Every kid knows Willie Witzel, reporter, supervisor, world explorer and adventurer. Since 2001, he has presented the knowledge program “Willi Wills Wissen” for Bavarian Radio and KiKA, for which he has traveled around the world and received the Bavarian Television Prize and the Adolf Grimme Prize, among others. In 2009, his first feature film, Willie and the Wonders of this World, which attracted around 450,000 viewers, was followed by other TV shows. His theatrical performances have been successful for years.
With “Willi and the Miracle Toad,” his second feature film will be released on May 12, 2022, which, using amphibians as an example, makes the great connections between nature conservation, sustainability, and community work tangible for viewers.
In the podcast, Willy tells you about the amazing things some frogs can do, how it feels to have them on hand and which frog has the funniest whoop.
Listen to the FUFIS podcast here
This is what the movie is about:
11-year-old Luna (Elise Drews) lives with her mother (Miriam Stein) in a small village. Her great passion for frogs. She knows almost everything about them, watches the life of these animals in a small pond and in her “frog station” collects everything she can find about frogs. Luna shares this enthusiasm with her grandmother (Suzanne von Borsody), a well-known expert on amphibians who works at the Museum of Natural History.
But not everyone thinks Luna’s fondness for frogs is great: her classmates can’t understand why she tends to frogs and ugly toads, and Mayor Huber (Ferdinand Dorfler) has always had a thorn in Luna’s pond. He wants to travel free for his fat jar, thus he wants to fill up the pond that gets in his way.
Then Willie, a former schoolmate of Hopper Farms, returns to the village. Luna pours her heart out and convinces Willy that his next adventure should be around amphibians. Willy must explain to people how exciting the lives of these animals are and how important it is to protect them because their environment is threatened.
Willi and the Miracle Toad movie (2021)
To impress Willy, Luna takes him to her grandmother’s Museum of Natural History. Willy admired Professor Jones very much, and when I also showed him an old golden book by the miracle frog, Willy was sure: frogs and frogs were the subject of his next adventure. However, it soon becomes clear that he has to travel to South America, because there are not only countless species of frogs and toads there, but he also wants to meet with local experts who can introduce him to the world of amphibians and tell him their secrets.
While Willy flies into the Costa Rican jungle with a very adventurous pilot and a dilapidated plane, Luna faces disaster. Imagine using her cell phone how Hopper Farms destroyed her pond. She can save all the frogs and put them in her bathroom at home, but they can’t stay there. Concerned about the frogs, Luna posts her video online and gets help unexpectedly. Anna (Annika Preil from KiKA series “Anna and the Wild Animals”) shares Luna’s video and suddenly the children in the village understand why the frogs are so important to Luna and help her find a new pond for the frogs. Even Huber-Bauer’s son Heinrich (Malte Basquiat Comoe) is there when the frogs move to a new pond.
Everything must happen very quickly, because time is running out for the frogs: As Willy makes his way through the jungle in Costa Rica, Luna continues to support the frogs in the village at home. As Willy meets the researcher who has discovered a completely unknown species of frog, Luna discovers that much more can be achieved if the villagers stay together. Luna, along with her mother and the other children, decides to go to the next local council meeting to win the villagers to her frog pond and protect its residents. Of course she would like Willy to be by her side because everyone will listen to him. Willie’s research journey now takes on a whole new urgency: Through his photographs and stories, Luna must help convince people of the value of the tiny animals fighting for their survival around the world.
But his return flight has been delayed so the children are on their own for now. While Huberbauer makes fun of the children, Luna’s grandmother comes to support them, Willi finally appears at the last moment. Along with Luna, he explains to the community that frogs must be saved: he explains the connections between our lives and the lives of amphibians, so that Luna and Willie can impress the community and be celebrated with thunderous applause and a frog concert…
Willy wants to know: Willie Wetzel, the miracle frog and the Ferrari frog – FUFIS Podcast
Willie in an interview about frogs
You already have a lot Learn things about animal species and nature, what did you know about frogs and toads before shooting?
On the contrary, I had prejudices against frogs and toads. I just knew as much as I learned about frogs in biology class, that there is a magical transformation of creatures that first live in the water, with fins and gills, and then turn into animals with lungs and legs and those on land can go. So I still have a lot to learn.
How did you prepare for this role? And is Willy in the movie the Willie Wetzel we all know?
I prepared myself for the role by buying a frog costume… (laughs) but seriously: I got a “what” book about amphibians to read on which left me with so many questions. Then I simply put them in my bag and went on a trip, step by step satiating my curiosity.
What are the most exciting moments for you while filming?
I always found it exciting while filming when it got dark and we were either traveling through Panama in the rainforest, because as soon as it gets dark and the sun goes down, the howler monkeys start roaring and somehow popping and cracking in many places. It’s a very interesting situation and when we were out in Bolivia and suddenly something hums and “No, it was a Jaguar” and frog researcher Martin Janssen said – that’s when you get really angry.
Do you have Favorite frog?
Of course I have a favorite frog, the lemur frog. I also had it on my hand while filming.