"Lissi und der wilde Kaiser" or "Lissi and the Wild Emperor" is a German animated movie from almost 10 years ago. It was written and directed by Michael Bully Herbig and he also lends his voice to the (female) title character. Herbig is known for the television show "Bullyparade" and some of the most successful German comedy films of the 21st century, including "Der Schuh des Manitu". I would not call myself a massive fan of his, but I usually like his style of comedy. This is also why I must say that, overall, I was a bit disappointed by this film here. The animation is solid (except Lissi, did not like her looks), but the story and characters are simply not interesting enough and it's also not exactly a success in terms of the comedy.
I am writing this review as somebody who is not too fond of the old Sissi movies that this film here obviously tries to parody. Or does it really? Apart from the name difference and the characters belonging to Austrian aristocracy, there aren't really any parallels? Why a yeti? What is up with the two guys chasing? And what about the devil? Or one that looks like a pimp and marries the male main character's mom in the end? All these supporting characters were a bit funny during their introduction and maybe also in 1 or 2 scenes, but just not enough for the whole film. I personally would have done without them and stayed a lot closer on the live action films in terms of the story.
This could have been a really nice parody in my opinion. Bully certainly has the talent and wit to make this a laugh-out-loud movie together with his regular pals Tramitz and Kavanian. Instead, he came up with something that has very little to do with Lissi, basically nothing in terms of the story. Fans of the 1950s "Sissi" films will certainly be offended by this one here if they decided to give it a go. I am not offended. I am not entertained, however, either. Thumbs down and I do not recommend the watch. Luckily, it only runs for 80 minutes and that already includes 5 minutes of credits. Otherwise, due to obvious lack of funny material, this would have been an even more embarrassing film.
I am writing this review as somebody who is not too fond of the old Sissi movies that this film here obviously tries to parody. Or does it really? Apart from the name difference and the characters belonging to Austrian aristocracy, there aren't really any parallels? Why a yeti? What is up with the two guys chasing? And what about the devil? Or one that looks like a pimp and marries the male main character's mom in the end? All these supporting characters were a bit funny during their introduction and maybe also in 1 or 2 scenes, but just not enough for the whole film. I personally would have done without them and stayed a lot closer on the live action films in terms of the story.
This could have been a really nice parody in my opinion. Bully certainly has the talent and wit to make this a laugh-out-loud movie together with his regular pals Tramitz and Kavanian. Instead, he came up with something that has very little to do with Lissi, basically nothing in terms of the story. Fans of the 1950s "Sissi" films will certainly be offended by this one here if they decided to give it a go. I am not offended. I am not entertained, however, either. Thumbs down and I do not recommend the watch. Luckily, it only runs for 80 minutes and that already includes 5 minutes of credits. Otherwise, due to obvious lack of funny material, this would have been an even more embarrassing film.