It's rather a good surprise :it's roughly based on the very first book of Enid Blyton 's famous saga,for George /Georgina did not know her cousins before and the famous dog had not been adopted by her family yet .
It's faithful to Blyton's spirit ,by and large ,although it has been modernized with computers and an ecological subject (it's a German movie and it shows because the Germans were perhaps the most active people in the environment protection in Europa.)
As Blyton 's books are thoroughly implausible (like many books aimed at the children market ) ,the screenwriters treated her story as a farce ,almost a spoof ....George's mom is a fine cook (actually ,she 's even got a cook ,if my memory serves me well),but here her guests do not seem to appreciate the dish she serves ;the villain and her two henchmen(do not go by appearances )do not really frighten :towards the end ,they look like Cruella De Vil and her two accomplices .
I find both girls more faithful to their models:Ann is the feminine fearful girlie and George is the tomboy whose best reward is to be called so (and not Georgina) by her sentimental (and scientist) dad.One of the boys' pedantry and long hair ,on the other hand, gets in the way sometimes.The island is just as you imagine it when you are a child .Wrong tracks abound ;the police are not very reliable ,but fortunately the famous five are here (to stay).
