Sprotte is about 12 years old and has a "gang" with her three friends Frieda, Melanie and Trude. Together the girls take Care of Sprottes grandmothers chickens. The new girl in School, Wilma, wishes to join the group, which Melanie is very unhappy about, and on top of all of that they have an on going revalisasion with a group of boys. Sprottes grandmother is planning on slaughtering the chickens! Will the Wild Chicks be able to save them?

The film tells the story of Jochen, who lives with his divorced mother and her boyfriend. The family relationship is tense, the mother looks on helplessly. Out of frustration, Jochen steals a chocolate bar. Alex, an older classmate, observes him and takes advantage of the situation: Jochen begins to steal on Alex's behalf. Soon he is caught and sent to a reformatory... A group of students from Bonn filmed Hans-Georg Noack's bestseller for young people. “Escalator Down” is the successful debut of young filmmakers and impressively shows how a 13-year-old begins to steal and ends up in a downward social spiral. The writer Noack was so enthusiastic about the Bonn student group's script that he gave them exclusive permission to film his work. The result is remarkable and the film is particularly recommended for these reasons.