Checker Tobi und das Geheimnis unseres Planeten (4 Stars)

This is a curious film. It's a spinoff of a children's nature discovery children on television, "Checker Tobi", which ran for 167 episodes until the main character, Tobias Krell, died of cancer. I've never watched the television shows, but as I understand it, in each episode Checker Tobi, as he calls himself, examines something, pretending to know nothing about it, then discovering it in front of the viewers.

The film is called "Checker Tobi and the Secret of our Planet". A full length feature film needs more to make it interesting, but it has to adhere to the premise of the series.

Tobi is given a scroll with the enigmatic words:

Look into the heart of the Earth,

Awaken the eight-legged bear,

Read the memory of the world,

Collect the most precious treasure of India,

And you will unravel the secret of our planet.

Tobi travels around the world, meeting real life people who are playing themselves. Tobi asks them questions that can help him on his way.

He travels to Vanuatu to look into volcanoes. He examines ice in Greenland that's been frozen for thousands of years. In Tasmania he examines tardigrades, also known as water bears, the world's most resilient creatures. They were released into space from the International Space Station, and after nine days they were found to still be alive. They're the only creatures known to be able to survive the vacuum of space. In Mumbai, India, he comes to the conclusion that nothing is as valuable as water.

It's difficult to judge the film. If you sit and analyse it, how does he know where to go next? There's little logic to the steps taken. But it's a beautiful film, with spectacular scenery from different parts of the world. I enjoyed it. Oliver enjoyed it even more.