Michael Hatzius plays: The Lizard & Friends - The Full Program - DVD

Content: Humorous puppetry is currently booming again. Whether the Mole, ventriloquist Sascha Grammel or US comedian Jeff Dunham, they all delight their audiences with their sometimes charming, sometimes cute, then again very cheeky or even malicious puppets. Michael Hatzius from Berlin also fits perfectly into the line of successful puppeteers, whereby he undoubtedly occupies a special position with his larger-than-life puppet The Lizard. After numerous TV appearances and a live tour, the lizard and all his friends are now available on DVD - and with the full programme!

After fire safety expert Jens Schirner has welcomed the audience and pointed out all the possible dangers, the lizard is allowed to talk about his eventful life in a programme lasting over two hours. About how she lived with a zebra in a shared flat and how she developed a hatred for all zebras that has lasted until today. About her relationship with Cleopatra and how she fought in the war against Caesar as an armoured lizard. She tells of her first job as a sitter for a very famous baby who was born in a stable, but at least had a place to stay safe from the flu. In addition, the lizard reveals the origins of cell division, allows an insight into the history of classical theatre from Greece, and makes it clear once and for all that all penguins are rotten little thieves and penguin gangs should be avoided at all costs.

The lizard also has an opinion of her own about puppetry, which she of course backs up with a very amusing example. Her narrations are interspersed with short interludes showing her at a reptile exhibition, as well as appearances by her friends the cobra, the Fleescher's daughter, the sheep or the chicken. Although the lizard is of course the highlight of the program, the audience rants of the cobra or the Fleescher's daughter also make for really good laughs.

So if you like puppet theater of a slightly quirkier kind, if you want to take a particularly enlightening trip through world history, or if you simply have a soft spot for reptiles, you shouldn't miss the live program of the lizard and her friends. Recommended!

Picture + Sound: The picture presents itself on a good level for a stage program. The picture is clean, the coloring seems very natural, here and there are slight weaknesses in the contrasts and minimal image noise detectable. The audio is in a good stereo mix, with voices sounding well intelligible from the speakers and neatly capturing the live atmosphere. Good!

Extras: In addition to the almost two and a half hour long program, the DVD has just under 50 minutes of additional material to offer. In addition to a making of (approx. 9 min.) worth watching, there are amusing conversations with Michael Hatzius (approx. 9 min.), the Lizard (approx. 7 min.) and the friends (approx. 11 min.). A click on the surprise chest leads the viewer to three more clips: the lizard is on the road (approx. 3 min.), in a taxi (approx. 3 min.) and on the market (approx. 4 min.). Finally, there are three short promotional clips featuring Lizard & Chicken (approx. 2 mins), Cobra & Fleescher's Daughter (approx. 1 min) and the Sheep (approx. 1 min). An all-around good bonus offering that should more than satisfy fans of the Lizard and her friends!

Conclusion: The Lizard & Friends is anarchic puppet comedy of a particularly weird kind. The mixture of stand-up comedy, puppetry and amusing one-act films paired with a sometimes very own comedy make the program of Michael Hatzius a real must for all fans of weird puppetry and omniscient reptiles. The live DVD also offers viewers nearly 50 minutes of amusing bonus material as an added incentive to buy. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp