“The School of Magic Animals 4” is the latest continuation of the popular cinema series after Margit Auer's children's book series of the same name. 15 volumes alone are among the main series, and the nine volumes are not even included. The filming of the children's book bestsellers became the most commercially successful German cinema productions in recent years, with each new film once again trumping the predecessor on the box office.
Part 4 now seems safe. After all, the film of the foreseeable but entertaining formula of success in the series remains loyal. Without a show stopper music number 2 (“Can someone can hear me”) or the plot density and more differentiated figure drawing of part 3, the new entry in the franchise places on new characters and the focus. The effects are even better than before, and the ensemble is unchanged. In addition, this time is not so much remembered …
Leonie (Purnima Grätz) and Max (Thilo Fridolin Matthes) have been friends for years – but only now do they develop surprisingly feelings for each other.
New school year, new magical animal happiness: Ida (Emilia Maier) and her classmates are gradually being provided at the time -honored winter stone school, which only she and her teacher Miss Cornfield (Christina Große) can see. For everyone else they are only immobile soft toys. When Ida's former classmate and girlfriend Miriam (Tomomi Themann) announces herself for a three -month stay at the special educational institution, she is also given a special animal to the surprise of all of Mr. Morrison (Milan Peschel), Miss Cornfield's brother and owner of the magical zoo, the nimble Koboldmaki Fitzgermaki (with the voice of Daniel Zillmann).
This includes her when Miriam gets between the fronts of her former school and the winter stone school when both take part in a competition from the schools. Meanwhile, a delicate romance between the long -time friends Max (Thilo Fridolin Matthes) and Leonie (Purnima Grätz) is paving, while the Winterstein School itself seems to be consecrated …
Many action lines that don't really want to ignite
As with the previous three films of the cinema series, there is a lot going on in “The School of Magic Animals 4”. Two main plots for the fates of some students compete with a framework story in which the fate of the entire Winterstein school is at stake. But this time the different storylines do not really want to come together for an organic whole.
It starts surprisingly confidently. You can tell the fast treatise of the usual scenes for the introduction (Mr. Morrison on prey trial against an exotic backdrop, the presentation of the animals, the reconciling of the Schwurs of the magical community) that the makers know that there are now only real fans. And the respective plots for the outsider with Parcour talents (Miriam) and a delicate romance between two nerds (Max and Leonie) initially promise to become exciting individual stories. Unfortunately, despite the sensitive game of the young actors, both strands remain superficial, predictable and low -event.
Once again, the pupils of the Winterstein School get numerous funny animals with magic powers.
In “The School of Magic Animals 4”, Sven Unterwaldt no longer directs the two predecessors, but gives the task at the director's debut Bernhard Jasper and Maggie Peren. Since Jasper as a cameraman was already responsible for the pictures of the previous two films in the cinema series, you don't see much of the scepter change at least visually.
Part 4 also dresses his youthful heroes in warm, rich colors and always finds a reason to place them with beneficial idyllic sunlight. As a co-author of the script and co-director, Peren, especially in the design of the new figure Miriam and her conflict with a tyrannical group of male classmates, brings special sensitivity into history. Only the figures remain one -dimensional and rarely get beyond child -friendly platitudes such as “being nasty is stupid”. You could also have made more of Max and Leonie's unexpected spring feelings so that he composed her own song after a long printing.
Conclusion: “The School of Magic Animals 4” by Bernhard Jasper and Maggie Peren varies here and there the success formula of the cinema series, but without developing a unique selling point. Without really outstanding scenes, music numbers or figures, the entry remains behind the best moments in the series, but above all behind the consistently successful part 3. Nevertheless, the film is a must for fans of the series that cannot have enough of the cute adventures of the students of the Winterstein School and their magical animals.