Saxana: la pequeña bruja y el libro encantado

I actually watched Little Witch on a Broomstick in stages over Christmas, when it was on. It actually wasn’t even my intention to watch it, I guess you could say it was fate. I didn’t want to watch it, but since it was already on, I didn’t change the channel. It was clear to me that the movie would end up getting a Boo! review from me, but I had no idea of just how bad the movie really was. I really respect Mr. Vorlíček and I really like his work. But why the hell would he make the effort to make a movie like this? In my opinion, it was a waste of time and even Saxana now suffers from a sophomore slump. The combination of the cartoon and the live part is terrible. I am not saying the animation is completely bad, it’s more that the parts don’t really fit together at all. It’s utter nonsense. I don’t know about kids, but I would get really lost in the beginning of the movie because there really is nothing to hold on to. And all those bits stolen from various other movies which were incorporated in the story? That’s almost disgusting for me. (24.02.2013)

A mammoth nymphomaniac, dreaming of her own monument, and disgusting digital castration of everything that made Vorlíček a top director. I deeply feel sorry for all those who feel any sympathy for this memento of post-revolutionary normalization taste and morality. A film that no one should watch - especially children. (16.09.2011)

The worst thing is the fact that Vorlíček and Macourka once thought that with this script, they were adding an honest continuation to The Girl on the Broomstick. However, the non-story avalanche of logical nonsense and unwatchable effects is as ridiculous as the desire of an eighty-year-old matador to thrive on Pottermania. Loose Aunt Irma, seducing everything in sight, is obviously ideal for the youngest ones. (12.11.2011)

A sequel 40 years later. We’ve not seen that before. Little Witch on a Broomstick experienced its story through two production phases spanning the last decade. Although the subject is much older and would have been best suited to the time of the fading phenomenon of Ota Hofman, i.e. to the time of the two-part Cathy and the Ghosts (1992). And the result? It’s a nice combination of Goat Story: The Old Prague Legends (2008) and Who Wants to Kill Jessie? (1966). It borrows old characters and the underground realm from the original The Girl on the Broomstick (1971), which drew its script from the Franková, Macourek & Vorlíček trio. The humor was changed and the poetics have generally adapted to the adventure that stars Student 2.B, who has the same name as her mom. The young love between Saxana and Honza Bláha is replaced by an ageless elf played by Jiřina Bohdalová, who plays Aunt Irma and devotes herself as intensely to her writing career as to her new suitors. Other new characters include Nárožný's uncle Evžen and Lábus' publisher Pleskot. They are all where they need to be, and when they talk it will remind children of the fairy tales they told in the past. Dulava's gourmet-criminal Crashman from comicsland represents a comics insert written by Gruss, who grew up on Crew magazine and is now one of the current leaders in his field. There were also some partial recasts - Somr replaced Bláha, the original headmaster of the underground school, and Kluková replaced Píchová, the teacher who gave Saxana 300 years of detention. Jirák and Hrubešová vary Libíček and Obermaierová as hospital staff, and Konvalinková as Mrs. Laštovková, for example, substitutes primarily for the patient from the Růžičková asylum. The moment we accept the fact that from a forty-year marriage Saxana and Honza now have only an eight-year-old girl, and realize that the vast majority of the acting was done by a different team of people than the ones who took over the fragment of it and finished the entire bridge project, we’ve actually won. By Czech standards, this is an unprecedented result that is atmospheric and very playful. The abundance of animated characters and entire sequences makes you forget about the particular limit of acting skills shown by the main character. The most charming of these certainly include Chlupáček, who seems to have fallen out of medieval Prague, or the dragon, after which it is not advisable to go to the toilet. The various partial jokes refer to the traditional Czech vision of fictional worlds of many genres, in particular, that the fairy tale knapsack would fit into many an adventure, of which there used to be many at the time of the successful Gooky. (Seen of August 26, 2011) (14.09.2011)

"I am the president of the court! Give me back my size immediately!" Actually, I'm not surprised that the only moment that amused me in Little Witch on a Broomstick was (a shrunken and squealing) Petr Nárožný. This film failed, and failed badly. But rather than getting angry, it makes me sad. Not only did the original The Girl on the Broomstick not deserve such a sequel (i.e., it didn't need one), but Václav Vorlíček didn't deserve to make something similar. A world brimming with fantasy was replaced by ugly and unnecessary digital effects, and I had the feeling that most of the actors were acting more out of duty and nobility, because they didn't want to refuse Vorlíček's offer... And I could go on. An unfortunate film. (14.06.2012)

"The Girl on the Broomstick" is simply a classic. A great story, great actors, and besides, that catchy song that, once it catches you, won't let go. A lot of time has passed since the film was made, specifically 40 years. Nevertheless, Václav Vorlíček decided to make a sequel. Perhaps he waited too long, perhaps he simply overslept. However, it is true that he had been attempting a sequel for a long time. In the end, it was released in 2011, and the film itself took a very long time to create, mainly because it contains a huge amount of digital effects. It must be said that the effects are not that bad, but the truth is that they simply do not fit into the film. The digital and real components do not work together. The digital characters look too artificial. What the dwarf has on his face, which is obviously supposed to be a beard, looks like some scribbles. And that's not all. It is nice that the old characters are returning, but it is sad that there are very few of them. Saxána, played by Petra Černocká, has minimal space, and thank goodness for that, because she clearly forgot how to act. Jan Hrušínský can act, but he also does not have much space. The most comes to the little Saxána and also Aunt Irma, played by Jiřina Bohdalová, who attracts attention. I don't know if it is meant only in a good sense. Probably not. As a promoter of comics, I must not forget that Jiří Grus's drawn comic appears in the film. This author can be easily recognized, his style is unique, although in this case it is very close to Saudka. Otherwise, "The Girl on the Broomstick" is clearly disappointing. Bad story, bad dialogues, stupid characters, ugly digital tricks, and one of the worst sequels I have ever seen. Besides, I simply missed Mr. Menšík. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/08/warrior-x-ms-1-sibir-5x-rychle-zbesile.html (25.02.2013)