In "Dolfje Weerwolfje", a foundling gets adopted by a loving family. Growing into a tiny bespectacled boy, Dolfje leads a happy but unremarkable life. On his seventh birthday, he discovers a completely unexpected gift/curse : some nights, he turns into a werewolf. This confronts him with a whole new batch of insecurities. For instance, will his adoptive brother and parents continue to love him, now that he is clearly different from them ? And is he destined to grow into a bone-crunching, skull-crushing monster ?

Some children's movies are aimed at both children and adults ; other children's movies are aimed specifically at children. "Dolfje" falls into the second category, although adults can watch it some pleasure. It is most likely to appeal to young viewers somewhere between the ages of, say, 6 or 7 to 12. Based on the first book of what has now grown into a long and popular series, it deals with themes like identity, difference, bullying and belonging.

The tone and general message are both positive and there are a number of successful jokes. ("I saw a wolf ! It wore a tiny pair of glasses !") Our small protagonist is as cute as a button, both in his human and his werewolf incarnation. He looks more like a cross between a teddy bear and a white poodle fresh out of bath than like a wolf, but that is part of the joke.

You'll notice that the movie contains a riff on a school performance of "Peter and the Wolf", Sergei Prokofiev's musical fairy tale. I don't know about your part of the world, but here in Belgium and in the Netherlands "Peter and the Wolf" has become a staple of children's education. I got my dose of "Peter" at school and it has left me with a lively dislike of the piece.

Dolfje Weerwolfje is based on the first book of the immensely popular Dolfje Weerwolfje-series. The story is about an adopted boy who becomes a werewolf on his 7th birthday. Only for 3 days during full moon and only during the night. In the movie he has to deal with the transformations, the good parts and the bad parts of it. In the end it all turn out for the best after he meets his granddad, his adoptive parents do really love him and his brother is the best in the world.

It's a small movie with real emotions and a complete lack of CGI or animation (well, not that you notice) which in the avalanche of Shrek spinnofs, Pixar and others is a breath of fresh air.