Eigentlich sollten wir (2024)

Stefan “Steffi” Steindl is a family man and a photographer. His wife Marion is a graphic designer, and together they have three children, Lisa, Fabian, and Jakob. They live in a big city. Stefan is bothered by the children’s many plastic toys. For example, he takes them into the woods to show them that playing can be fun without plastic toys, too. After Stefan slips on one of the children’s toys, he ends up in the hospital, where he meets Ferry Peschl. At Ferry’s repair café, Ferry’s Paradise, Stefan meets a group of committed citizens that includes Ferry, Luna, Gerda, and Alex. In their fight against plastic and waste, they form an activist group called Parents Against Krempel, or PAK for short. Together, they put messages critical of consumerism on a toy manufacturer’s products and, using Ferry’s expertise, tamper with the manufacturer’s talking toys so they play messages of their own. The police begin investigating and soon classify the group as a terrorist cell. Betty Krüger is the head of the manufacturer, Kids and Toys; her assistant and lover is Masoud Azimi. Stefan is hired as a photographer by the toy manufacturer and is thus forced to lead a double life. Luna and Alex kidnap Azimi, then later release him in the woods. After Marion discovers that her Steffi is a member of PAK, the two have an argument. When Betty Krüger also learns that Stefan Steindl belongs to PAK, she ends her collaboration with Marion Steindl. Stefan Steindl is eventually arrested by the police. In flashback, he and his wife tell investigators Karin Schober and Wolfgang Horak the story of PAK. Ferry, Luna, Gerda, and Alex are also questioned by the police, and Ferry claims that Stefan did everything entirely on his own. While the other PAK members remain in pretrial detention over Azimi’s kidnapping, which took place without Stefan’s knowledge, Stefan talks about PAK and its aims on Armin Wolf’s ZIB 2. By now, the idea has also inspired imitators internationally. According to Stefan, people should give more time and less stuff as gifts. After the interview, Kids and Toys’ share price falls, while PAK’s follower count continues to rise. Krüger then withdraws all her complaints and claims that the stickers were part of an awareness campaign, the tampered toys were part of a campaign for special features, and PAK’s actions were viral marketing. Ferry, Luna, Gerda, and Alex are then released. Stefan announces that he is leaving PAK and puts forward Gerda as his successor and the group’s new leader. The Steindls hold a flea market to sell toys they no longer need. Ferry is hired by Betty Krüger as an expert in product customization. Krüger gives the Steindls a VW bus, which they use to go on vacation.