Elfkins just for the kids
The Elfkins: Baking the Difference (PG, 78 mins)
Directed by Ute von Munchow-Pohl Reviewed by James Croot
All Helvi’s attempts at learning a craft have failed miserably. As an Elfkin, that’s a huge problem. Not only does it mean her hat is the smallest and shabbiest of them all, it also leaves her without a purpose.
Desperate to find her calling, Helvi decides the only solution is to venture out into the world of humans. That’s something an Elfin hasn’t done for generations, since a Cologne tailor’s wife caused a tragedy in her fevered attempts to catch a glimpse of ‘‘the little people’’ who had helped save her husband’s business.
But Helvi doesn’t believe the tales that humans are dastardly, unappreciative and much too large so, accompanied by best friend Butz and the reluctant Kipp, she emerges from their underground haven and hits the streets.
After narrowly escaping an encounter with a pug, the trio stumble into Theo’s bakery – or at least what’s left of it. A former International Confectionery Championship winner, he’s hit hard times, forced to essentially close as the bills rack up. While still revered for his legendary cream spires, he can’t compete with the conveyor belt creations from Bruno’s Cake Paradise across the road. And if that wasn’t depressing enough, Bruno is his brother and, having bought out Theo’s debt, now has plans to demolish the latter’s beloved bakery.
A kind of Ratatouille-meets-The Shoemaker and the Elves, by way of The Smurfs, this knockabout German animated adventure’s appeal feels limited to the under-8s.
Experience with my own children tells me they will lap up the copious quantities of fart gags, pratfalls and nicely rendered sweet treats, while also swallowing the underlying messages about giving and receiving help, and that the best creations are those made with ‘‘sensitivity, patience and precision’’.
Caregivers and older siblings, however, may have a harder time with the dubbed English, bland characters and a weird Weekend at Bernies-esque sequence.