# Wickie und die starken Männer (2009 film)
*Wickie und die starken Männer* (international title: *Vicky the Viking*) is a 2009 German live-action family adventure comedy directed by Michael "Bully" Herbig, adapting the Viking boy Wickie from Runer Jonsson's children's books and the 1974 animated television series of the same name.[1](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner) • [2](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/111920/en/interview/357010/en/directors/en/news/en/filmsubmit/) It was the first live-action film about the character.[3](https://constantin.film/home-entertainment/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and screenplay | Michael Bully Herbig; screenplay by Herbig and Alfons Biedermann, based on Runer Jonsson's children's books[1](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner) |
| Production | Constantin Film, Rat Pack Filmproduktion, and herbX film; producers Christian Becker, Michael Herbig, and Anita Schneider[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner_154edf77d41b4179804f79cb74126de2) |
| Release | World premiere 30 August 2009 at the Mathäser cinema in Munich; German theatrical release 9 September 2009, distributed by Constantin Film[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner_154edf77d41b4179804f79cb74126de2) • [5](https://www.ganz-muenchen.de/kino/filme/index/2009/constantin/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner/info.html) |
| Technical data | 85 minutes, 35 mm, color, Dolby sound; rated FSK 0 (no age restriction)[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner_154edf77d41b4179804f79cb74126de2) |
| Lead cast | Jonas Hämmerle as Wickie, Waldemar Kobus as Halvar, Sanne Schnapp as Ylva, Günther Kaufmann as the Terrible Sven[6](https://tv.apple.com/de/movie/wickie-und-die-starken-manner/umc.cmc.5sg52us0nl7yq2ufhubiroput) |
| Reception | About 5 million cinema admissions in Germany; German Film and Media Rating Board (FBW) rating "besonders wertvoll" (especially valuable)[7](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Wickie_und_die_starken_M%C3%A4nner?hl=en-US&id=T1PcZ1trv1k) • [1](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner) |
| Awards | Goldener Spatz for cinema/television film (2010); Bavarian Film Award audience prize (2010); Weißer Elefant children's media prize for young actor[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner_154edf77d41b4179804f79cb74126de2) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Wickie, a sensitive, red-haired boy, lives with his mother Ylva and his father Halvar, the stubborn chief of the Viking village of Flake. Unlike the strong, loud Vikings around him, Wickie is timid but exceptionally clever, and his father considers him a weakling.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner_154edf77d41b4179804f79cb74126de2) • [10](https://www.visionkino.de/schulkinowochen/filmangebot/filmansicht/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner/) An early episode has Wickie rescuing his friend Ylvi's doll from a wolf in a cave, defeating the animal with ingenuity rather than strength.[11](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_wickie-und-die-starken-maenner-2009.htm)
When masked warriors wearing [Chinese dragon](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-dragon) masks raid Flake and abduct all the children, only Wickie, trapped in a treetop with his homemade flying kite, escapes unnoticed.[11](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_wickie-und-die-starken-maenner-2009.htm) The raid is the work of Flake's arch-enemy, the "Terrible Sven" (Günther Kaufmann), who needs a child that has never lied to find a treasure.[12](https://tv.orf.at/program/kids/wickieundd1690.html) Halvar sails out with his crew, Tjure, Snorre, Urobe, Gorm, Ulme, and Faxe, to rescue the children, unaware that Wickie has stowed away on board.[7](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Wickie_und_die_starken_M%C3%A4nner?hl=en-US&id=T1PcZ1trv1k) • [12](https://tv.orf.at/program/kids/wickieundd1690.html) Along the way the Vikings board a sunken Chinese junk and find the stowaway Lee Fu (Ankie Beilke), a fugitive from China whose story explains the dragon masks used in the raid.[11](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_wickie-und-die-starken-maenner-2009.htm) Through a series of clever ideas, Wickie repeatedly frees himself and his friends from hopeless situations and proves that a quick head can be worth more than muscle.[1](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner)
## Background
The Wickie character became a cult figure through millions of sold novels and comic books and a 78-episode animated series first broadcast on ZDF and ORF in 1974, with fans in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, and Taiwan as well as Germany and Austria.[3](https://constantin.film/home-entertainment/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner/) Producer Christian Becker had secured the film rights several years before production, and Herbig then developed the project as the character's first big-screen live-action treatment.[8](https://www.cinema.de/kino/news/michael-bully-herbig-erzaehlt-von-seinem-neuen-film-wickie-und-die-starken-maenner-12787_ar.html)
