The Island of Sea Crow: The Frog Prince’s Daughter – Tjorven och Skrållan (1965)

Directed by: Olle Hellbom | 90 minutes | family | Actors: Kajsa Dandenell, Louise Edlind, Bengt Eklund, Siegfried Fischer, Manne Grünberger, Kristina Jämtmark, Maria Johansson, Torsten Lilliecrona, Stephen Lindholm, Lillemor Österlund, Björn Söderbäck, Urban Strand, Bitte Ulvskona, Torsten Wahlundg

The island of Zeekraai is a wonderful holiday destination for Pelle, his brothers Johan and Niklas (who hardly ever come into the picture) and their father. Stina has now exchanged her milk teeth for new teeth, but her fantasy has certainly not disappeared. She still loves fairy tales and knows examples of everything. The sentence “I need to tell you something. One of our neighbors in town…” gets bored after about ten times, but fortunately the viewer is not alone and friend Mops, who lives permanently on Zeekraai, often shuts her up.

The film begins when Malin marries Peter. ‘The Island of Sea Crow: The Frog Prince’s Daughter’ then takes a big leap in time: Malin and Peter are now proud parents of Skrållan, a naughty toddler. After a visit in the winter (Malin and Peter have moved to the mainland), in which little Skrållan wraps the inhabitants of Zeekraai around her fingers, we see the family again in the summer. Mops and Stina regularly help Melker, as he is having a hard time with his new role as Skrållan’s grandfather and babysitter. In addition, Pelle is choking with jealousy, he has a hard time not being Malin’s number one anymore. The pranks Skrållan plays are occasionally funny, but the ignorance of and the lack of alertness of Grandpa Melker will become distasteful to the viewer after a while. The viewer already knows from the earlier film adventure ‘Together on the island Zeekraai’ that Melker hates working, but his irresponsibility takes on absurd forms here. His frequently uttered cry of despair “I’m too old for this” will sound familiar to ‘Lethal Weapon’ fans.

‘Zeekraai Island: The Frog Prince’s Daughter’ is the second installment in the Zeekraai Island series, but unlike the first, the subject is too brief for a full-length film. As a result, some scenes are stretched way too long and the viewer’s attention hardly stays with the story. In fact it is always a repetition. Someone is not paying attention, Skrållan disappears, panic breaks out, Skrållan is wanted and in the meantime the viewer already knows where the toddler is. Many scenes end with Skrållan taking a bath. It is a pity that an extra, more fascinating storyline has not been chosen, because Pelle’s jealousy and finding a nest with young foxes is too little for an interesting whole.