The Little Vampire (1985)
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | The little Vampire |
| Original title | The Little Vampire |
| Country of production | Canada , Germany |
| original language | English |
| year | 1985 |
| length | 25 minutes |
| Episodes | 13 in 1 season |
| genre | Children's series , fantasy |
| Theme music | Jim Gray - They can see in the dark |
| idea | Angela Sommer-Bodenburg |
| music | John Mills-Cockell |
| First broadcast | 1986 ( United Kingdom ) |
| German-language first broadcast |
December 31, 1986 on Das Erste |
| occupation | |
The 1985 television series The Little Vampire was co-produced between the German Polyphon Film and Television Company and the Canadian Norflicks Productions Ltd. The two books The Little Vampire and The Little Vampire is moving by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg served as a template .
action
One evening the little vampire Rüdiger floats into ten-year-old Anton Bohnsack's room. He tells him that he has been dead for 146 years and that vampires can choose their age. He, Rüdiger, decided on childhood, while his sister Anna could not decide how old she would like to be and is therefore still of the so-called "milk tooth age".
From now on, Anton's monotonous life becomes exciting: he and the vampire become friends, and when he brings him a cloak, the two go on night trips.
Anton has to swear to the vampire not to tell anyone about their acquaintance, so instead he writes about it to his best friend Teddy, who had only recently moved away. Teddy thinks, however, that Anton is just making up these stories.
The acquaintance of the new cemetery administrator Johann Geiermeier, who later turns out to be a vampire hunter, brings Anton great danger.
Disguised as a vampire, Anton even takes part in a vampire party and helps Rüdiger and his family escape from their home cemetery.
consequences
- 1 night visit
The little vampire Rüdiger is bored in the family crypt. His guardian, Uncle Theodor, insists that Rüdiger go out into the open. Finally, Rüdiger goes in exasperation to nibble at anyone who gets in his way. On a foray through the city, Rüdiger also passes the gym and sees 10-year-old Anton Bohnsack there for the first time. When his mother picks him up, Anton complains that he misses his friend Teddy terribly and that athletics is not for him ... if it is sport, then rather karate. On the same evening, Anton's parents, Robert and Helga Bohnsack, are already on their way to a party, when Rüdiger appears at Anton's window; and he enjoys giving Anton a real fright by devastating his room. But Anton quickly realizes that this vampire is actually quite nice and just as lonely as he is. They both become friends in Anton's apartment. Both are almost caught by the curious neighbor, Ms. Puvogel, who is Anton's babysitter that evening. Rüdiger can just hide under the bed and Anton pretends to be asleep. From now on Anton writes to his friend Teddy Kasper about his adventures with the little vampire, which he only dismisses as "great stories". But on the same evening the cemetery administrator Johann Geiermeier arrives at the airport, who will later play an important role in the life of the vampires.
- 2 Flying has to be learned
A week later, Anton is already looking forward to Rüdiger's visit, as his parents want to go to a party again. Meanwhile, Anton’s father is repairing the broken floor lamp and Anton’s mother is holding the ladder. When Anton's father falls off the ladder as a result of an electric shock, the mother sprains her foot. Anton is now trying unsuccessfully to get his mother back to health as quickly as possible; but she still stays at home. She is in bed when Rüdiger appears at Anton's window. Rüdiger has brought Anton a vampire cloak. Initially, Anton is afraid to put his cape on because he doesn't want to become a vampire. But Rüdiger reassures him: To become a vampire, you need a little more than a cloak and powder . This is where Anton hears about this ominous "powder powder" for the first time and he will often ask Rüdiger about it. Both practice flying in Anton's room so they can go on night trips. But they are unfortunately not particularly quiet: Anton's mother wakes up and comes into Anton's room; Rüdiger can just hide in the closet. Then Anton’s mother discovers a corner of the cloak peeking out of Anton’s closet, and Anton has to tell her that he has a new boyfriend. When Anton's mother is well again, she tells Anton about a strange stranger to whom she wants to sell a house. The customer insists on the house being close to the cemetery. This is where Johann Geiermeier, cemetery administrator and passionate vampire hunter, enters the life of Anton Bohnsack. Because from now on their paths will cross regularly. In the evening Geiermeier plays his tuba in the house and is watched by Great Uncle Theodor, who recognizes him immediately.
