Alright, grab a cold one – maybe not a Bölkstoff just yet – and settle in. Remember those trips to the video store? Scanning the aisles, hoping for that perfect Friday night flick, maybe something loud, something funny, something… different? Sometimes, tucked away perhaps in the animation section (or maybe misfiled under ‘weird foreign stuff’), you’d find a tape with a cover that just screamed glorious, unrepentant chaos. That’s exactly the vibe radiating off the glorious mess that is Werner – Das muß kesseln!!! (often found stateside under the slightly less evocative but still telling title, Werner: Eat My Dust!!! from 1996).
### Bölkstoff, Bikes, and Pure Anarchy
Let’s be clear: If you stumbled upon this VHS expecting polished Disney fare, you were in for a shock that probably rivaled Werner himself trying to get his monstrous custom bike past the TÜV (Germany’s notoriously strict vehicle inspection agency – a recurring nightmare for our hero). This isn't your average cartoon. Based on the legendary comics by Rötger Feldmann (better known as Brösel), Werner is the second animated outing for Germany’s most beloved slacker plumber/biker apprentice. Forget charming woodland creatures; this is about roaring engines, copious amounts of fictional Bölkstoff beer, disastrous plumbing jobs, and a simmering rivalry with the snooty Bentley driver, Holgi. The plot, such as it is, revolves around Werner needing cash (doesn't he always?) and the looming, legendary race against Holgi – a race fueled by pride, spite, and probably several litres of high-octane fuel mixed with Bölkstoff fumes.
### Hand-Drawn Mayhem: The Practical Effect of Ink and Paint
Okay, so we usually talk about practical effects here – real explosions, real stunt dives. This is animation, but bear with me. Watching Werner: Eat My Dust!!! now is like appreciating a different kind of practical effect: the raw energy of hand-drawn animation before everything went slick and digital. Directed by Michael Schaack (who also worked on the first film) and Gerhard Hahn, the animation has a gritty, almost deliberately crude style that perfectly matches the source material. Characters are rubbery and expressive, motion lines streak across the screen during bike scenes, and the sheer impact of Werner’s many, many mishaps feels tangible. Remember how animation could feel less polished but somehow more… alive? That's the feeling here. It’s not smooth like today’s CGI hybrids; it’s got texture, a certain pleasing roughness around the edges, like a well-worn leather jacket. The speed and chaos, especially during the scenes where Werner tears through the countryside on his ridiculously modified Horex motorcycle, feel genuinely kinetic in a way that overly polished animation sometimes misses.
### The Sound of Werner
You can't talk about Werner without mentioning the sound. The voice acting is iconic, at least in its original German. Klaus Büchner, lead singer of the band Torfrock (who also provide much of the film’s rocking soundtrack), gives Werner his unforgettable nasal, perpetually exasperated voice. And here’s a fun piece of trivia: Werner’s loyal buddy Andi is voiced by Andi Feldmann, Brösel’s actual brother! This grounding in reality, even amidst the cartoon absurdity, adds to the film's unique charm. The constant plopp of Bölkstoff bottles opening, the guttural roar of the customized engines, the satisfying crunch of metal (or bone) – it’s a symphony of delightful destruction that was pure gold coming out of those old CRT TV speakers.
### A German Phenomenon Hits the Screen (Again)
It’s hard to overstate how massive Werner was (and is) in Germany. Brösel’s comics were cultural touchstones, capturing a specific slice of working-class, anti-authoritarian, D.I.Y. biker culture with hilarious accuracy. This film, the second in the series after 1990’s Werner – Beinhart!, wasn't just a movie; it was an event. It pulled in nearly 5 million viewers in Germany alone, making it a colossal success. It cost around 8 million Deutsche Marks to make, which sounds like a lot, but its box office haul dwarfed that figure. Finding a subtitled VHS copy outside Germany might have been a niche discovery, perhaps leading to some head-scratching ("What is this Bölkstoff stuff they keep drinking?"), but for those who clicked with its specific brand of humour, it was a revelation. It wasn't trying to be universal; it was unapologetically Werner.
### So, Does It Still Kesseln?
Watching Werner: Eat My Dust!!! today is a potent shot of 90s nostalgia, especially if you appreciate animation that wasn’t afraid to be messy, loud, and aimed squarely at adults (despite the cartoon format). The humour is definitely crude, relying heavily on slapstick, toilet jokes, and Werner’s constant state of low-level rebellion against bosses, cops, and anyone in a suit. Some jokes might feel dated, and the pacing can be as chaotic as one of Werner's plumbing jobs, but the energy is undeniable. It captures that rebellious spirit, that joy in noisy machines and thumbing your nose at the establishment, that felt so potent in certain corners of the 90s counter-culture.
VHS Heaven Rating: 7/10
Justification: It earns a solid 7 for its sheer anarchic energy, its faithful (and gritty) adaptation of a beloved comic, its status as a massive cult phenomenon in its home country, and its wonderfully raw hand-drawn animation style. It loses a few points for humour that can be repetitive or overly crude for some tastes, and a plot that occasionally feels secondary to the gags and mayhem. It's definitely an acquired taste internationally.
Final Take: Werner: Eat My Dust!!! is pure, unadulterated, high-octane cartoon anarchy from a time when animation could still feel gloriously rough and ready. It might not be sophisticated, but like Werner’s souped-up bike, it makes a hell of a lot of noise and is impossible to ignore. Fire it up if you find a copy – just make sure your Bölkstoff is cold.