Terkel in Trouble
Encyclopedia
Terkel in Trouble is a Danish
animated film. In the original language (Danish) all the voices are done by stand-up comedian Anders Matthesen
, who also wrote the original story – released on a CD.
boy who's in 6th grade at a secondary school
together with his best friend Jason, who carries an iron
pipe with him at all times. Terkel and Jason are playing a Game Boy
in the schoolyard one day when a strange man in a green panda
sweater
approaches them. The man, Justin (Danish: Gunnar Bjerre), tells Terkel that he has sat on a spider
. "Nothing to worry about. They're just jeans
. They can be washed." Terkel says and after that the nightmare
begins...
Terkel's teacher gets fatally run over, and the class's new teacher is the strange Justin. Terkel's parents get married and the two "bad boys" in his class, Sten and Saki, manipulate Terkel to steal beer
for them. When Terkel's uncle Stuart Stardust notices, he beats up Sten (Danish: Steen) (which also means "stone" in Norse
) and Saki, for which they blame Terkel, so they begin bullying him, but no-one seems to want to help him.
One day the overweight
girl in the class, Doris (Danish: Fede Dorit ("Fede" means "Fat")), approaches Terkel with a love letter
. When Sten and Saki notice, they start teasing the two of them, calling them a couple. Terkel is torn: he wants to defend Doris, but instead, because he'd rather save face in front of the cool kids, he says "I'm certainly not in love with a fat cow like that!" Doris gets so upset that she jumps out the window from the fourth floor and dies. After that Terkel starts receiving death threats: on his desk, painted on the ceiling of his room, on a stone which breaks his window, in his notebook... His parents aren't of any help – his mother tells him about all the diseases he might develop and his father only seems capable of one word: "No".
Justin decides to arrange a school camping trip to study salamander
s, but Terkel doesn't want to go. He begs his parents to let him stay at home, but they refuse. On the bus he is about to sit down with his best friend Jason when Sten and Saki invite him to sit down with them instead. Terkel does so, and Jason becomes angry. When they get to the forest, where they are going to study the salamanders, Sten and Saki want him to sleep in their tent – he does. He gets a shock later when Saki stumbles into the tent with a black eye, telling him that Jason beat him up. Terkel thinks that Jason is acting strangely aloof, and Sten tells him that Doris was Jason's sister. Terkel is terrified, and thinks that all the death threats were from Jason, because he made his sister commit suicide. As they're going to bed, Terkel finds a dead cat in his sleeping bag and he receives a text message
from Jason's phone which says "I'm coming to kill you". Sten and Saki advise Terkel to tell Justin, which he does. He wants to be safe from Jason, so Terkel insists that Justin come with him into the woods where he explains everything. Then he says "I'm gonna call Jason right now and say that I have told you everything". Justin protests but Terkel does so and to his horror, he hears ringing sounds coming from Justin's pocket. The plot unravels, and it turns out all the death threats and messages had been from Justin as a revenge for Terkel sitting on the spider when they first met. Terkel flees, and a thrilling race through the woods commences. Just as Justin has Terkel cornered, he is saved in the nick of time by Jason, who finally puts his iron bar to use. During the struggle the pipe is smashed into Justin's head killing him. Terkel and Jason go away in the sunset once again friends, only to be scared by the narrator and music teacher Arne who wears a hockey mask and a chainsaw. The camera moves back and shows the audience that Justin is still alive.
The final credits include some outtake/blooper scenes, such as, Terkel's father being unable to remember his lines: "No".
, where it was also nominated for best screenplay. It also won the Grand Prize at Animafest Zagreb and was nominated for Best Feature at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
and Best Danish Film at the Bodil Awards
.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
animated film. In the original language (Danish) all the voices are done by stand-up comedian Anders Matthesen
Anders Matthesen
Anders "Anden" Matthesen is a Danish stand-up comedian, actor and rapper. He is known for creating a wide array of memorable characters and stereotypes which he uses as alter-egos in performances....
, who also wrote the original story – released on a CD.
Plot summary
Terkel is a normalNormality (behavior)
In behavior, normal refers to a lack of significant deviation from the average. The phrase "not normal" is often applied in a negative sense Abnormality varies greatly in how pleasant or unpleasant this is for other people.The Oxford English Dictionary defines "normal" as "conforming to a standard"...
boy who's in 6th grade at a secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
together with his best friend Jason, who carries an iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
pipe with him at all times. Terkel and Jason are playing a Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
in the schoolyard one day when a strange man in a green panda
Panda
Panda or Panda bear most often refers to:*Giant panda, an animal in the Bear familyPanda may also refer to:*Red panda, the only living member in the Ailuridae family-In biology:* Species related to the Giant panda...
sweater
Sweater
A sweater, jumper, pullover, sweatshirt, jersey or guernsey is a garment intended to cover the torso and arms. It is often worn over a shirt, blouse, T-shirt, or other top, but may also be worn alone as a top...
approaches them. The man, Justin (Danish: Gunnar Bjerre), tells Terkel that he has sat on a spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
. "Nothing to worry about. They're just jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
. They can be washed." Terkel says and after that the nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
begins...
