It's a heartily funny late sequel to it's predecessor released in 2006. In the beginning the movie gives a strong Harry Potter vibe and it was interesting how they spread out the screen time between the different characters, the ones we begin with are not the main characters for most of the movie.

There were plenty of moments that made me laugh and Christoph Maria Herbst is terrific again as King Julius. The new characters also worked well and the fun factor was definitely present. But this sequel doesn't come close to the charm and inventiveness of the first part, especially as my biggest criticism here is probably Hui Buh himself. What's frightening is that the visual effects look cheaper after so many years and the dubbing often didn't match the mouth movements very well.

Nevertheless, I can't hold all this against the film so drastically and as a children's film and fun entertainment for the slightly younger audience and due to my penchant for nostalgia, the film is still worth seeing.

The film has good sets and the effects are professional. The story itself reminds too much of Harry Potter at the beginning. Nothing is worse than a cheap imitation. It would have been successful if this beginning had been packed with a bit of satire. The story is partly set up as if children were not to be considered mentally capable, so they would not be able to follow a more complex tale. Gladly the "adults" forget that children have twice as many synapses. Which are halved in the course of time, because one wants to trust them intentionally nothing. Children are deliberately dumbed down so that they fit in with the adults.

The actors' performance is good as long as they are on a fixed set. Standing in a green screen set, one sometimes has the impression that they are disoriented, because real reference points are missing. The film is not a flop because it gets interesting and exciting in the second half. I attended a screening of the film that selected children were watching. You could clearly see the tension in the second half. In any case, this is a movie to watch on a Sunday afternoon with the whole family. The important thing is to watch the first part first if someone in the family doesn't know it yet.