Højt skum - en film om Storm P.

Højt skum - en film om Storm P. looks at the life and work of Robert Storm Petersen with an eye for the range and restlessness that drove him. Rather than follow a strict biography, the documentary pieces together drawings, cartoons, paintings, comics and anecdotes to show how one creative mind moved across media. Interviews, dramatized readings and archival images are used to give a sense of how Storm P. kept reinventing his humor and visual language, and how his playful observation of everyday life fed a long output. The film aims to make clear why his characters and phrases kept resonating in Danish life without giving away private details about his later years.

Directed by Jørgen Vestergaard and created by Bo Hr. Hansen, the 2015 documentary brings together performers including Jesper Asholt, Kurt Ravn, Ina-Miriam Rosenbaum and Nicolaj Kopernikus to voice and enact moments from Storm P.'s worlds.

As a niche cultural documentary it had a fairly limited theatrical presence, circulating mainly in Denmark and on festival programs rather than mounting a broad international box office campaign typical for larger features.

The film leans on the widely held idea that Storm P. stands near H.C. Andersen in popular influence, showing how his phrases, comic timing and visual inventions entered everyday speech and inspired later cartoonists and illustrators. It argues for his role in renewing Danish humor and visual satire, and presents scenes and panels that many viewers will recognize from newspapers and galleries.

Thematic threads include creative restlessness, the blending of humor and melancholy, and an interest in ordinary modern life rendered with wit. Reception has been most enthusiastic among people interested in illustration, comics history and cultural history, since the film prioritizes archival material and context over sensational biography, making it useful for fans and scholars who want a concentrated portrait of Storm P.