This version of Heidi goes all out to appeal to contemporary audiences: the Internet figures heavily into the plot; Heidi's best friend Pete is a transplanted American, and Heidi's Aunt Dete is a clothing designer unable to cope with her responsibilities as a single mother. Indeed, the posters for this film featured Heidi (Cornelia Gröschel) with blue hair. Hanging over this effort is a sense of superficiality, and many of the changes made to the classic children's novel are hit and miss. In this version Grandpa is a man who has returned to Switzerland after a long, disappointing stay in America, but what this brings to the story is unclear. A smarter update is the character of Aunt Dete. No longer a maid working for a rich German family, she's a rich immigrant in Germany -- something that accurately reflects Swiss fortunes in modern times. But an enlarged role for her leads to many dramatic and structural problems. The film also loses some of the innocence of the original Heidi tale in too many jabs at American pop culture, part of an overall humor that is often mislaid. For children, however, none of this will matter; it's still perfectly enjoyable. For adults, the main attractions are cinematography by Peter Indergand and a moving score by Niki Reiser which do a lot to retain the Heidi magic.
by Connor McMadden
review
