So there are conflicts on the horizon, but there is still no country in sight, whatever the film title Ooops! 2 – land in sight like to promise. That is why Oberlöwe Leonard sends a pigeon on the way, which is more of a unlucky person (and with “Really now ?!” has the most laconic line in the whole film). But then Dave’s son Finny and his best friend, the Grymp cat Leah, go overboard with the remaining supplies due to an accident, a storm comes up – 50,000 hungry but seasick animals, the mood on the ark changes.
Never change a winning end of the world: Also for the continuation of Ooops! The ark is gone Toby Genkel and Sean McCormack (director) have teamed up again with Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson (screenplay), production is again in the hands of Ulysses Films, who with their children’s film repertoire of Anne loves Philipp until the unspeakable Bayala – The magical fairy adventure can show a qualitatively very mixed, but consistently productive balance sheet.
The basis of the story is still the same as in the first film: The flood came, the world is under water, the animals are good and mostly in groups of two on board the ark, the lion somehow keeps a little order. You basically know this from the Bible, only that God does not play a role here, which not only robs history of its cathartic power, but also every meta-level.
But this is primarily an adventure story for children, and as such it works a little better than the somewhat random and very generic first film. The subplot with the self-discovery of dad Dave (spoken by the always amusing Christian Ulmen) and his son, who first had to find out who and what they actually are as (fictional animal species) “nesters”, is omitted, but other worlds open up Finny and Leah have saved themselves once – together with the lonely little (and very, very cute) jellyfish Jelly they discover not only an island, but also its mysterious inhabitants.
The five years that have passed since the first film are starting Ooops! 2 – land in sight not without a trace: the animation has become more elegant, the settings are more dynamic, the whole film may not be visually at the level of what Disney and Dreamworks can do in their best moments, but it is quite close. The synchronization is successful (Tim Mälzer and Janin Ullmann can also be heard in smaller roles), the dynamics between the characters work, and thanks to plenty of action, the 82 minutes pass really quickly.
The problem: Just as the ark swims along the sea, most of the film remains quite surface. The conflict between herbivores and carnivores on board an ark, for example The secret of the frogs Much more seriously (and at the same time no less fantastic), this is discussed in Ooops! only used as a basis for a few simple slapstick moments.
Even the much simpler conflict between the different styles of upbringing that Dave (as a nestier anyway conflict-shy and friendly pre-structured) and Grymp mother Kate – he prefers to let go, she wants to punish every rule violation – is only briefly addressed, but then goes in bliss without discussion because sheer survival is more important than the right educational approach.
The ending is open enough that a further sequel couldn’t be ruled out, but it would be nice if there was a little more depth instead of cheap action sequences. Ooops! 2 – land in sight is just under an hour and a half entertaining and then unfortunately very, very quickly forgotten.
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