Valhalla (film)
Encyclopedia
Valhalla is a Danish
animated feature film
released in October 1986
by Metronome. Based on volumes one, four and five of the Interpresse/Carlsen comic book series
, it was directed by Disney animator Jeffrey J. Varab
and cartoonist Peter Madsen
.
and animation-expert Jakob Stegelmann, who had established an animation-school in Copenhagen
and trained most of the animators who would eventually work on the film. They managed to raise a small budget for a feature film adaptation of the popular graphic novel Valhalla.
The project ran into severe financial difficulties and was passed on between studios before finally ending up in the hands of Swan Film, a company run by two previously convicted heroin-dealers.
Late in production, the film's director Jeffrey J. Varab
walked out of the project, due to arguments with the new production management. On the final release version, Peter Madsen
, who had drawn the comic books and been the film's art director, is credited as director, and Jeffrey J. Varab
is credited as co-director.
At the time of its release, it was Denmark's most expensive film ever, having cost around 40 million kroner
. No Danish film has ever gone as much over budget as Valhalla.
, Preben Kristensen, Laura Bro and Marie Ingerslev, but the film was actually animated to an English language
soundtrack featuring the voices of a primarily non-Danish cast.
The financial collapse of the Valhalla-production also brought down its sister company, LASER, which had been developing an animated feature film adaptation of Gilgamesh
and a laserdisc video game
, Pyramid, about a female hero battling various enemies inside an ancient temple structure. This action-adventure game would have pre-dated Tomb Raider
by ten years.
However, four animators and one producer prior to completing Valhalla regrouped and formed a new company, A. Film A/S
, which to date is Denmark's most successful animation studio, producing frequent artistic triumphs and box-office hits.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
animated feature film
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
released in October 1986
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
by Metronome. Based on volumes one, four and five of the Interpresse/Carlsen comic book series
Valhalla (comic)
Valhalla is a Danish comic book series. Originally commissioned for and published by Interpresse, it has been published by Carlsen Comics since 1987.-History:...
, it was directed by Disney animator Jeffrey J. Varab
Jeffrey J. Varab
Jeffrey James Varab is a leading animator and visual effects artist and one of the pioneers of 3D computer animation. His work on the 1995 film Casper marked the first fully computer-rendered lead character in a feature film, beating Woody and Buzz Lightyear of the fully computer-animated Toy Story...
and cartoonist Peter Madsen
Peter Madsen (cartoonist)
Peter Madsen is an award-winning Danish cartoonist, illustrator, and author. Along with editor Henning Kure and fellow cartoonist Rune T...
.
Production
The project was originally developed by character animator Jeffrey J. VarabJeffrey J. Varab
Jeffrey James Varab is a leading animator and visual effects artist and one of the pioneers of 3D computer animation. His work on the 1995 film Casper marked the first fully computer-rendered lead character in a feature film, beating Woody and Buzz Lightyear of the fully computer-animated Toy Story...
and animation-expert Jakob Stegelmann, who had established an animation-school in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and trained most of the animators who would eventually work on the film. They managed to raise a small budget for a feature film adaptation of the popular graphic novel Valhalla.
The project ran into severe financial difficulties and was passed on between studios before finally ending up in the hands of Swan Film, a company run by two previously convicted heroin-dealers.
Late in production, the film's director Jeffrey J. Varab
Jeffrey J. Varab
Jeffrey James Varab is a leading animator and visual effects artist and one of the pioneers of 3D computer animation. His work on the 1995 film Casper marked the first fully computer-rendered lead character in a feature film, beating Woody and Buzz Lightyear of the fully computer-animated Toy Story...
walked out of the project, due to arguments with the new production management. On the final release version, Peter Madsen
Peter Madsen (cartoonist)
Peter Madsen is an award-winning Danish cartoonist, illustrator, and author. Along with editor Henning Kure and fellow cartoonist Rune T...
, who had drawn the comic books and been the film's art director, is credited as director, and Jeffrey J. Varab
Jeffrey J. Varab
Jeffrey James Varab is a leading animator and visual effects artist and one of the pioneers of 3D computer animation. His work on the 1995 film Casper marked the first fully computer-rendered lead character in a feature film, beating Woody and Buzz Lightyear of the fully computer-animated Toy Story...
is credited as co-director.
At the time of its release, it was Denmark's most expensive film ever, having cost around 40 million kroner
Danish krone
The krone is the official currency of the Kingdom of Denmark consisting of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is subdivided into 100 øre...
. No Danish film has ever gone as much over budget as Valhalla.
Casting
The Danish release version of the film features the voices of Dick KaysøDick Kaysø
-Filmography:*Mafiaen, det er osse mig *Piger i trøjen *Strømer *Julefrokosten *Affæren i Mølleby *Normannerne *Gangsterens lærling *Olsen-banden deruda *Skytten...
, Preben Kristensen, Laura Bro and Marie Ingerslev, but the film was actually animated to an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
soundtrack featuring the voices of a primarily non-Danish cast.
Box Office and Aftermath
In spite of selling more tickets than any other Danish film in 1986, its heavy cost inevitably made it a box-office flop. Swan Film made eight spin-off short films for television featuring Quark, the troll character in both the books and the film, before eventually closing down.The financial collapse of the Valhalla-production also brought down its sister company, LASER, which had been developing an animated feature film adaptation of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
and a laserdisc video game
Laserdisc video game
A laserdisc video game is an arcade game that uses pre-recorded video played from a laserdisc, either as the entirety of the graphics, or as part of the graphics.-History:...
, Pyramid, about a female hero battling various enemies inside an ancient temple structure. This action-adventure game would have pre-dated Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
by ten years.
However, four animators and one producer prior to completing Valhalla regrouped and formed a new company, A. Film A/S
A. Film A/S
A. Film A/S is a Danish animation studio based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It produces traditional and CGI animation for feature films, television, advertising and games...
, which to date is Denmark's most successful animation studio, producing frequent artistic triumphs and box-office hits.