Almost every primary school child knows Checker Tobi and his popular science programme from TV. After the first and very successful feature film CHECKER TOBI UND DAS GEHEIMNIS UNSERES PLANETEN from 2019, the following docufiction also deals with the controversial topic of nature and the environment, which is visibly conveyed to a young audience with an overall enthusiasm.

It starts very quickly: the postman brings Checker Tobi a parcel and is so curious about the contents himself that he sits down in the living room and can't wait for the content to appear: a locked wooden box from Mrs Vogelsang that reminds Tobi of his childhood. Only Marina, his best friend from those days, who is now travelling the world's oceans on a sailing boat, has the key - Checker Tobi sets off immediately!

The journey takes him to Vietnam, to the largest cave in the world, Hang Son-Doòn, with its underground jungle. But Checker Tobi is actually looking for yachtswoman Marina with the key and discovers her sailboat as a matter of fact in the impressive Halong Bay (a UNESCO World Heritage Site with 1600 limestone islands). After storm, thunder and lightning at sea, they happily continue their journey overland together, following Mrs Vogelsang's written instructions. They pass through Mongolia with Ulan Bator, the "coldest capital in the world" (down to -40 degrees) and the dirtiest air, encounter wild horses in the Gobi Desert and finally land in Brazil. Here, in the Amazon rainforest, they not only encounter a cute sloth, but also stand visibly depressed on an area of deforested rainforest. They are on the Rio Jamari in the state of Rondónia, where the indigenous Jupau people live, an area that is constantly under threat from illegal loggers and gold diggers.
Despite all their adventures, Checker Tobi and Marina never lose sight of their goal of unravelling the mystery of the treasure box when they finally discover a 325-metre-high tower in the middle of the rainforest - part of a German-Brazilian research project where the purest air in the world is temporarily measured. There, they have to fulfil their final task.

In his brisk cinema debut CHECKER TOBI UND DAS GEHEIMNIS UNSERES PLANETEN (2019), Tobias Krell was already tracing one of the most important treasures of people all over the world - water was the solution to the riddle. What was already designed as a scavenger hunt back then has a nice twist in JOURNEY TO THE FLYING RIVERS: Tobi and Marina, friends since childhood, remember the old lady who loved to play "scavenger hunt" with them - and the second film now also resembles indeed a scavenger hunt. At times, the film moves almost breathlessly from one country to another, which is also emphasized by the musical accompaniment. Nevertheless, this docufiction once again succeeds brilliantly in bringing serious topics such as natural damage and environmental threats to a large audience in an exciting, visually stunning and entertaining way. This is not least due to Tobias Krell, who became extremely popular as a presenter after his studies (including at the Film University Potsdam-Babelsberg) with his programme on knowledge issues on the TV channel KiKa - a special interest channel of ARD and ZDF, which first went on air in 1997 under the name "Der Kinderkanal".

Christel Strobel (10.04.2024)

Production Country

Germany (DE)

Production Period

2020-2023

Production Year

2023

color

color

Duration

Feature-Length Film (61+ Min.)

Type

Docufiction / Mockumentary

Topic

Friendship, Science, Environment / Ecology / Climate Change

Target Group

Junior film (7-11)

Available Media

DCP, Blu-ray Disc, DVD

Original Version

German (de)

DCP

Subtitles

German (full), English (en), French (fr), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (short), Russian (ru), Arabic (ar), Romanian (ro)

Blu-ray Disc

Subtitles

German (full), English (en), French (fr), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (short), Russian (ru), Arabic (ar), Romanian (ro)

DVD

Subtitles

German (full), English (en), French (fr), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (short), Russian (ru), Arabic (ar), Romanian (ro)

Note on the Format

DVD-Vertrieb erst ab dem 1.11.2024 möglich!