“Manitu’s Canoe” premiere: Lots of nostalgia and a few tears

Munich. Huge turnout for "Manitu's Canoe": Michael Bully Herbig's Western parody celebrated its world premiere in Munich. Around 3,000 guests saw the film, a sequel to the hit 2001 comedy "Manitu's Shoe."

The evening was particularly emotional for one celebrity: Sky du Mont, who reprised the role of arch-villain Santa Maria. The 78-year-old had previously announced that "Manitou's Canoe" would be his final film shoot. After the premiere, things got just as emotional. As du Mont was bid farewell at the end, Herbig shed a few tears.

For Sky du Mont it was the last film shoot.

Source: IMAGO/Sven Simon

Reassuring for all fans: Much of the first film's elements are also found in the sequel. Herbig had previously declared on the red carpet that they had "really hit the nostalgia button." So, almost 25 years later, Abahachi (Herbig) and his grumpy Bavarian blood brother Ranger (Christian Tramitz) are still riding together across the prairie, complete with iconic lines ("I'm dissatisfied with the overall situation").

Christian Tramitz (lr), Rick Kavanian and Michael Bully Herbig.

Source: Sven Hoppe/dpa

Winnetouch (Herbig) now runs a dance and fencing school. Greek tavern owner Dimitri (Rick Kavanian) has expanded, and Santa Maria (Sky du Mont) also celebrates a miraculous resurrection from the swamp in which he was submerged at the end of "The Shoe of Manitu."

This time, the blood brothers are dealing with a gang intent on stealing a legendary canoe said to possess special powers. Naturally, they want to thwart this, but it's not that easy. On top of that, Abahachi and Ranger run into trouble with the sheriff (Friedrich Mücke) and his assistant, the comfortably Saxon-accented deputy (Kavanian).

Michael Bully Herbig and Christian Tramitz in a scene from the film “Manitu’s Canoe”.

Source: Luis Zeno Kuhn

American actor Alan Tafoya traveled all the way from New Mexico to be the featured performer. The Jicarilla Apache of the Red Side Plains People provides a rather emotional moment at the end of the film. On stage, Tafoya seizes his opportunity to promote international understanding. He says he is so happy to have been able to bring the Apache world a little closer to the audience.

The one-and-a-half-hour film is punctuated with dance numbers, a few songs by Stefan Raab and Herbig ("Weil wir so supergeil drauf sind"), among others, and several film quotes. Of course, the Westerns based on the novels by Karl May, which were filmed in the 1960s, including a surprise appearance, are also included. There are also references to the adventure series "Indiana Jones" and the works of French filmmaker Louis de Funès.

"Manitu's Canoe" opens in theaters this Thursday. Also starring this time are Jessica Schwarz, Friedrich Mücke, Jasmin Schwiers, and comedian Tutty Tran.

RND/dpa