Capitan Sciabola e il diamante magico

Good nostalgic movie. The most important part is that my daughter loves this movie. Well known song in the movie from the 90s. I find it quite entertaining myself.

There is a Magic Diamond which grants one wish for every person who holds it in the moonlight. Little urchin Marco steals it from his vampire lord who wishes to walk in sunlight. Meanwhile, Captain Sabertooth is searching for the diamond with two little kids.

I don't know anything about Captain Sabertooth. Apparently, he's a Norwegian children's character and there are many previous iterations. The animation here is TV level. It's pretty good for that. The writing is somewhat clunky. It's obvious that the dialogue has been translated. It could be better. It could be much better. Then there is my confusion. Again, I start off not knowing anything about this material. The movie begins with the diamond, the vampire, and Marco. Quite frankly, I assumed that the vampire would be known as Captain Sabertooth. He's got the teeth for the name. In addition, there is a doppelganger situation which only multiples the confusing situation. I was expecting a movie about Marco escaping the vampiric Captain Sabertooth. This may be only for Norwegian fans.

The film is based on Kaptein Sabeltann, a character created by Terje Formoe which gained popularity in Norway om the early 90s. The character is widely popular among children, with shows, music and merchandising. Based on this premises the movie provides no introduction on who the characters are, as the main target (children in Norway) know him well. The movie itself is a light history around pirates, with some light jokes, action and everything that a child would like to see. The main character (Sabeltann) is not always the good or the bad guy and that is part of the culture built around him. In general it's a decent child's movie if they are aware or the background. When translated to other languages the songs may be less catchy to the ear and the lack of presentation of the main characters can be confusing to some older viewers seeking to understand the history behind.

Good animation, funny gags. I loved characters' design. There are even two pirate twins with the very same blindness in one eye, and a pirate with two hooks in the place of both hands, two eyepatches and two wooden legs! Besides the three children and Captain Sabertooth, the steroids-botox sorcery tyrant couple of Marmalades island and the rat-soup cook are also excellent characters. I did not know the franchise before watching it and enjoyed it a lot. Kids will love it for sure.