The adventures of Benjamin Blümchen have enjoyed great popularity in German children’s rooms (and with nostalgic adults) for years, but also if you grew up with Otto and Co. and/or loves the adventures of the talking elephant more than anything else in the world : The “Benjamin the ElephantYou can really save yourself the film from 2019 – even though it is now available as a streaming subscription on Netflix.
CGI made in Germany
Because for one “Benjamin Blümchen” is technically a complete failure: Elephant Benjamin never looks like he exists in the same world as the human characters and actors, which is a real problem, especially when he interacts with his best friend Otto (Manuel Santos Gelke) and the audience tears over and over again from the action .
But that could only be forgiven if at least the attributes are correct – but unfortunately that is not the case either. Neustadt zoo is also put together on the computer, that’s why acting visibly in front of a green screen in many scenes, the cast seems completely lost. Meanwhile, animals romp in the background and passers-by walk the paths, but their perspective doesn’t match the rest of the frame and has no connection whatsoever with what’s happening in the foreground.
Also such shortcomings could be covered up with enough charm and wit, but the director manages to do so Tim Trachten (“Abschussfahrt”) and screenwriter Bettina Borgerding (the “Bibi & Tina” films) in “Benjamin Blümchen” far too rarely.
The story is much too generic for that (Benjamin has to save the zoo) and the characters are too cliché (the nasty opponent with the bumbling hipster accomplices). And the humor hardly ignites, if at all, but is constantly repeated (clumsy Benjamin causes chaos).
“Benjamin Blümchen” rarely convinces
Only occasionally a little charm flasheslike when Benjamin and Otto embark on a “Mission: Impossible” style spy mission. And in any case, Heike Makatsch and Dieter Hallervorden clearly enjoy their roles and continue to control the film with pleasant overacting.
In addition there are still a handful of moments where “Benjamin Blümchen” makes older audiences feel nostalgic (And not just because of original speaker Jürgen Kuckert). But that alone is barely enough to fill the not-too-long running time of 91 minutes. FILMSTARTS editor Björn Becher came to a damning conclusion in his review (1.5 out of 5 stars):
“Unfortunately, the first big screen adventure of the world’s most popular elephant is quite a disappointment. ‘Benjamin Blümchen’ is all too rarely able to cover up his obvious technical shortcomings with charm and wit.”
The FILMSTARTS review of “Benjamin Blümchen”