- 3 At Schlottersteins
After waking up, Uncle Theodor tells of his suspicion that the new cemetery administrator is the last and worst offspring of the Geiermeier family: “He looks like a Geiermeier, he dresses like a Geiermeier, he talks like a Geiermeier, he smells like garlic a Geiermeier ... and he introduces himself with Geiermeier. ” On the same evening Ms. Puvogel is supposed to take care of Anton again, but something comes up. So now her 13-year-old daughter Effie has to step in for her, which does not suit him. So both quickly get into an argument and Anton locks himself in his room. Rüdiger noticed this from the skylight and frightened Effie from there. Rüdiger invites Anton to take a look around his house and so both children fly to the cemetery. Once there, they are almost caught by Geiermeier and can hide under a fir tree just in time. When both are in the crypt, Rüdiger shows Anton the coffins: Suddenly there is a violent knocking from the coffin of his great-aunt Dorothee! Anton can hide in Rüdiger's coffin just in time, but Aunt Dorothee still smells human flesh and suspects Rüdiger of hiding a mortal in the crypt ... only she can't prove it to him. On the way home, Rüdiger and Anton happen to pass the party where Anton’s parents are guests.
- 4 You don't wash vampire cloaks
After Anton returns home, Anton's mother washes the vampire cloak. In the late afternoon Anton goes to the cemetery to invite Anna and Rüdiger to tea. In the cemetery he tries to fly with the cape on. While trying to fly, Anton is surprised by his classmate Udo Schäfer, who takes off his cape and tries to pile it up. Anton still manages to remove Udo's cloak and both are caught by the cemetery administrator Geiermeier: He immediately recognizes that this is a real vampire cloak. Geiermeier is now interrogating Anton, and Udo manages to run away with the cape on. In the evening Anton meets Rüdiger at the cemetery and tells him about the thing with the cloak. Rüdiger is angry with Anton at first, but he tells him that the cloak is completely worthless without the mysterious "flying powder" ... and that Udo would probably break his neck if he tried to fly. Rüdiger explains to him that the putrid and musty-smelling flight powder is a prerequisite for flying and its extraction is the only work that vampires are allowed to do. A little later, Anton and Rüdiger go on a trip to a punk meet; it is there that Anton sees his older cousin Lumpi for the first time.
- 5 Anna's trick
Vampire hunter Geiermeier sits in front of his desk and keeps his family chronicle. In it he tells his ancestors his experiences in his new home. So he writes down that he tried different disguises and ultimately decided on that of a cemetery inspector. At the same time and a week before the afternoon tea appointment, Rüdiger appears at Anton's house with a cold and brings his little sister Anna with him. Anna is supposed to help Anton get back the cloak that Udo had stolen. Little Anna falls in love with Anton and from then on she always gets on the skin of her crush. Anton can distract Udo at his apartment door and Anna can take the cloak from Udo's room. On the way back, Anna sees a dress that she likes lying in Udo's sister Tery's room. When Anton arrives at home a little later, Anna is already in his room. She sits on his bed and sprinkles the cloak with powdered powder. When Anton's mother comes into the room, Anna quickly hides under the bed. Anton's mother is amazed that her son has this cape again and that it smells so terrible again despite the washing, takes it with a swing from the bed and, without noticing it, spreads all the powdery powder on the duvet. When Anton tries to shake her out, she takes him off the bed. With Anna's help, he manages to land again with the ceiling. Then both fly to Rüdiger in the crypt to show that Anton has the cloak again. There they meet - much to Anton's horror - Lumpi, who is playing cards with Rüdiger. Suddenly Aunt Dorothee appears in the crypt and Anton has to hide in Rüdiger's coffin again. There he passed out and Anna started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. In the late night, Anton's mother suddenly wakes up because the washing machine is running in the bathroom. There she finds Anton sleeping on the washing machine, washing his smelly bedspread.
- 6 Rüdiger in jeans
What does a vampire wear to tea? Anton and his friends ask themselves this question. The question of clothes for Rüdiger is quickly resolved. Anton decides to give some of his old things to Rüdiger. But what should Anna wear? She flies around and looks around the girls' lockers at Anton's school, but doesn't find anything fancy. Then she remembers the dress in Udo's apartment and so she flies past it. The window to his sister's room is open: So Anna quickly steals Udo's sister. In the meantime, Johann Geiermeier discovers a rare picture scroll in the library that shows the vampires among the Indians. When trying to steal it from the library, he is caught and the police called. Geiermeier managed to escape anyway. While Geiermeier is hiding from the police, the moment of truth dawns for the vampire children: Will Anton’s parents notice that they are vampires? But while the vampire children are getting ready for the tea party in the crypt, they are accidentally observed by Aunt Dorothee, who has woken up and lifted her coffin lid.
