Only cheers for Checker Tobi, his team and the new film Suspicious Object leads to the Bundesplatz being closed for a short time

Shit. Here they come.

I am sitting with my children B5 (boy, 5 years old) and T10 (daughter, 10 years old) in the Folium at Sihlcity. It’s the Zurich Film Festival – and B5 and T10 are about to meet their TV heroes. Soon they will be able to interview Checker Tobi and director Johannes Honsell about their new film ‘Checker Tobi and the Journey to the Flying Rivers’. I’m happy for them – and for myself. Because I’m a bit of a fanboy too. But you’ll notice that later.

B5 is hiding behind his big sister for the time being. The two have been happy for days and now they are overwhelmed. Here you have Sir David Attenborough – the man who brings knowledge to you on TV with empathy, patience and humor. And they can even shake his hand.

A few minutes earlier there was a standing ovation in the cinema next door. For the new film and of course for Checker Tobi. The Checker is a phenomenon. “How do you like it in Switzerland?” is the first question of T10. “I arrived late yesterday and haven’t seen much so far,” Tobi explains, “but I have never experienced the reception of the children this morning before.”

Checker Tobi, that’s Tobias Krell, 37 years old, visually a German version of Luke Skywalker, a man you immediately like and who is like a big cousin to the kids who does all the cool things.

Like Skywalker, Tobi also has the Force. He has the power to captivate children with knowledge television. Been working with Checker Can and Checker Julian for 10 years. More than 160 programs appeared on KIKA and Erste, but more importantly: also on YouTube. There, ‘The Swimming Check’, ‘The Hospital Check’ and the ‘Prison Check’ generate millions of clicks.

His second feature film, ‘Checker Tobi and the Journey to the Flying Rivers’, is out now. He must solve one of his deceased neighbor’s last riddles. This leads him to his old childhood friend (Marina Blanke) and further via Vietnam to Mongolia and Brazil. A ‘Top Gear special’ for kids, so to speak – and clever. B5 and T10 rate the film six out of six stars – and I mostly agree with them: “The children are finally watching a documentary with enthusiasm,” summarizes my better half.

“Was this neighbor real and have you really been friends with Marina since you were a child?” Now B5 has also crawled out from behind her sister. “I had a similar neighbor,” says Tobi, “and also a childhood friend like in the movie. But her name was Katharina and she was born three days before me. We went to kindergarten together and sat next to each other at school. Unfortunately, she moved away when we were six or seven.”

B5 is amazed by building blocks. He asks questions and the inspector answers. Usually it is the other way around. The TV programs ask checker questions. The children have to answer these at home. But they can only do that if they remain attentive. Thoughtful. Like so many things in the show – and in the movie.

The fact that the team pays close attention to every detail comes at a price: “I was with Tobi in a hot air balloon ride in Turkey,” says director Honsell, “I sat in the basket and paid close attention to the sound and the settings, and so much ” I’m so focused on production that I can’t remember today’s balloon flight.” Of course they are aware of how privileged they are that their work allows them to visit exciting places again and again. But it doesn’t stick around as much as I had hoped. “We photograph all day long. During dinner we discuss the next day. Then we fall into bed exhausted and sleep like logs – at least that’s how I feel,” continues Tobi, “the next morning we get up and continue filming. The days are long, it’s always about the movie, in our heads and in all conversations. It’s a great gift to come to these amazing places and with friends, but it’s work.”

The thing about friends is taken away from them – they both seem very authentic: “I don’t have a TV mode for kids. I am who I am,” says Tobi. And that’s what matters. At B5 and T10 anyway. Here on the couch you recognize Tobi from the television. But his style is also well received by many parents. Checker Tobi does it without the infantile, over-the-top tonality that is still popular in too many children’s programs. Sometimes there is even a touch of melancholy in the Mainz resident: “I have been Checker Tobi for more than a quarter of my life. Of course, I’ve matured over the past decade, and so has the checker. While I used to jump over every bench in the checker booth, today I just sat down. The show is also changing. She has calmed down over the past ten years. But that’s okay too.”

Authenticity is also taken into account during production. When the crew films in a cleared and burned forest in Brazil, the main actors are initially kept offstage. Only when all cameras are rolling does the confrontation take place. This then creates real emotions, not too many, but not too little. The balance is right – on many levels. The shows and the new film are fast paced but not nervous, entertaining but never flashy, informative but not boring, charming but not pandering either.

When you talk to Honsell and Krell, it quickly becomes clear: they are really good guys. They’re really getting down on their knees and racking their brains on how best to boost the world’s most important resource, the brain wax of our descendants. A nice bonus: with such a format, parents don’t have to feel guilty if they park their children in front of the Flimmerkiste to take a rest, cook in peace or just watch. You can also say thank you for that. Thank you Tobi, thank you Johannes, thank you Checker team. And we are happy to see that scratch Marina will be at the start soon.

The saying ‘Never meet your childhood heroes’ is true. As a journalist I am a burned child. B5 and T10 were spared this experience today. They listen with fascination as Honsell and Krell talk about four-meter high turds in Mongolia, about a cool grandma who was missing an index finger, about fear of heights and about the sadness that gripped them both when they learned of the enormous destruction caused by slash-and-burn -burn-farming. After 25 minutes, which felt like two hours, we said an enchanted farewell. And everyone is a little more of a fan than before.

“Checker Tobi and the Journey to the Flying Rivers” starring Tobias Krell, Marina M. Blanke, Klaas Heufer-Umlauf and others, directed by Johannes Honsell, will be shown in German-language Swiss cinemas from October 12.