Thief Lord (DVD)

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I'm afraid I haven't been keeping up on the latest in children's literature, so when Fox sent me "The Thief Lord" for review, I hadn't a clue. A little research was in order, disclosing that this 2006 film release was based on the first in a series of fantasy novels that German author Cornelia Funke began publishing in 2000, and that the film was making its American debut on DVD.

Apparently, two more of Ms. Funke's books are also slated for filming, and some readers consider her the new R.K. Rowling. However, if you are looking for another "Harry Potter" here, you won't find it. "The Thief Lord" is a European production directed by Richard Claus, a man known primarily as the producer of such films as "An American Werewolf in Paris" and "The Little Vampire." "The Thief Lord" displays fairly high production values; good location shooting in Venice, Italy, and Luxemburg; and a largely unknown but competent cast of youngsters and adults. But watching this film, Claus's second directorial effort, it's easy to see that the director has a lot of catching up to do in terms of conveying the kind of pure movie magic the "Harry Potter" films provide.

Still, "The Thief Lord" proves itself a worthy, if minor, entry in the field of children's entertainment, and younger audiences will probably find it satisfying. Although the author, who was born in 1958, says she loved Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" when she was growing up, it appears that the writing of Ray Bradbury influenced her as well. Either that, or there is as much a coincidence between her characters and style and Bradbury's as there are coincidences occurring everywhere in her own story line. In any case, "The Thief Lord" is a fantastical adventure that takes a while to get started but once underway huffs and puffs its way to a pleasant conclusion.

Befitting a children's adventure, the story stars children, and it contains virtually all the stereotypes that authors assume children enjoy: The kids in the movie are charming, innocent rascals; the adults are evil authority figures, treacherous criminals, or lovable dolts; the various episodes appear to be made up as they go along but keep moving forward to an inevitably happy conclusion; and dark, sinister old buildings and passageways abound.

What's more, there is an abundance of chasing, fighting, and quarreling, also a sign of children's adventure films, but there is never any serious damage involved. The film is rated PG for a couple of scenes that might be scary for the tiniest of tots; otherwise, it's a family picture all the way.

Here's the setup: When two brothers, fifteen-year-old Prosper (Aaron Johnson) and six-year-old Bo (Jasper Harris), lose their mother, their mean-spirited aunt and uncle, the Hartliebs (Carole Boyd and Bob Goody), take in the younger child and send the older one to an orphanage. The Hartliebs are obviously the author's answer to the Dursleys in "Harry Potter." Prosper escapes from the orphanage, picks up his little brother, and together they take off for Venice. Why Venice? Because you can always count on Venice for scenery.

How the boys expect to live in Venice is anybody's guess, but they aren't there two minutes before they meet Scipio (Rollo Weeks), a boy about Prosper's age called the "Thief Lord" and the leader of a gang of thieving children: Hornet (Alice Connor), a cute little girl; Riccio (George MacKay), a tempestuous boy given to tantrums; and Mosca (Lathaniel Dyer), a creative kid who dabbles in animation. They live in an abandoned movie theater in the heart of town, and they make their living selling stolen items to a shady fence named Ernesto Barbarossa (Alexei Sayle). Unfortunately, none of these people are very interesting in and of themselves; they seem to be there only to serve the plot. Unlike the characters in "Harry Potter," I doubt that I would ever recognize any of these people if I saw them again.

Not only does the gang take in Prosper and Bo almost instantly, but Scipio agrees to let Prosper be a sort of co-leader of the gang. I suppose it's important in so short a film as this, ninety-eight minutes, that the fundamentals be established quickly so we can get on with the plot. Also along for the ride are a warmly humorous stock character, Victor Getz (Jim Carter), a private detective the Harliebs hire to track down their missing nephews; and a photographer friend of Victor's named Ida (Caroline Goodall), who keeps popping up everyplace around the city. Thank goodness for Jim Carter in particular, as he is the only one in the movie worth remembering.