- 7 tea with surprises
Anton's mother is in the middle of the preparations for the tea party, which should take place at 4:00 p.m. and now it's already 4:30 p.m. Anton tries desperately to prepare his mother so that the vampire children will not come in the afternoon, but in the early evening. Shortly after 8 p.m., the vampire children appear badly made up and disguised as humans at Anton's parents. Anna drinks milk from Anton's parents and Rüdiger drinks a (lukewarm) chicken broth. However, they are observed through the skylight by the entire vampire family. Even Lumpi is appalled that Rüdiger is consuming human food. Uncle Theodor, who otherwise doesn't praise his son very much, is visibly impressed by Lumpi's “vampiric attitude”. Anton notices the assembled vampire family by chance. He makes his two friends aware of the new situation in his children's room. Rüdiger knows that he will now be banished from the crypt. So the vampire children make their way to the crypt. However, Anton’s father insists on driving her home. They get out of the car near the cemetery and walk towards a house, where they finally ring the bell. When the front door is opened, Anton's father leaves calmly. The vampire children for their part almost run into Geiermeier's arms as they are on their way to the crypt. He recognizes vampires in them. But neither Rüdiger nor Anna suspected that their family was watching them all the time.
- 8 Rüdiger in need
When the vampire children Anna and Rüdiger later return to the crypt, both are expected by the family, because contact with people is strictly forbidden for vampires. The family process is now being made to both of them: Anna is spared a punishment as a vampire who does not drink blood, but Rüdiger is now banished from the crypt, is banned from flying and has to look for a new place to stay. He decides to move into the basement of Anton’s parents. He persuades Anton to let him have his cloak. But while Anton is in the basement with Rüdiger, Effie sneaks into the Bohnsack apartment. After a short search, Effie finds the cloak in Anton's room and takes it with her. Anton immediately notices the theft and suspects Effie to be behind it. With a trick he can gain access to the Puvogel's apartment and is shocked to discover that Effie has washed the cloak and that it has become unusable for Rüdiger.
- 9 Unrest in the basement
Rüdiger now lives in the Bohnsack basement, but cannot fly because Uncle Theodor has taken his cloak from him. Anna visits him regularly in Bohnsack's cellar and tells him that the family is very desperate about this matter. Rüdiger now invites Anton to the biggest vampire party of the year. A little later, Anna also wants to invite Anton to this celebration and is visibly disappointed when Rüdiger tells her that he has already invited Anton. During the hasty departure from the garage of the house, Anna, who is now very disappointed by Anton and Rüdiger, is observed by Effie Puvogel, who immediately tells her mother and Anton's parents. And since Rüdiger let the air out of a neighbor's car tires in the garage so that he could hide in the car all day, Anton's father wants to ensure more security in the house. The vampire children can still hide in the garage and Anton's father furiously throws the Puvogels out of his basement. In the meantime, Geiermeier has come ominously close to the vampires. He gives a speech to the vampires in front of their family crypt. He promises the vampires a "fair trial" in Transylvania. Uncle Theodor now realizes that his enemy is very afraid of being expelled from the country himself. Geiermeier also announces to the vampires that they are facing big problems that are even worse than him. While the vampires are wondering what Geiermeier could have meant by that, the police appear and arrest Geiermeier. He is now supposed to be admitted to the insane asylum as a mentally ill person, but he manages to escape disguised as a doctor. In the meantime, Rüdiger illegally received some powder for his washed cloak from Anna. Anton has no idea of any of this: Unsuspecting, he sits in his room and paints a new picture of Rüdiger. His mother comes into the nursery and tells him that his father has suddenly decided to build a cloakroom and wants to get the board and hooks from the cellar! Anton rushes off and finds his father in the cellar; he had found an old newspaper where Teddy and Anton were dressed up as vampires at the age of four. Father Bohnensack had unconsciously come ominously close to the vampire children in the basement. Anton manages to distract his father and scare them out of the cellar with the things they are looking for. While Anna and Anton are talking in the basement, Rüdiger visits Anton's friend Teddy in Hameln. He surprises him in the garden: Teddy begins to write a letter to Anton in the tent, and Rüdiger manages to steal the letter he has begun and deliver it to Anton. On the television news, Anton learns of Geiermeier's arrest and flight. But he also learns that the old cemetery is to be leveled and that his best friends and their relatives would be homeless. In his room, Anton continues Teddy's letter he has begun, expressly saying that everything he has written up to then is true.
