ABSTRACT
The latest development in creating new heroes with new stories is probably the most vital in Norway, where Frank Mosvold, with his company Kool Production, was the first to look for the international market with Ella Bella Bingo series, followed by the feature.
The only Nordic country with just rich natural resources, including oil, cannot fail in the international competition, although they entered the industry behind Denmark and Finland. The biggest Norwegian studio Qvisten has trusted long in stories by the country’s own fairytale writer Thorbjørn Egner. His novels for children include both villains and elves good at heart. At long last, the Norwegians invented the Nordic Christmas Hour to replace the tradition dominated by Disney since the birth of television as a family format.
The Danish animation industry, on the other hand, has diversified with The Animation Workshop – VIA University College launching start-ups, such as Norlum, successfully making international fame as a minor coproducer in the Oscar-nominated feature Song of the Sea. Late Love Productions, and specially Sun Creature, have mastered animated documentaries, like the Flee, nominated for an Oscar in three categories.
The Swedish LEE Film, one of the followers of Filmtecknarna, has successfully found financing from many Nordic national film institutes and pan-national funds like Nordisk Film & TV Fund.
Finnish Gigglebug Entertainment started as a brand but has successfully developed competitive series matching the criteria of industry leaders from Disney EMEA to Nickelodeon in collaboration with Zodiac and Finnish national broadcaster Yle.
The story of Nordic animation closes with Norwegian Mikrofilm. This small studio survived by doing shorts for three decades and has the only animation Oscar in Nordics from 2006 for Torill Kove’s short The Danish Poet. Mikrofilm’s first feature Titina is one of the most ambitious Nordic animation projects to date with the true but not so widely known story of the Nordic explorer Roald Amundsen.
