TV duo Peppi en Kokki splash onto the silver screen with their greatest, or at least longest adventure. Having only just recovered from stumbling over an enormous mine at the beach, Kokki has to chase a little dog (Pluisje, played by Tosca) who stole the detonator. Pluisje belongs to a grateful Kommandant Plus, who invites them onto his warship. The Kommandant confides in them that he has been receiving threatening letters each day, telling 'his time has almost come'. So P and K stay aboard though there cartoon like sailor outfits stand out amongst the crew. Jealous sailor Wiebe is the most obvious suspect, he even talks to the camera like a Shakepsearian villain. Did I mention that Peppi en Kokki also had voices for the first time? Even more shocking, they sing a couple of songs! Well, they had to broaden their range, in the seventies just about the only merchandise you could sell for a TV series or movie was a record.
They perform a bunch of tasks that can easily be chopped up into 15 minutes episodes, all the while innocently getting on Wiebe's nerves. For some reason these sailors have to practice firefighting as well as dive to a sunken ship. The underwater scenes are laughably fake, making even that sequence in "For your eyes only" look believable. Next they end up on a deserted island where the army is reenacting "The Longest Day". When they finally discover who the writer of those mysterious letters is, it might just be too late to warn the Kommandant. It's an obstacle race to the finish (including a lot more dog chasing). As usual Kokki does most of the running while Peppi does the panting. Unfortunately it never gets very exciting: each time something ominous happens, Joop Stokkermans starts playing up beat music in the background so the kiddies won't get worried. The ending is also a complete letdown.
5 out of 10