- 10 The great festival of the vampires
In the basement he tries to warn Rüdiger of the impending danger, but he doesn't want to hear anything about it, since today is the night of the nights . At the following everything-will-be-forgiven-and-forgotten party, which, among other things, should enable Rüdiger to return to the crypt, Anton also takes part disguised as a vampire. For this, Uncle Theodor has even lifted the flight ban he had imposed on Rüdiger, and Anna is officially allowed to bring him a cloak. Before that, however, Anton has to get rid of Udo, who wants to reconcile with Anton and has therefore come to his home with his dog Swiff. Udo has now made a cloak for himself, and on Anton's advice, both of them - Anton now completely disguised as a vampire - go to the cemetery: Both want to practice flying there. Udo is promptly caught there by the police, who have been on the patrol since Geiermeier appeared. Anton and Rüdiger meet a little later and both fly to the vampire party. Rüdiger now introduces Anton to his relatives as "Thor the Terrible" and Anton gets to know Rüdiger's family better. In response to Aunt Dorothee's question: “Where are you at home?” Anton happens to be the answer of the Gypsy vampires with “Wherever I drop my coat” . Since Aunt Dorothee admires gypsy vampires very much, Anton is also recognized by her and the other vampires as one of her own. And since Dorothee's husband, Uncle Theodor, is the elected prince of the vampires, Aunt Dorothee would also have a considerable influence among the vampires. But she does not use it. Rüdiger also tells Anton that he has a terrifying nickname: "The Devourer".
- 11 Geiermeier is everywhere
Anton is almost revealed as a person by Aunt Dorothee when he practices dancing with Anna in one of the numerous sinuses and falls into an underground well. And that blurs his vampire makeup. Anton and the vampire children then illegally leave the vampire meeting; They tell Aunt Dorothee that “Thor” wants to fetch his violin so that he can play a song for her. In a cave near the entrance, Anna, Rüdiger and Anton also run into Geiermeier in disguise by chance. Geiermeier had also sneaked to the festival to hide from the people who would now hunt him. And obviously Geiermeier had stolen a cape at the party. With the cloak he wanted to prove that vampires really do exist, Geiermeier tells the children. In order to save Anton, Anna and Rüdiger have to show Geiermeier the way to the surface. Anton flies off immediately while Anna and Rüdiger Geiermeier take off the vampire cloak. Little did you know that Geiermeier stole two of them.
- 12 Transport Problems
The next day, Anton comes to the cellar in the early afternoon. Rüdiger learns from him that the old cemetery is to be destroyed from today and that the vampires are in great danger. Rüdiger asks Anton to warn his relatives and now to identify himself as a person. When Anton comes to the cemetery, a large part has already been destroyed. He climbs into the crypt and wakes Anna, who is shocked by the sun and briefly screams out loud. In doing so, however, they also awaken their relatives. The adult vampires now recognize that the "vampire Thor" is actually a human being and do not want to listen to him. Anna insists that "Thor" can be trusted, and now Anton can tell everyone about the impending destruction of the cemetery in the five words allowed by Uncle Theodor. Uncle Theodor now realizes what Geiermeier meant when he said that something was about to happen for the vampires that was worse than him! Anton now receives the order to organize a ship for the vampires in exchange for gold. Anton actually finds a couple of dubious figures on a river meadow. They agree to take the vampires on board until midnight.
- 13 No goodbye is forever
Rüdiger has returned to the crypt. Before that he had frightened Effie Puvogel with his friend Anton in his house when they both flew through the stairwell. And now Anton's friends have a big problem: How do you get the coffins onto the ship unobtrusively? Lumpi suggests playing to his punk friends, stealing the coffins and bringing them to the harbor. Under cover of the beginning of Halloween, they can get to the ship almost unnoticed. You run into Geiermeier's hands, but a police officer recognizes him as the "fugitive lunatic". Geiermeier is now fleeing from the police again. Anna, Rüdiger and Anton now have to say goodbye to each other and Anton receives a bottle of flying powder and a violin from the vampires as souvenirs. And they give him a tip what flight powder could possibly be - Anton has to rely more on his nose. Anton now comes home deeply saddened and reports to his parents that Anna and Rüdiger had to “travel” surprisingly and will probably never come back. He now has the idea of holding an all-is-taken party himself . Meanwhile, the vampires have arrived at the ship and Uncle Theodor is wondering why there are suddenly eight and no longer seven coffins on the bank. He opens the last coffin and makes an incredible discovery: Geiermeier had hidden himself in this to follow the vampires into their new hiding place. Uncle Theodor and Geiermeier are now having a dispute, where Geiermeier realizes that the vampires have an advantage over him ... they live forever and he himself has to die at some point. This gives Geiermeier the idea of marrying Anton's neighbor - Ms. Puvogel. Anton is holding his everything is forgiven party the next evening and it is a complete success. When Anton and Teddy later come to Anton’s nursery, they find a message from Rüdiger on the window: They ’re just a night flight away - stay in touch! The Eater . Anton now unwraps his gifts and discovered the bottle Flight powder: Because Anton now has two capes, a good and an old, he and his friend Teddy can fly and now common nighttime training flights take. To prove that everything he wrote to Teddy is true, Anton sprinkles some flying powder on his duvet, and it begins to float. Teddy now realizes for himself that Anton is not crazy and has only served him great stories, but that Anna and Rüdiger really exist.
