Mister Twister is a family entertainment program based on the adventures of the highly likeable Mister Twister, found in the series of popular children books that inspire and entertain audiences worldwide. The feel good program is directed at children aged between eight and twelve, but is a pleasure for the whole family. Mister Twister is positive, light-hearted, creative, openminded, encourages team spirit and uses universal humour.
The main character is Casey Brown, a substitute teacher who is still learning the ropes and goes by the nickname Mister Twister. Lacking the experience to teach and guide a class of kids, every new situation brings with it a new challenge. While he seems a bit shy at first, he always finds a creative way to live up to his responsibilities. His class loves his imaginative and fun way of teaching. But Mrs Dreus, the stern principal who seems to have an obsession with rules and regulations, does not. She’s constantly got her eye keenly fixed on Mister Twister, so he and the kids must find ways to work around her. Thankfully, whenever Mister Twister’s special way of dealing with things gets him in trouble with Mrs Dreus, the kids of class 6b always help him to save the day…
The stories always focus on Mister Twister (aka Casey Brown), who serves as inspiration or even a role model for his students. We see his troublesome relationship with principal Mrs Dreus and his special bond with his students. The diversity in culture, emotion and background of each child, means they all have their own original stories to tell. Love, jealousy, fights, bullying, and troubles at home: the students offer a treasure trove of stories that take us to a variety of locations. There are recurring elements of light drama, but it is told with speed, humour and charm, and dramatic conflicts are addressed as challenges that can and will be overcome.
NextMister Twister wants to ask Marie Louise Smulders out, but her dog pulls her quickly away, twice in a row, and he can barely say hello. The next time, he produces a large bone to distract the dog – and finally he manages to ask her to join him for an ice-cream. After the children catch Mister Twister drawing hearts in class, he quickly responds by saying that ‘unrequited love’ will be the theme for their art class. The pieces will be displayed in a dedicated ‘Museum of Love’. Meanwhile, Wahed, who is in love with Manon, tries to help get her parents back together, but will his plans work out? More importantly: Will Manon agree to be his girlfriend?
After visiting the observatory with her father, Aukje asks Mister Twister if they could do something on spacecraft. She passes her excitement about space travel onto the whole class, along with the idea that one day people will be going to Mars. Suddenly her classmates turn into Martians! Aukje dreams of becoming an astronaut, but she realizes how unlikely it is. Mister Twister, feeling Aukje’s disappointment growing, explains that fantasy and reality are not really that far apart. There are no limits to our dreams and many things we enjoy today were once thought impossible. Dream, and maybe it will even come true!
Aukje is being bullied by Kevin, an older boy. Nobody seems to have noticed except Mister Twister, who has seen how Kevin and his friend clearly have it in for Aukje. Meanwhile, Principal Dreus is busy with preparations for the school line dance and wants everyone to get involved. Poor Mister Twister cannot get the steps right, much to Mister Hank’s amusement. When Aukje breaks down in class, Mister Twister comes up with the idea of a protective huddle. Aukje gets her confidence back during the school line dance, and no longer needs others to feel strong. But that doesn’t seem to be the case for Mister Twister, when Mister Hank ridicules him in front of the group… And so the class do a protective huddle around him instead!
When Mister Twister suddenly has to take care of his mother during the middle of the school soccer competition, Mrs. Dreus steps in to replace him as coach. Team 6B’s results take a massive nosedive, so Tobias decides to think of something to make Mister Twister come back. Thankfully, the class is simply bursting with talent. They help Mister Twister take care of his mother, and he’s back on the pitch for the final to be their coach.
Cast: Leendert de Ridder, Sanne Wallis de Vries,
Produced by: PVPictures
Producer: Paul Voorthuysen
Executive Producers: Chris Derks, Marit Agter
Executive Producers ZDF: Nicole Keeb
Executive Producers ZDF Enterprises: Arne Lohmann
Directed by: Aniëlle Webster
Written by: Tijs van Marle and others
Associate Producer: Katja Scheffer
Raymonde de Kuyper, Diewertje Dir and many more
© 2016 PVPictures bv
A trainee teacher whose real name is Casey Brown. He is a bit inexperienced, and can be awkward or clumsy at times, but his instincts are always right and he has a good heart. Mister Twister loves being one of the kids, but knows how to be a grown-up when he has to be. He is thoughtful, first carefully observing a situation, then forming a fair opinion without letting his feelings get in the way. He is a person who doesn’t give up easily, but he is also flexible. He can be sarcastic, or even a bit opportunistic at times. His dog Harley keeps him grounded.
His motto is ‘third time’s a charm!’, or maybe the time after that. ‘Almost’ is good enough. Problems are not taken too seriously. They can be solved and when they are tackled as a team, one will always find a solution! Mister Twister doesn’t think in terms of winners or losers, because to him every child is a winner in their own way. His optimistic and open-minded outlook on life allows him to see a good side to everything, but the right path isn’t always as clear!