Terkel's teacher gets fatally run over, and the class's new teacher is the strange Justin. Terkel's parents get married and the two "bad boys" in his class, Sten and Saki, manipulate Terkel to steal beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
for them. When Terkel's uncle Stuart Stardust notices, he beats up Sten (Danish: Steen) (which also means "stone" in Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
) and Saki, for which they blame Terkel, so they begin bullying him, but no-one seems to want to help him.
One day the overweight
Overweight
Overweight is generally defined as having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary...
girl in the class, Doris (Danish: Fede Dorit ("Fede" means "Fat")), approaches Terkel with a love letter
Love letter
A love letter is a romantic way to express feelings of love in written form. Delivered by hand, by mail or romantically left in a secret location, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation of feelings...
. When Sten and Saki notice, they start teasing the two of them, calling them a couple. Terkel is torn: he wants to defend Doris, but instead, because he'd rather save face in front of the cool kids, he says "I'm certainly not in love with a fat cow like that!" Doris gets so upset that she jumps out the window from the fourth floor and dies. After that Terkel starts receiving death threats: on his desk, painted on the ceiling of his room, on a stone which breaks his window, in his notebook... His parents aren't of any help – his mother tells him about all the diseases he might develop and his father only seems capable of one word: "No".
Justin decides to arrange a school camping trip to study salamander
Salamander
Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...
s, but Terkel doesn't want to go. He begs his parents to let him stay at home, but they refuse. On the bus he is about to sit down with his best friend Jason when Sten and Saki invite him to sit down with them instead. Terkel does so, and Jason becomes angry. When they get to the forest, where they are going to study the salamanders, Sten and Saki want him to sleep in their tent – he does. He gets a shock later when Saki stumbles into the tent with a black eye, telling him that Jason beat him up. Terkel thinks that Jason is acting strangely aloof, and Sten tells him that Doris was Jason's sister. Terkel is terrified, and thinks that all the death threats were from Jason, because he made his sister commit suicide. As they're going to bed, Terkel finds a dead cat in his sleeping bag and he receives a text message
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
from Jason's phone which says "I'm coming to kill you". Sten and Saki advise Terkel to tell Justin, which he does. He wants to be safe from Jason, so Terkel insists that Justin come with him into the woods where he explains everything. Then he says "I'm gonna call Jason right now and say that I have told you everything". Justin protests but Terkel does so and to his horror, he hears ringing sounds coming from Justin's pocket. The plot unravels, and it turns out all the death threats and messages had been from Justin as a revenge for Terkel sitting on the spider when they first met. Terkel flees, and a thrilling race through the woods commences. Just as Justin has Terkel cornered, he is saved in the nick of time by Jason, who finally puts his iron bar to use. During the struggle the pipe is smashed into Justin's head killing him. Terkel and Jason go away in the sunset once again friends, only to be scared by the narrator and music teacher Arne who wears a hockey mask and a chainsaw. The camera moves back and shows the audience that Justin is still alive.
The final credits include some outtake/blooper scenes, such as, Terkel's father being unable to remember his lines: "No".
The father's paper
Terkel's father is always reading the same paper. Translated from Danish, it is called "Extra Hate", with the motto "Judges where others doubt", a play on the Danish lunchtime paper "Ekstra Bladet", which has the motto "Dares where others stay silent". The articles on the front page are "Cowboy sued: Has bad sense of humour and smells like cow", "Psychopath on the loose: Disguised himself as a guard dog and played dead" and "Puke yourself thin". The inside of the paper, that Leon is perpetually reading has the articles "Police chases young knifekiller" and "El Gigante fights dwarf". The back page reads "A green pin", or possibly "A green stick", as in gluestick or lipstick, depending on how one translates "stift", which can also be slang for male genitalia, but most likely it is slang for a bottle of beer, which in Denmark usually comes in a green bottle.Awards
Terkel in Trouble was nominated for several awards in 2005, winning the Audience Award, the Best Children/Family Film, the Best Original Score, the Best Song and Best Sound awards at the Robert FestivalRobert Award
The Robert statue is a Danish film prize awarded each year by the Film Academy of Denmark. It is the Danish equivalent of the American Oscars. The award, voted only by academy members, is acknowledgement by Danish industry colleagues of a person's or film's outstanding contributions during the...
, where it was also nominated for best screenplay. It also won the Grand Prize at Animafest Zagreb and was nominated for Best Feature at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
and Best Danish Film at the Bodil Awards
Bodil Awards
The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by Denmark's National Association of Film Critics . The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in the Imperial Cinema in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe...
.