Mio min Mio (1987)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Vladimir Grammatikov

Writers:

William Aldridge (writer)
Astrid Lindgren (novel)

Release Date:

May 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

They're two best friends, a million miles from home. On an incredible adventure, beyond the boundaries of space and time. In a place called...The Land of Faraway.

Plot:

A fantasy about the lonely boy who is transferred from his dull life with his adoptive parents to the land where his real father is the king...

Plot Keywords:

Evil Knight | Friend | King | Knight | Evil

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Nick Pickard	...	Mio / Bosse (as Nicholas Pickard)
Christian Bale	...	Jum-Jum / Benke
Timothy Bottoms	...	The King
Susannah York	...	The Weaver Woman
Christopher Lee	...	Kato
Sverre Anker Ousdal	...	The Swordmaker
Igor Yasulovich	...	Eno / Carpetbeater (as Igor Isulovitch)
Gunilla Nyroos	...	Aunt Edna
Linn Stokke	...	Mrs. Lundin
Stig Engström	...	Benke's Father
Geoffrey Staines	...	The Spirit
Lyubov Germanova	...	Jum-Jum's Mother (as Lubov Germanova)
Andrei Petrov	...	Jiri
Andrei Sergeyev	...	Nonno
Denis Bodrov	...	Lollo

Also Known As:

Мио, мой Мио (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Mio in the Land of Faraway
Mio min Mio (Norway)
Mio, moy Mio (Soviet Union: Russian title)
The Land of Faraway

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

Sweden | Soviet Union | Norway

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-6 | Norway:7 | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:PG | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Company:

Filmhuset AS

Trivia:

Based on a book by Astrid Lindgren, author of "Pippi Longstocking". Lindgren wrote the book after she saw a lonely boy sitting on a park bench in Stockholm. She wondered what he was doing there, who he was and where he would end up. That gave birth to the story of Prince Mio. The bench which the boy sat on can still be found in Stockholm today, marked with a sign saying that "Mio sat here".

Quotes:

Bosse: Who is that man? Wait, don't tell me. I already know. He's my father, right?
The Spirit: Yes. The king of the Land of Faraway.

Soundtrack:

Mio My Mio

One of my All-time Faves!

I first saw this film when my mother bought it on VHS in a store... I think I was about seven. I loved it from the moment I first watched it, and even now, at nineteen, it's still one of my favorite movies.

Now, I realize the effects aren't that great and the ADR is horrible--but as fairytales go, it's among the best. I found the plot to be better translated to film than that of The Neverending Story (which is one of my favorite books--but not one of my favorite movies), and the music is wonderful. Watching the movie was very reminiscent to reading The Chronicles of Narnia, or in fact reading a British translation of Astrid Lindgren's book.

This is still my favorite of Christian Bale's many roles, and among my favorite Christopher Lee roles (the man has over 700, so it's hard to pick faves sometimes ^_^).

A classic for children and families, I must say. (And coming from a cynical college student, that's saying something!)