There are some things Mister Twister has yet to learn. Or maybe he’s just pretending – you never really know with Mister Twister. This is his way of getting the kids involved in their lessons and helping them to learn things for themselves. This makes school fun for the kids: they know they’re there to learn, but it doesn’t need to feel that way. Mister Twister is one of those teachers who usually manages to get by without too many rules and regulations. Of course, it doesn’t always work.
And if you were wondering about his ‘retro’ fashion sense, that’s down to his late father – also a teacher. Mister Twister wears his old clothes to remember his old pop.
The principal. Strict, rational, and more than a little confrontational. She needs order and rules because that’s how she keeps everything under control. Mrs. Dreus hates chaos, and she is especially scared of the chaos that will ensue if the children don’t follow her rules. When her students star t rebelling, s he doesn’t like them very much – she is even a little bit afraid of them. Just think… all those dirty sticky little fingers running through the halls.
All this following of rules makes Mrs. Dreus seem quite cold, but it’s when she starts to lose control that her true colors shine through, and we realise her true goal is to prepare the children for the future and teach them as best she can. She loves and wants the best for the children in her school, it’s just her rules sometimes get in the way.
Somewhere inside Mrs. Dreus is a child desperately trying to get out. She loves the scouts, medieval history, and drama. When she’s really interested in something, she can get so into it that she’ll lose all sight of anything else.
It’s clear who Mister Twister got his big heart from: his sweet and caring mother. She’s quite active in her son’s life, but obviously her life doesn’t all revolve around him! She likes to paint, exercise with her friends, and play computer games. Mister Twister will sometimes join her to play racing games, but he always loses to his gaming mom! Mister Twisters’s mum has a good mother’s intuition, and she boasts a lot of life experience. She quickly notices when something’s not right with Mister Twister, then takes the time to listen to his problems. She always takes him seriously, but can often help with her light-hearted and occasionally humorous take on his troubles.
After Mister Twister’s father passed away, she had to take care of everything. She can change tires, repair the vacuum cleaner, and even take apart an entire engine. And… she still misses Mister Twister’s father, and she visits his grave every week to water the flowers.
She is a cute and friendly young woman, and Mister Twister has a crush on her. She seems to like him, too. However, she and Mister Twister are both a bit shy and awkward, so they never quite manage to let each other know how they feel. Mister Twister’s awkward attempts to show his feelings end up sending her mixed signals, so she’s never really sure. Another problem is her dog, a Great Dane, who is always at her side. Every time Mister Twister and Marie Louise do seem to be getting closer, he succeeds in sabotaging things.
The gym teacher. Mister Hank is slightly older than Mister Twister. He is an athletic, macho and joker type who always wants to be seen as tough and successful. He loves playing practical jokes on Mister Twister, but they usually backfire. He has a bit of a crush on one of the other teachers, Miss Pauline, but she isn’t interested.
Tobias is a cheerful and happy boy, especially when spending time with his best friend, Sep. Tobias’s father passed away not that long ago and his mother is depressed. This has made him develop a feeling of responsibility, especially towards his mom. When he’s with her he seems older and more mature. He is delighted to have Mister Twister in his life. Tobias is a careful observer and likes to bring people together. When there are problems in class, he’s the one to calm things down. He accepts everyone for who they are, which makes them accept him for who he is. He knows exactly what to value in his classmates.
Fred is a boy whose fists tend to be more powerful than his head. He doesn’t always understand what’s going on, but tries to show off his strength in other, more physical ways. He likes to be the tough guy and threatens to bash people if they don’t listen to him. Fred is often at odds with Jackie, who likes to wind him up. Fred can be a bit of a bully sometimes, but when it comes down to it, he always sticks by his classmates. Fred really loves and looks up to his dad, and thinks is a really tough guy. Unfortunately, Fred’s dad is a trucker, which means he is away from home a lot.
Hasna is the most beautiful girl in the world (according to Tobias). She and Tobias adore each other. Hasna is a sensible girl, but also slightly remote and she doesn’t show her feelings very easily. She is very empathic, though, and sometimes gets too absorbed in her classmates’ feelings. She tries to help them, but she can unwittingly make their problems worse by focusing too much on them. That said, when real problems arise, Hasna is the one who can always pull through and take charge.
Aukje is the smartest girl in class. She loves school and is very helpful, which can make her come across as a bit of a teacher’s pet at times. She likes to be the best and raises her hand to every question and request. She is highly organized and able to help out Mister Twister when he gets confused, but she is also very afraid to make a mistake or cross a line. That’s when she hesitates, and then it’s Mister Twister who helps her.
Manon is a sporty and green-fingered girl who tries to avoid conflict. If you ask Manon, everyone should be a bit nicer to one another. She can be naïve with her head in the clouds, but when she sets herself a goal she will stop at nothing to make it happen. Manon is a vegetarian and loves nature. She is often involved in projects to help animals, forests or the environment.
Wahed is a humorous charmer. He is self-assured, a bit cocky, but he never crosses the line. A bit bad, but never too bad. Wahed is the smartest boy in the class after Tom. The biggest clown after Sep. And the best rapper after Winston. Really, Wahed is second-best at everything, and it’s the same at home, where he looks up to his wise big brother, who loves to give him advice.
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