History Film / DanielDerZauberer

''Daniel: Der Zauberer'' ("Daniel: The Wizard") is a 2004 German biographical musical drama film written and directed by Ulli Lommel, starring pop singer and ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (the German version of ''Series/AmericanIdol'') contestant Daniel Küblböck AsHimself.

The successful singer Daniel Küblböck is (according to the film's {{tagline}}) "[[LoveItOrHateIt loved by millions, hated by many]]". Teenagers Rike and Tom decide to kill Daniel. They are encouraged, albeit not directly supported, by the mysterious [[BigBad Baltazar]]. Daniel is in turn [[SpiritAdvisor spiritually supported by his dead grandfather Johnny]] (played by Lommel himself) who appears to him in visions, typically carrying a baritone horn and a wand and wearing a cap under his top hat, and who sometimes only has one arm, sometimes two.

* ActorAllusion: There are numerous references to Küblböck's career and personal life. Most notably, Johnny turns Baltazar into a cockroach, who subsequently says the words "Series/ImACelebrityGetMeOutOfHere" before being turned back into a human, which is both a ShoutOut to Creator/FranzKafka's ''Literature/TheMetamorphosis'' and a reference to Küblböck's appearance on the German version of said TV series, in which he was challenged to lie in a coffin full of cockroaches. Additionally, headlines about Daniel in the tabloid newspaper ''Bild'' are visible in several scenes, including one referring to a then-recent car accident involving the singer.

* CampGay: Daniel, who at the time identified as bisexual but later came out as gay, has an androgynous look similar to that of [[Music/CultureClub Boy George]].
* LoveItOrHateIt: Daniel, according to the film's tagline.
* NeverTrustATitle: Johnny is the wizard, not Daniel. Thus, the film's title should technically be ''Daniel'' '''''und''''' ''der Zauberer''.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Daniel Küblböck's real-life paternal grandfather, Johannes Küblböck (Johnny for short), actually was a stage magician. Though so far as is known, he didn't make a habit of acting as a SpiritAdvisor to his grandson -- in fact, the real Johannes was actually still alive at the time of the movie's release.

The reception by critics and audiences alike was very poor, to put it mildly.

* ActorAllusion: There are numerous references to Küblböck's career and personal life. Most notably, Johnny turns Baltazar into a cockroach, who subsequently says the words "Series/ImACelebrityGetMeOutOfHere" before being turned back into a human, which is both a ShoutOut to Creator/FranzKafka's ''Literature/TheMetamorphosis'' and a reference to Küblböck's appearance on the German version of that series, in which he was challenged to lie in a coffin full of cockroaches. Additionally, headlines about Daniel in the tabloid newspaper ''Bild'' are visible in several scenes, including one referring to a then-recent car accident involving the singer.

* ActorAllusion: There are numerous references to Küblböck's career and personal life. Most notably, Johnny turns Baltazar into a cockroach, who subsequently says the words "Series/ImACelebrityGetMeOutOfHere" before being turned back into a human, a reference to Küblböck's appearance on the German version of that series, in which he was challenged to lie in a coffin full of cockroaches. Additionally, headlines about Daniel in the tabloid newspaper ''Bild'' are visible in several scenes, including one referring to a then-recent car accident involving the singer.

NeedsWikiMagicLove

* NeverTrustATitle: Johnny is the wizard, not Daniel. Thus, the film's title should be ''Daniel'' '''''und''''' ''der Zauberer''.

* NeverTrustATitle: Johnny is the wizard, not Daniel. Thus, the film's title ''should'' be ''Daniel'' '''''und''''' ''der Zauberer''.

* NeverTrustATitle: Johnny is the wizard, not Daniel.

* ActorAllusion: There are numerous references to Küblböck's career and personal life. Most notably, Johnny turns Baltazar into a cockroach, who subsequently says the words "Series/ImACelebrityGetMeOutOfHere" before being turned back into a human, a reference to Küblböck's appearance on the German version of that series, in which he was challenged to lie in a coffin full of cockroaches. Additionally, headlines about Daniel in the tabloid newspaper ''Bild'' are visible in several scenes, including one referring to a recent car accident involving the singer.

* CampGay: Daniel, who at the time identified as [[BiTheWay bisexual]] but later came out as gay, has an androgynous look similar to that of [[Music/CultureClub Boy George]].

* AnAesop: Lommel stated in interviews that he wanted to make a film that shows young people how to deal with frustration and hate without getting into the eternal cycle of hate and counter-hate.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daniel_der_zauberer.jpg]]

''Daniel: Der Zauberer'' ("Daniel: The Wizard") is a 2004 German biographical musical drama film written and directed by Ulli Lommel, starring pop singer and ''[[Series/AmericanIdol Deutschland sucht den Superstar]]'' contestant Daniel Küblböck AsHimself.

The reception by critics and audiences was very poor, to put it mildly.

* ActorAllusion: There are numerous references to Küblböck's career and personal life. Most notably, Johnny turns Baltazar into a cockroach, who subsequently says the words "Series/ImACelebrityGetMeOutOfHere" before being turned back into a human, a reference to Küblböck's appearance on the German version of that series, in which he was challenged to lie in a coffin full of the cockroaches. Additionally, headlines about Daniel in the tabloid newspaper ''Bild'' are visible in several scenes, including one referring to a recent car accident involving the singer.