**Production.** The film was shot over 60 shooting days between 5 August and 13 November 2008 in Spain, Malta, at the Walchensee in Bavaria, and in the Bavaria Film Studios.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner_154edf77d41b4179804f79cb74126de2) • [9](https://bistrickmedia.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/03_2009.pdf) Gerhard Schirlo was the cinematographer, Alexander Dittner the editor, and Ralf Wengenmayr composed the music.[1](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner)
## Style and reception
The German Film and Media Rating Board (FBW), which awards quality ratings to German films, gave the film its "besonders wertvoll" rating. Its jury noted that Herbig kept the dramaturgical scheme of the series, in which Wickie rubs his nose, has a bright idea, and saves the day while Halvar later claims the credit, and called the adaptation surprisingly faithful to the original, with the director largely avoiding the parodic touches known from his earlier films.[1](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner) The jury also praised the casting, above all Jonas Hämmerle as Wickie, and the loving production design of the village, the costumes, and the horned helmets, with a few spectacular computer animations that never distract from the story.[1](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner)
The film drew about 5 million cinema admissions in Germany alone.[7](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Wickie_und_die_starken_M%C3%A4nner?hl=en-US&id=T1PcZ1trv1k) At the 2010 Kinder-Medien-Festival Goldener Spatz in Erfurt it won the Goldener Spatz for cinema/television film and the special prize of the Thuringian State Chancellery, and it received the audience prize at the Bavarian Film Awards 2010.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner_154edf77d41b4179804f79cb74126de2)
## Home media and later history
The DVD was released on 11 March 2010 with a making-of, outtakes, a music video, songs, and trailers.[1](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner) The film's first free-television broadcast followed on SAT.1 on 23 September 2011, and it later appeared on streaming services including [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) (from 30 January 2024) and Netflix.[11](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_wickie-und-die-starken-maenner-2009.htm) • [13](https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80114478) Herbig brought the character back to the screen in a second live-action film, released in 2011.[14](https://plus.rtl.de/wickie-und-die-starken-manner-p_5062)
## References
1. [Wickie und die starken Männer, Deutsche Filmbewertung und Medienbewertung (FBW)](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner)
2. [Vicky the Viking, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/111920/en/interview/357010/en/directors/en/news/en/filmsubmit/)
3. [Wickie und die starken Männer, Constantin Film](https://constantin.film/home-entertainment/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner/)
4. [Wickie und die starken Männer, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/film/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner_154edf77d41b4179804f79cb74126de2)
5. [Wickie und die starken Männer: Premiere am 30.08.2009 im Mathäser Kino München, ganz-muenchen.de](https://www.ganz-muenchen.de/kino/filme/index/2009/constantin/wickie_und_die_starken_maenner/info.html)
6. [Wickie und die starken Männer, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/de/movie/wickie-und-die-starken-manner/umc.cmc.5sg52us0nl7yq2ufhubiroput)
7. [Wickie und die starken Männer, Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Wickie_und_die_starken_M%C3%A4nner?hl=en-US&id=T1PcZ1trv1k)
8. [Michael Bully Herbig erzählt von seinem neuen Film, CINEMA](https://www.cinema.de/kino/news/michael-bully-herbig-erzaehlt-von-seinem-neuen-film-wickie-und-die-starken-maenner-12787_ar.html)
9. [60 Drehtage am Walchensee, auf Malta oder in den Bavaria Filmstudios, Blickpunkt:Film (bistrickmedia)](https://bistrickmedia.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/03_2009.pdf)
10. [Wickie und die starken Männer, VISION KINO](https://www.visionkino.de/schulkinowochen/filmangebot/filmansicht/wickie-und-die-starken-maenner/)
11. [Wickie und die starken Männer, Moviemaster Film-Lexikon](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_wickie-und-die-starken-maenner-2009.htm)
12. [Wickie und die starken Männer, ORF 1](https://tv.orf.at/program/kids/wickieundd1690.html)
13. [Wickie und die starken Männer, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80114478)
14. [Wickie und die starken Männer, RTL+](https://plus.rtl.de/wickie-und-die-starken-manner-p_5062)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2009 to 2010 › Released in 2009*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license