Cast and dubbing
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Anton Bohnsack (English Anton Basker) | Christopher Stanton | Tobias Pauls |
| Rüdiger von Schlotterstein (Engl. Rüdiger) | Joel Dacks | Matthias Klimsa |
| Anna von Schlotterstein (English Anna) | Marsha Moreau | Saskia Weckler |
| Johann Geiermeier (English Detective Gurrmeyer) | Gert Frobe | Gert Frobe |
| Uncle Theodor (English Uncle Ludwig) | Michael Gough | Günther Jerschke |
| Aunt Dorothee (Aunt Hildegard) | Lynn Seymour | Karin Eckhold |
| Lumpi (English Lumpi) | Jim Gray | Andreas von der Meden |
| Robert Bohnsack (English Robert Basker) | Michael Hogan | Rolf Becker |
| Helga Bohnsack (Helga Basker) | Susan Hogan | Heidi Schaffrath |
| Mrs. Puvogel (English Mrs. Perkins) | Barbara Reese | Katharina Brauren |
| Effie Puvogel (English Effi Perkins) | Kathy Wenschlag | Kerstin Draeger |
| Udo Schäfer (English Cyril Schaeffer) | Kristofer Kent |
Synchronization by Studio Hamburg under the direction of Wolfgang Draeger ( dialogue script and dialogue direction )
Worth mentioning
- The theme song They can see in the dark is sung by Lumpi actor Jim Gray , who was a member of the punk band Dark Room at the time , in a modified version in the fourth episode Vampire cloaks are not washed on a parking deck during a party.
- Uncle Theodore's actor , Michael Gough, could already look back on considerable experience with film vampires: Together with Peter Cushing , he was the main actor in the legendary Dracula film from 1958, which made Christopher Lee famous . In the first scene of the second episode, Theodor also says that he still knew Dracula.
- The film was shot in Edmonton , the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta .
- The production costs amounted to 5.5 million D-Marks, making the series the most expensive children's book adaptation to date, in which German television ( NDR ) participated.
- In the original version, the characters sometimes have different names. Aunt Dorothee is called Aunt Hildegard there and Uncle Theodor is called Uncle Ludwig. The family names Bohnsack, Geiermeier and Puvogel are also translated accordingly (see cast list).
DVD release
On October 29, 2008, ARD released a DVD box with all 13 episodes and a 15-minute documentary about Angela Sommer-Bodenburg. The original English soundtrack is also available on the DVD as additional bonus material. On March 25, 2009, another DVD box was released under the title The Little Vampire - All Adventures with 8 DVDs, which contains both the complete series from 1985 and the complete series The Little Vampire - New Adventure from 1993.
Broadcast Notes
The little vampire had its television premiere in the early summer of 1986 in Great Britain , where the series achieved a viewing participation of 22 percent among the target group of four to fifteen year olds and was thus placed right at the top of the “Top Ten children's programs”. The German premiere took place on 31 December 1986 to 22 March 1987. repetitions were performed from 1990 to 2002 to the third party programs to EinsPlus and KI.KA .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Internet Movie Database
- ↑ gruft-der-vampire.de
- ↑ a b Article The Little Vampire in TV Hören und See , No. 52/1986 of December 17, 1986, p. 30
- ↑ ARD Video: The Little Vampire (DVD) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed April 8, 2009)
- ↑ ARD Video: The Little Vampire - All Adventures (8 DVDs) ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed April 8, 2009)
literature
- ARD press kit 47/86: The Little Vampire (1986)
Web links
- The Little Vampire in the Internet Movie Database (English)