Niko - Lentäjän poika (2008)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Michael Hegner
Kari Juusonen

Writers:

Hannu Tuomainen (written by) and
Marteinn Thorisson (written by) ...

Release Date:

10 October 2008 (Finland)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family

Plot:

A young reindeer who suffers from vertigo learns to overcome his fear, takes flying lessons from a clumsy flying squirrel and heads to the North pole to save a troubled Santa and his fleet of flying reindeer.

Plot Keywords:

Reindeer | Flying Squirrel | Wolf | Fatherless Child | Weasel

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Olli Jantunen	...	Niko (voice: Finnish version)
Hannu-Pekka Björkman	...	Julius (voice: Finnish version)
Vuokko Hovatta	...	Wilma (voice: Finnish version)
Vesa Vierikko	...	Musta Susi (voice: Finnish version)
Jussi Lampi	...	Räyskä (voice: Finnish version)
Risto Kaskilahti	...	Rimppa / Uljas (voice: Finnish version)
Minttu Mustakallio	...	Essie (voice: Finnish version)
Juha Veijonen	...	Raavas (voice: Finnish version)
Puntti Valtonen	...	Hirvas (voice: Finnish version)
Elina Knihtilä	...	Oona (voice: Finnish version)
Juulia Rönkkö	...	Saaga (voice: Finnish version)
Tommi Korpela	...	Porolauman johtaja (voice: Finnish version)
Aarre Karén	...	Isoisä (voice: Finnish version)
Arttu Hämäläinen	...	Poropoika 1 (voice: Finnish version)
Ilmari Huhtala	...	Poropoika 2 (voice: Finnish version)

Also Known As:

Det store stjernespring (Denmark) (working title)
Lentäjän poika (Finland) (working title)
Niko & The Way to the Stars (International: English title)
Niko - Ein Rentier hebt ab (Germany)
Niko - På väg mot stjärnorna (Finland: Swedish title)
Niko og de flyvende rensdyr (Denmark)
Niko og vejen til stjernerne (Denmark) (working title)
The Flight Before Christmas (USA)
The Way to the Stars (International: English title) (pre-release title)
Tie tähtiin (Finland) (working title)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

Finland | Denmark | Germany | Ireland

Language:

English | Finnish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Denmark:7 | Finland:K-7 | USA:G | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:6 | Sweden:Btl | Singapore:G | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Finland

Company:

Cinemaker Oy

Trivia:

The film was animated to fit the English language, using a temporary voice track recorded by Irish actors. It was then dubbed to other languages.

Soundtrack:

Vilman jouluyllätys

Awesome movie

There is a very important moral and the two main characters learn a lesson fro each other: Niko learns that there's no need to look for your real dad if you are surrender people who love you. Julius learns not to be too cautionary toward Niko. And it's the Christmas spirit (and a hilarious weasel called Wilma) which will teach them to appreciate each other. The animation is not the best, I mean, it's very good for five minutes, then it gets bad, then good for other five minutes and then bad again, because the animation has been created by more than 3 different studios set all over the Europe, and the directors weren't able to keep animation homogeneous all movie long. You can easily find out each animator's style and this is horrible because all the characters take turn to be badly animated, and this is sad. But graphics, score and story are gorgeous. I would have rated 9 if animation was better. Dave