Cinema
Benny's Bathtub
Bennys badekar
Flemming Quist Møller · 1971
Synopsis
Benny is bored in the Høje Gladsaxe tower where he lives, in a suburb where there is nothing to do, and his mother has no time to talk to him. He goes down to the marsh and catches a tadpole, which he brings back to the bathtub. The tadpole is an enchanted prince, who draws him to the bottom of the bath, now an ocean: there Benny meets singing pirates, dancing mermaids, a teasing octopus and a very ill-tempered ticket-inspector crab.
Context
The film is based on an illustrated album the author had published in 1969. He wrote the screenplay and co-directed it with Jannik Hastrup, with whom he had earlier made satirical short films that were poorly received; the spirit of the times had changed. Produced by Anni and Per Holst, with music by Hans-Henrik Ley and the voices of Peter Belli, Jesper Klein and Jytte Abildstrøm, it was released on 6 March 1971.
Who it is for
Forty-one minutes, in Danish, for children from about five years old, and for adults.
Prizes and reception
Selected in 2006 by the Danish Ministry of Culture among the ten most important films of the national cultural canon.