Just Super (U)

For decades, an impressively strong masked protector named Super Lion has watched over the residents of the sleepy town of Tusfjord. The identity of this hirsute hero remains a mystery to everyone except for schoolgirl Hedvig. She knows Super Lion is her car mechanic father, Leif, and she is next in line to inherit the costume. A laundry mishap hastens Hedvig's ascent but when her first mission goes badly, Leif chooses his athletically gifted nephew Adrian as his successor.

LondonNet Film Review

Just Super (U) Film Review from LondonNet

Heroes never give up, even when their own family and friends doubt their nascent superpowers, in a sprightly Norwegian computer-animated coming of age story which nods affectionately to the turbo-charged antics of The Incredibles. Directed by Rasmus A Sivertsen, Just Super glimpses the world through the spectacles of a physically awkward 11-year-old girl, who struggles in the classroom (one scene hints she may have dyslexia) and prefers to play video games than engage with the scary real world. The conflicted tyke’s transformation into fully fledged saviour necessitates a training montage on a rooftop set to Bonnie Tyler’s barnstorming 1984 anthem Holding Out For A Hero and some perfunctory soul-searching..

The English language dubbed version of a script penned by Kamilla Krogsveen with additional writing and contributions from Jesper Sundnes and Philip Lazebnik trades in simple humour including a sardonic educator who tells her favourite pupil: “You make me almost not regret becoming a teacher.” An underlying message that everyone has a special talent, you just need to unlock and nurture it, is merrily drummed home for young audiences who won’t mind the surface-level characterisation so long as a cute ring-tailed lemur is on screen, causing chaos on a train. Sivertsen’s picture chugs efficiently through key moments of self-doubt and redemption during an efficient 76-minute journey time that doesn’t quite live up to the promise of the breezy title.

For decades, an impressively strong masked protector named Super Lion has watched over the residents of the sleepy town of Tusfjord. The identity of this hirsute hero remains a mystery to everyone except for schoolgirl Hedvig (Reilley Ott). She knows Super Lion is her car mechanic father, Leif (Jean Luc Julien), who inherited the mantle from his mother (Priscilla Bergey). Hedvig is next in line to slip into Super Lion’s figure-hugging costume but the clumsy youngster is currently fixated on setting up a video game streaming channel with her classmate and best friend Thomas (Sammy Holroyd).

When a laundry mishap shrinks Super Lion’s trademark attire, Hedvig nervously embraces her destiny with a simple first mission to apprehend an escaped primate. “Any idiot can catch a lemur,” Leif assures his daughter. Alas, Hedvig’s first foray as her enigmatic alter ego is a disaster and a cruel resident publicly dismisses her as “Super Chihuahua”. Fearing dire consequences for Tusfjord, Leif passes over his daughter and chooses his athletically gifted nephew Adrian (Gustav Bergold) as his successor.

Just Super is a pleasant and engaging yarn, which lacks the sophisticated visuals and multi-layered storytelling of other animated films competing for families’ attentions this summer. Ott’s vocal performance endears us to her pint-sized heroine, and action sequences, including the rescue of a runaway pram, are briskly executed. Just fine.

– Sarah Lee