Wickie and the Treasure of the Gods – Wickie auf großer Fahrt (2011)

Directed by: Christian Ditter | 96 minutes | action, adventure, comedy, family | Actors: Jonas Hämmerle, Waldemar Kobus, Valeria Eisenbart, Nic Romm, Christian Koch, Olaf Krätke, Mike Maas, Patrick Reichel, Jörg Moukaddam, Mercedes Jadea Diaz, Sanne Schnapp, Eva Padberg, Ella-Maria Gollmer, Hoang Dang-Vu, Günther Kaufmann, Christoph Maria Herbst | Dutch voice cast: Ralf Mackenbach, Ernst Daniël Smid, Lucie de Lange, Jack Wouterse, Giel Beelen, Gerard Ekdom, Frans Bauer, Tara Hetharia, Hans Ligtvoet, Fred van der Hilst, Georgina Verbaan, Guus van Dam, Leo Richardson

Wickie the Viking will need little explanation for most people. This little Viking, with his characteristic long orange hair that makes him look more like a girl than a tough Norse, has been a well-known cartoon character for decades. With ‘Wickie and the treasure of the Gods’, the second feature film with this little Norse in the lead role appears in a short time after ‘Wickie the Viking’ in 2009.

Wickie is of course not a tough, broad or heroic Viking. This worries his father Halvar. He wants nothing more than to see his son finally become a brave warrior like himself. But the opening scene of the film makes it painfully clear that this is not the case yet. When an enemy camp has to be conquered, Wickie tries, much to the chagrin of his father, to negotiate with the enemy in order to achieve his goal, instead of attacking them. It goes without saying that the consequences of this are disastrous. No, we don’t have to expect really great deeds from Wickie, it seems. All this changes when, upon returning home, Wickie’s father’s great enemy, called ‘Terrible Sven’, raids Wickie’s village and kidnaps Halvar. Because he is Halvar’s son, Wickie is chosen as the new leader of the Flaken, as his tribe is called, and must lead the Vikings in their quest for Halvar. As if this wasn’t enough, Terrible Sven is also still on the hunt for the Weapon of the Gods, an unprecedentedly powerful weapon that allows him to rule the entire world. To Wickie the almost impossible task to free his father and to stop Terrible Sven.

The adventurous journey that follows takes Wickie and his crew to all kinds of exotic places. From an island full of beautiful but dangerous women to wild, rough passages in the ocean to eventually even arrive in Antarctica. There is no shortage of adventure in this film.

‘Wickie and the treasure of the Gods’ has been dubbed in Dutch and we see many well-known Dutch people in the voice cast. Georgina Verbaan, for example, provides the voice of the cunning Svenja, the little girl whom Wickie soon encounters in the film. Furthermore, just like in the previous film, Ralf Mackenbach provides the voice of Wickie. Other voices are provided by radio DJs Giel Beelen and Gerard Ekdom, who are responsible for the duo Tjurre and Snorre. Finally, we also encounter Frans Bauer as the voice of the musical Ulme. Later in the story, Frans Bauer gets a few more opportunities to demonstrate his singing talents. The voices are fine and ensure that the film is easy to follow for the little ones.

The story of ‘Wickie and the Treasure of the Gods’ is not very special and there are certainly a number of flaws to be noted. The addition of 3D, for example, is really superfluous. Rarely or never does the film come up with 3D effects that are worth watching. The story is also very predictable, but it is not disturbing at all. The film flows nicely and the story has just enough to keep it interesting. In addition, adults will also be unable to suppress a smile at some moments, such as during the scenes in the castle of Terrible Sven. ‘Wickie and the Treasure of the Gods’ is a great children’s film. Wickie may not be one of the toughest Vikings, but he is still one of the funniest.