cauwenbergh, Johan De Paepe, Jos Dom, Christel Domen, Louis Thyssen

With a title like ‘De Drekkies: Welcome to Stinkiestad’ you already know roughly what to expect. This is not a horror, arthouse or documentary, but a family-friendly animation film that mainly focuses on the little ones. The German Toby Genkel, jointly responsible for direction and screenplay, is steadily making progress internationally. His films (‘Rikkie de Ooievaar’, ‘Beestenboot’, ‘Yakari’) vary in quality, but there is no doubt that the best man has a heart for the profession. ‘The Drekkies: Welcome to Stinky City’ is further proof of this.

Genkel wrote the screenplay for this animated film together with John Chambers and based it on a book series by compatriot Erhard Dietl, which was published in the Netherlands under the name “De Familie Smoezel”. This family, called De Drekkies in the film, consists of papa, mama, three children, one of which is a baby, and their grandfather and grandmother. They are Shrek-colored creatures with weird bulges on their heads and a penchant for all things smelly. They prefer to live in a garbage dump, because their diet consists of garbage. It can’t be slimy or snotty enough. Unfortunately for the Drekkies, they and their dragon have so far been unable to find a permanent home, as they are not welcome anywhere. Maybe it will work in Stinkiestad?

Nothing turns out to be less true. The residents of Stinkiestad look at the newcomers suspiciously and the fact that the mayor is scheming with a real estate developer to build a wellness center on the site of the garbage dump doesn’t help either. However, the son of the mayor couple, Max, is an inventive kid, he likes to invent things together with his girlfriend Lotte, which are then implemented with the help of Lotte’s uncle, a professor.

‘The Drekkies: Welcome to Stinkiestad’ actually tells a copy-paste story. We’ve got a bunch of heroic kids, unlistening adults who need to be taught a lesson, and a few underdogs the kids are sticking up for. The film has an internal logic, which means that you definitely don’t have to think deeply about certain actions of characters. In terms of wit, the film is really disappointing, unless you find the words ‘too cheese’ and ‘farts’ to roll off the chair so funny. Of course, the neatest character gets a remedy that also makes them eat garbage (humour!) and everyone ends up in a mud bath.

But the film has a good message (strangers can become your best friends, don’t judge until you know someone) and there are still some small stitches under the water for parents who mistakenly think they have the best interests of their offspring (the mother in the playground that only watches her cellphone instead of her playing child, the demanding parent who fills her child’s schedule minute by minute with educational matters)… Visually, ‘De Drekkies’ also looks pretty good. Of course, it’s not a major Hollywood production and the film lacks a style of its own, but it doesn’t miss its goal: to provide an entertaining adventure for young children. Mission accomplished.