Terkel in Trouble

Terkel is in sixth grade and his life is awful. His father is indifferent, his mother is wrapped up in herself, his sister is unbearable, there are bullies at school and the teachers do nothing. A girl in his class kills herself. Afterwards Terkel starts receiving a threatening letter. The school brings in a counsellor and things get worse. Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen, Thorbjørn Christoffersen and Stefan Fjeldmark direct. The source is a radio story told to children in Denmark. It is animation and not a children's film. The characters are drawn simply and appealingly; what it describes is bullying, suicide, indifferent parenting and violence. The method is song. At regular intervals the narrative becomes a musical and the characters explain the situation by singing; those passages are the harshest in the film. It caused an argument in Denmark; what age it was suitable for and how the subject was handled were discussed at length. It was a large commercial success even so. The narrative saves nobody and proposes nothing about the school system; the humour is built on that hopelessness. The voices were replaced for international versions and the dialogue was softened in some countries. Who it is for: viewers who like black adult animation and Scandinavian comedy. Who it is not for: it is unsuitable for children, the humour is very harsh, and nothing is softened anywhere.