The Skippers of the Kameleon (De schippers van de Kameleon)
- Genre: Family film
- Cast: Koen van der Donk, Jos van der Donk, Steven de Jong
- Directed by: Steven de Jong
The setting is a small village in the north of Holland.
The time is the 1950’s, when life was good, people were kind, hardworking and honest. Neighbors watched out for each other and Sunday church services and holiday celebrations brought everyone in the village together. The local law enforcement agent traveled by bike to keep order in the land, and the local doctor made house calls in his beloved old Citroen.
In the film’s opening, everyone is getting dressed in their Sunday best for the walk to the local church. Teenage identical twins, Hielke and Sietse Klinkhamer, are out playing by the canal nearby their family farm and father’s blacksmith/car repair garage.
Gerben, the town’s practical joker, stands on the other side of the canal, daring the boys to leap over it without falling in. Always up for a challenge, the boys accept. Minutes later, they’re covered in mud and debris. Naturally, they upset all the fine upstanding citizens of the town as they pass them on their way to church.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, two hoodlums on a motorcycle roar up the street and grab the handbag of one of the town’s senior citizens. She’s a tough old bird, but she’s no match for the young hoodlums. They roar off with her bag, just as Heilke and Sietse rush to her aid.
When the twins reach home, they find that Esther, a young girl about their age, has come to live with the family next door. They try to make friends, but she’s from the city, pretty stuck up, and wants nothing to do with them. Before long, though, she starts laughing at their pranks and a friendship develops between the three.
Heilke and Sietse have one dream. A boat of their own. They dream of flying through the canals and sailing on the lake and being free. One day, their dream comes true. A boat damaged in a local tugboat accident pulls up to the blacksmith’s and through good-natured bargaining, the father buys the boat for his sons. They all work hard to restore it and the boys set out to paint it with whatever is at hand. There doesn’t seem to be enough of any one color, so they mix all of the paint together. As a result, the boat seems to change colors from every angle. It looks like a giant chameleon (kameleon)
From then on, Sietse and Hielke are the Skippers of the Kameleon!
The paint on the boat has barely dried, when a powerful hurricane rips across the land, causing major damage everywhere. The Klinkhamer family rushes inside to safety but as they look out the window, the twins see the doctor’s car fly into the air and land in the canal. Quickly, the twins and their father, rush to save the doctor, who is trapped inside. The car is sinking fast but the doctor is pinned behind the steering wheel. With not a minute to spare, the rescuers break through the windshield and pull the doctor to safety.
The next day, the wreckage of the car is pulled from the canal, and the doctor gives the motor to the twins in thanks for saving his life. Now the boat is complete.
The twins take their first real ride, speeding over the canals and lake, having the time of their life! Suddenly, a powerboat cuts dangerously close to them and the chase is on. Inside are the two hoodlums who’ve been stealing from the townfolk. They bravely chase after them, but the gas tank is empty and the twins are forced to drift back home.
When a group of college kids comes into town and challenges the locals to a swimming competition, the whole town is turned into a carnival and everyone is on hand for the fun. Gerben can’t resist entering the race. Only thing is, he can’t swim. The twins have an idea, though. They’ll secretly hook him up on a rope to the boat and they’ll pull him across the lake to the finish line.
All goes well. Gerben is out in front, looking like the winner of the race, when all of a sudden, the speedboat appears out of nowhere. The twins forget about the race and start chasing after the speedboat. That leaves poor Gerben stranded in the water, gasping and flailing his arms, desperately trying to paddle to shore.
The boys give chase and are gaining on the hoodlums when the speedboat crashes head on into an approaching fishing vessel. There’s a giant explosion and the hoodlums are flung into the water, yelling for help. The twins rush to the rescue, capture the hoodlums and become the town’s favorite heroes.
With the happy ending of this first adventure, it’s clear that the Skippers of the Kameleon will be back soon. Another adventure is already in the making!
