News
800 years in the making
Legends of Valhalla, the first full-length computer animated feature produced in Iceland, will premier in the fall of 2011. The film's production company, CAOZ, recently opened a website, where viewers can get a taste of the movie's plot and characters, and familiarize themselves with the mythical world it's derived from. The film's director is Óskar Jónasson, and its production cost is around 1,4 billion ISK, or roughly 9,2 million euros.“We like to say that that the film's production began a long time ago,” says Þórhallur Ágústsson at CAOZ. “800 years ago, to be exact, when Snorri Sturluson wrote the first draft of the script in 1220. Since then, things have proceeded with varying rapidity, but the final stages began in 2009, when the project's funding was secured.There are now 80 people working on the film, at four studios in three countries – Iceland, Ireland and Germany.”
What is the purpose of the new website?
“It has a manifold purpose,” says Þórhallur. “Primarily, it's meant to serve as our contribution to promoting the Norse literary heritage. You get to know the gods, men, mythical creatures and monsters, and last but not least the cosmology that Snorri Sturluson put to pergament in the Prose Edda.
“To begin with, the site promotes the film, gives a taste of its artwork and provokes general interest. Its layout revolves around making everything as accessible as possible – information, pictures and videos. This, however, is just part of the site, which also contains a wealth of material on Norse mythology, produced by Terry Gunnel, professor at the University of Iceland, and discussing subjects such as the mythology's roots, gods and heroes, and its accounts of humanity's origins.”
CAOZ has previously produced the award-winning animated shorts The Little Lost Caterpillar and Anna and the Moods. According to Þórhallur, producing a 3-D animated film requires a lot of patience and work.
“One minute of movie per week is considered good progress,” he says. “Legends of Valhalla has already been sold to 38 countries, and the goal is to sell to more than 100 countries. We consider it our duty, as Icelanders, to do as good a job as we can with this material, and to distribute it as widely as possible. Spread the good news. These are classics, and good stories, too.”