The Robber Hotzenplotz

Hotzenplotz (also known as the brigand Hotzenplotz) is the titular main antagonist, later turned-protagonist, from the German book series "Der Räuber Hotzenplotz" by Ottfried Preußler.

Der Räuber Hotzenplotz
Interested in the coffe mill owned by Kasperl's grandmother, which is able to play music, Hotzenplotz steals it. Kasperl and his friend Seppel decide to follow him, but also "disguise" themselves by switching hats, resulting Hotzenplotz into mistaking them from each other when taking them prisoner. He decides to keep "Kasperl" his prisoner and slave while selling "Seppel" to his friend, the evil wizard Petrosilius Zwackelmann.

When Kasperl escapes from the castle to get the fairy herb in order to turn the fairy Amaryllis, another prisoner of Zwackelmann, back into human form, Zwackelmann decides to use his hat to summon him back, but that results in the summoning of the real Seppel. After Seppel told him that they switched hats, the wizard demands Kasperl's hat and learns that Hotzenplotz burned it. Furious at his friend's stupidity, Zwackelmann uses his boot that Seppel had in his hand to summon him. Zwackelmann tells Hotzenplotz that he got tricked and sold him the wrong person and burned the only thing he could have used to get him back. When he calls him a "Gimpel" (in German, it's an old word meaning both idiot and bullfinch), he decides to make that statement literally and turns him into a bird which he puts in a cage.

Hotzenplotz, still a bird, is later taken away by Kasperl and Seppel after Zwackelmann fell into a pool, drowning, and Amaryllis, having returned to her true form, has destroyed the castle. In front of the grandmother and the policeman Dimpfelmoser, Hotzenplotz is turned back into a human and arrested.

Neues vom Räuber Hotzenplotz
Hotzenplotz manages to escape by taking Dimpfelmoser's uniform. He tricks Kasperl's grandmother into accompanying him on the bike, kidnapping her. Kasperl and Seppel pass by the and hear Dimpfelmoser from inside, they believe that it's Hotzenplotz after realizing the truth. However, the robber locks them all in, but they are able to break out using the fire truck.

Kasperl and Seppel find a letter at home, saying that they should deliver a huge sum of money if they wanted to see the grandmother again. At the meeting point, however, they get taken prisoners by Hotzenplotz who tells them that he only promised that they would see her again, as his prisoners. Serving him mushroom soup in his cave, Seppel pretends to have belly ache,, claiming that the soup contains mushrooms that cause him to burst. As he also ate the soup, Hotzenplotz panicks and begs them to tie him up to prevent him from bursting, resulting in the robber being captured once more.

Hotzenplotz 3
After being legally released from prison and deciding to quit his life of crime for good, Hotzenplotz is soon falsely accused of having stolen the crystal ball from the fortune teller Schlotterbeck. As Kasperl and Seppel are the only ones to believe in his innocence, the help him to hide and even assist in his redemption ritual by throwing his pistols into a lake.

It is later revealed that it was Schlotterbeck's dog Wasti, whom she accidentally turned into a crocodile a long time ago, who stole the ball. With Amaryllis' help, Wasti's returned to normal. Schlotterbeck uses the crystal ball and prohecies that Hotzenplotz will open a pub. Hotzenplotz decides to do exactly that.

1974 Movie
This version is portrayed by Gert Fröbe, who also portrayed Auric Goldfinger. As the movie sticks very close to the source material, is appearance is exactly as in the book.

1979 Sequel
In the 1979's sequel, which has a complete new cast overall, Hotzenplotz is played by Peter Kern. The sequel is also based on the book, at least plot wise, as Hotzenplotz's appearance differs from the first movie. Also, Hotzenplotz doesn't just leave them a letter, he orders an ice cream man to hide the letter in a waffle and has it delivered to the boys. The sequel features a different ending as well: Dimpflmoser as well as all policemen at his disposal search the hideout, however Hotzenplotz uses one of the stolen uniforms to blend in and later steals the fire truck, resulting in a car chase that ends when Hotzenplotz crashes right into prison, mumbling that he'll be back.

2006 Remake
Hotzenplotz appears in the remake from 2006, which is actually consisting of the first two books instead of just the first one. This version is portrayed by Armin Rohde. Unlike the original movie, the remake is rather loosely based on the source material, giving him a new appearance. Another change to the source material is that he tends to use a hollow tree as a disguise. When he's arrested in bird form, he, unlike the book and other adaptions, turns into a human by accident when Kasperl accidentally wastes his third wish. He is also defeated in yet a different way at the end of the second half of the movie: Kasperl and Seppel first call for Amyrillis, who appears but can't help them as she can't use her powers in a kitchen. Hotzenplotz then takes them all prisoner. He is, however, defeated when falling for the trick with the mushrooms. He is seen during the credits, singing a song while trying to escape from his prison cell.