Waldek, his crazy aunt and his overprotective mother stole the hearts of the audience. The opening weekend of Kristoffer Rus’ “Too Big for Fairy Tales” (“Za duży na bajki”) brought a record-breaking result for the Polish family cinema. #ChildrenHavePower
“Too Old for Fairy Tales” was well received by audiences and critics – acclaimed as a smart, valuable, yet enjoyable and entertaining film. The story of Waldek, played by the excellent Maciej Karaś, has already been seen by 45,000 viewers, with a record number of over 33,000 during the opening weekend. This is the best result among all Polish family productions after 1989.
When Kristoffer Rus started working on the film, he had no doubts whatsoever in its success:
“I have three kids, so I knew there weren’t enough movies for young people. When I read the script, it felt like it was finally going to be a smart, funny movie that says about things that are important in life, and is also going to be fun and something to talk about when you leave the theater.”
The production has involved actors with an established professional position and great sympathy of the audience – Karolina Gruszka, Dorota Kolak and Andrzej Grabowski, but the most noteworthy are the creations by young talents – Maciej Karaś, Patryk Siemek and Amelia Fijałkowska – these are names that we will hear about more than once.
The screenplay for the film is based on the book of the same title and written by its author, Agnieszka Dąbrowska. The book has received so much positive feedback from parents and teachers that it has even been hailed as a must-read for children. The reissued edition of the book and the audiobook, read by Bartłomiej Topa, have just been released. You can listen to its excerpt here:
The main character of the film is Waldek (Maciej Karaś), and his life, filled mainly with computer games, faces a real earthquake. While his mother (Karolina Gruszka) is away, he is left in the care of his crazy and unpredictable aunt (Dorota Kolak), who introduces a new discipline and imposes new responsibilities on him. However, even though this extraordinary relative treats Waldek to a real survival camp, the boy learns the most valuable lesson of his life from her.
The film is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute and co-produced by the Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission. The film is produced by Pokromski Studio.