The Wild Soccer Bunch (movie)
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| The Wild Soccer Bunch | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joachim Masannek |
| Produced by | Ewa Karlström und Andreas Ulmke-Smeaton (SamFilm) |
| Written by | Joachim Masannek |
| Starring | The Wild Soccer Bunch
|
| Music by | Bananafishbones, Gert Wilden jr. |
| Cinematography | Sonja Rom |
Release date | 2003 |
Running time | 94 |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
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Die Wilden Kerle (Untertitel: Alles ist gut, solange du wild bist!) is a German kid's movie from 2003. The movie is an adaptation of a children's book series Die Wilden Fußballkerle (engl.: The Wild Soccer Bunch) by Joachim Masannek, who also directed the movie.[1][2]
Summary[edit]
The “Wild Soccer Bunch” are a group of boys that play soccer. After they lost their soccer ground in a match against Big Mickey and his gang, called the “Invincible Winners”, the boys have to become one team in order to win their soccer ground back. On top of all that, a girl wants to train with them to become part of the team.[3][4]
Beginning[edit]
In two days the summer vacation will start, but it is raining. The Wild Soccer Bunch are on their way to their soccer ground. When the boys arrive, Willi who owns a kiosk there tells the boys that they cannot play there today because of the rain. The boys are frustrated and go back home to play soccer in the apartment. Because they cause a lot of damage they are grounded.
Main Plot[edit]
1. Sequence
Because they are grounded, they sneak out of the house. However, Big Mickey and his gang are already on the soccer ground. Because the “Invincible Winners” are older and stronger than the Wild Soccer Bunch, they get chased away. Leon, the captain of the Wild Soccer Bunch does not want to accept it. So he demands a soccer match against Big Mickey ten days from then.
Earlier Willi told them that he was a professional soccer player, which is why they ask for his help as a trainer in order to win the game. Now they are training on the grass by the river. At first the boys make progress in building a team-feeling. Albeit Leon’s capabilities as the team captain still need to be improved, e.g. he always wants to do everything himself and never passes the ball. He even kicks Raban and Joschka out of the team because he thinks they are too weak. However, now they are missing two players and Leon must look for new members.
2. Sequence
Finally, he finds two new members for the team. Even a girl called Vanessa wants to join. The boys don’t like this at all, so with the help of Leon’s best friend Fabi Vanessa challenges them. On her birthday she arranges an event where everybody takes turns at penalty shots. She actually succeeds in beating all the guys so they have to take her into the team of the Wild Soccer Bunch.
In the meantime Raban and Joschka joined the team of the Invincible Winners. However, they don’t like Big Mickey and his gang’s behavior. While spying on the Wild guys they notice that they have improved a lot so the Invincible Winners plan to attack the Wild Soccer Bunch’s tree house “Camelot”. Raban and Joschka tell Willi about it, which is why him and the Guys are warned in time and prepared to defend their tree house.
3. Sequence
Nevertheless, the beaten Big Mickey has an ace up his sleeve to destroy the morale of the Wild Soccer Bunch. He tells them that Willi was never a professional soccer player. As a consequence, the Wild Soccer Bunch no longer trust Willi and the group breaks up. Eventually, Vanessa, urged by her grandma, takes the initiative to save the Wild Soccer Bunch. She brings the boys to a joint test of courage at the quarry pond, and welds the group together again. Slowly everyone starts accepting Vanessa as a part of the group.
4. Sequence
The soccer game against Big Mickey and his Invincible Winners begins. However without their coach, the Wild Soccer Bunch have no chance and lose the first half with 0:8 against Big Mickey. That's why Raban goes to Willi and persuades him to be their trainer again. And so the game turns. Shortly before the end, the score is 9: 8 for the Wild Soccer Bunch. Then Leon makes the mistake of not passing the ball again. So Willi takes him out and Raban comes; after Leon tried to make it clear that this way they would lose, he takes Maxi off the seat and replaces him with Joschka. Leon is angry about it. In the end, he can persuade Willi to replace him with Juli. It is now 9:9 and Leon storms single-handedly towards the goal despite the admonition from Willi and his teammates.
As a result, the ball rolls right in front of Raban’s feet who kicks with his left foot and scores a goal. At first Leon is mad because he wanted to score the deciding goal but Willi manages to cheer him up and Leon admits to his mistake. Thanks to the victory against Big Mickey the Wild Guys have become a real team.
Ending[edit]
After the victory the soccer ground belongs to the Wild Soccer Bunch again. The Invincible Winners can still be seen there but they are now serving the Wild Soccer Bunch. Although the Wild Soccer Bunch enjoy the dolce vita they it shouldn’t become too comfortable so they are already planning their next adventure.
Analysis[edit]
Structure[edit]
The movie adheres to the film traditions from the 70s as displayed in Krempoli-Ein Platz für wilde Kinder and The Bad News Bears. Children courageously confronting adults and defending their playgrounds, are plot similarities this movie shares with Krempoli. The movie also pays homage to the great-grandfather of children’s-sports-teams-movies The Bears Are Set Free. The music score is not restricted to the use of instrumentals but tracks from Bananafishbones are included and highlight the emotions and moods of the main characters. This use of film music comes from the 70s.[5]
Inspiration[edit]
This movie is largely based on Leon, the Slalom Dribbler, which is the first part of the book series called The Wild Soccer Bunch. However, some plot elements come from later parts of the series, such as the dare after dinner (Felix, the Whirlwind), Vanessa’s birthday (Vanessa, the Fearless), and the battle of Camelot (Juli, the Chain of Four).[6]
Literature[edit]
- Joachim Masannek: Die Wilden Fussballkerle 01: Leon der Slalomdribbler. Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag (dtv), München 2003, ISBN 3-423-70803-4
- Joachim Masannek: Die Wilden Fußballkerle – Die CD-ROM zum Filmabenteuer. Baumhaus Medien AG, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-8315-6002-1
Weblinks[edit]
- The Wild Soccer Bunch on IMDb Search this movie on
- Die Wilden Kerle bei filmportal.de
- Offizielle Website des Films
- Official website of the English-language editions
References[edit]
- ↑ "Die wilden Kerle". filmportal. filmportal.de. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
- ↑ "JMK". Bundesministerium Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung. Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
- ↑ "Die wilden Kerle". Filmdienst. filmdienst.de. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
- ↑ "Die Wilden Kerle: Alles ist gut, solange du wild bist!". IMDb. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
- ↑ "Die Wilden Kerle (Film)". Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
- ↑ Masannek, Joachim. "Bücher". Die Wilden Kerle. MBW Merchandising GbR. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
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