The Nordics Represent at Cartoon Movie
The Nordics Represent at Cartoon Movie
WeAnimate 2024-03-04 | wam#0031
Cartoon Movie is upon us, and the annual pitching festival is bigger and more important than ever. To date, Cartoon Movie has helped nearly 450 released films achieve their financing goals, building success stories at every phase in development. The event is also important for filmmakers at every stage of their careers, giving networking and business opportunities to newcomers and animation legends alike.
While it’s no surprise that animated films from France are always well represented at Cartoon Movie, the Nordics are also showing up this year. Among other success stories, Nordic countries continue to develop successful animation franchises, earning wide releases and great financial returns, boosting the success of Cartoon Movie itself. Here are the Nordic projects that will be presenting at Cartoon Movie this March:
Balls
Main producer: Alice Ängeby Naive Animation (Sweden)
Directed by: Andreas Öhman and Naive Animation
Writer/director Andreas Öhman’s first feature, Simple Simon, received international acclaim and recognition, and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. Balls will be his first animated feature, as well as his first family film.
Balls is currently in development, and being produced with 3D and 2D hybrid techniques. It tells the story of life from the perspective of a humble ball pit ball. As the balls get kicked around, chewed by dogs, and struck by children, they tell a charming story about friendship and following your dreams.
Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights
Main producers: Antti Haikala Animaker (Finland) and Hannu Tuomainen (along with Anders Mastrup at Denmark’s A. Film Production)
Directed by: Kari Juusonen and Jørgen Lerdam
Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights is the third film in the wildly successful Niko franchise. Currently scheduled for a Christmas 2024 release date, the film has already been sold to the Baltics, Benelux, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, and Turkey.
For more of our coverage of this highly anticipated film click here
Finding Home
Main producer: Lillian Løvseth Trollfilm (Norway)
Directed by: Anja Mánou Hellem
Finding Home is a 2D and 3D animated film, still in the concept stages. It is about a young musk ox undertaking a heroic journey from Norway to Greenland in order to be reunited with his family. It’s a story about magic, friendship, and finding your place in the world.
Kaja the Great
Main producer: Ruben Thorkildsen Storm Films (Norway)
Directed by: Martin Lund
Martin Lund is a celebrated writer/director, best known for his 2019 unconventional coming-of-age drama Psychobitch, also a collaboration with Storm Films. Kaja the Great is the story of a small cancer cell who cannot mutate like all the other cancer cells. Frustrated and ostracized, she undertakes a dangerous journey through the body to understand her world better. This unusual 3D animated film is still in development, and explores themes of friendship and inclusion.
The Polar Bear Prince
Main producer: Cornelia Boysen Maipo Film (Norway)
Directed by: Mikkel B. Sandemose
The Polar Bear Prince is in production, slated for a 2024 release. This beautiful film has already been sold to Benelux, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, and looks to make an even bigger mark at this Cartoon Movie.
For more about this magical project, click here
Pesta
Main Producers: Tonje Skar Reiersen and Lise Fearnley Mikrofilm (Norway)
Directed by: Hanne Berkaak
Hanne Berkaak’s Frydenlund Hair Parlour made a huge impact on the festival circuit in 2021, and she is once again leveraging her skills as an illustrator and filmmaker to bring us Pesta. This young adult film is inspired by darker aspects of Nordic history and folklore, and tells the tragic love story of a young couple in the Middle Ages, divided by religion and social class.
Cartoon Movie will also feature three homegrown projects from Denmark: newcomers Rocket Road Pictures with The Great North Adventure, A. Film’s When Mumbo Jumbo Grew Giant, and Super Charlie, a co-production with Nordisk Film Production, based on the bestselling series by Camilla Läckberg.
For more about the Danish projects at Cartoon Movie, click here.
WeAnimate wishes success to all the projects pitching at Cartoon Movie this week, and we look forward to seeing more animated films from the Nordics on screens around the world this holiday season!
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