The makers around Johannes Honsell have now made a second feature film from the successful television format. Was it in the first film, Checker Tobi and the secret of our planetstill about the element of water, Tobi – after receiving a package with a treasure chest, letter and order – now goes on a treasure hunt to find the “greatest treasure on earth”.
Checker Tobi and the journey to the flying rivers is a documentary feature film, i.e. a hybrid of a feature film and documentary parts that work similarly to the television show: Checker Tobi visits people all over the world and lets them give an insight into their work or their life situation. In this way, children get to know a little more about the world and discover that people live differently elsewhere and have to deal with different problems. They learn that it is cold in Mongolia and that the air pollution in its capital is so bad that people of the same age there are getting sick from it, or that the deforestation of the rainforest really has direct consequences for the local people. These are not always simple examples of the film’s theme, but they are explained and made understandable in a child-friendly way.
The film starts off a bit bumpy with an episode in space, but is convincing from the first adventure in the Son Doong cave, the largest cave in the world in Vietnam. The film also conveys the wonderfulness that the world has to offer in great images – and that sets it apart from the television episodes that are intended for the screen. The cameraman Johannes Obermaier uses drone cameras and repeatedly captures the fascination of the places that Checker Tobi visits in impressive long shots, thereby also celebrating the cinema as a place of impressive images.
In the film plot, Tobi meets his childhood friend Marina (Marina M. Blanke), who goes on a treasure hunt with him. The two convince as a likeable checker duo who puzzle together, have ideas and discover the world with an infectious enthusiasm. Their amazement, but also their dismay, are so authentic that they automatically touch you. You believe the characters they play and you want to go on a journey of discovery with them, marvel with them, explore the world and work for a better world.
Like many Checker Tobi episodes, it’s also about environmental protection and the people who do something about it. This attitude is important to the makers, and you can clearly see that in the second film. They not only want to explain, but also make people aware of what is going wrong and where something can be done.
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