Lilly the Witch: The Journey to Mandolan (2011)

I'll tell you why so serious

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

"Hexe Lilli: Die Reise nach Mandolan" tells the story of the young witch Lilli, who is called to the far kingdom of Mandolan in order to free the throne from an evil curse. When Lilli finds out that she's just being used, not only the fate of Mandolan is at risk.The movie is mainly produced for children, some of which are already great fans of the franchise. What they find is a very colorful, exotic world that strongly reminds of India, a hero they can identify with and a good sense of humor. On the other hand the film desperately tries to make some more grown up gags in order to keep the parents entertained and unfortunately that fails massively and only leads to worn out or mediocre gags.All in all this movie has some elements that make for a good childhood film but at some points it is to conventional to stand out.

"Hexe Lilli: Die Reise nach Mandolan" is a German film from 2011, so this one had its 5th anniversary last year and it is the sequel to another Hexe Lilli film from two years earlier. Alina Freund plays the title character in both and as she is turning 20 these days I guess you could say that there will not be another film about this character and the series ends as a duology just like Bibi Blocksberg did, another duology for kids here focusing on another witch, certainly an even more famous little sorceress. Okay back to this one here. If you take a look at the cast list you will find some known names like Tarrach playing one of the two antagonists or Mendl, Hagen and Kling. Michael Mittermeier reprises his voice acting role and Oscar winner Javier Bardem's mother Pilar is on board again too, even if her screen time is definitely limited. And while most of the performances were pretty okay I guess, including the child performance in the lead, I must say that the story here is probably just not good enough for another film. For example, they made very little of the interesting plot point that Lilli was far away from home and the friendship she strikes with a local boy simply isn't enough, especially as the title of the film really advertises this journey. There is zero character development in Lilli and everybody else. I have not read the original book by the writer going with the alias of Knister, so I am not sure if the original work was the problem or if it was the adaptation. The director probably wasn't as this one moved from Ruzowitzky to Sicheritz and this means we have two of Austria's most known in charge of this duology, names that you would not necessarily expect making kids films if you take a look at some of the other stuff they did. Anyway, overall this one was not a satisfying watch from the comedy or adventure approach and I suggest you skip it unless you really totally loved the first. It was the right decision they didn't make a third.