Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987)
"Mio min Mio" (original title)

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. In that country he sets out on a quest, ... See full summary »

Director:

Vladimir Grammatikov

Writers:

William Aldridge (screenplay), Astrid Lindgren (novel),

Stars:

Nick Pickard, Christian Bale, Timothy Bottoms

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Andrey Sergeyev	...	Nonno
Denis Bodrov	...	Lollo

Storyline

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. In that country he sets out on a quest, together with his new friend, to destroy the evil Knight Kato.

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Plot Keywords:

king | knight | evil | friend | evil knight | 

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Taglines:

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.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Sweden Soviet Union Norway

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mio in the Land of Faraway

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Box Office

Budget:

SEK 55,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 17,799,205 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nordisk Tonefilm International, Gorky Film Studios, Norway Film Development

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Chernobyl disaster of the power plant occurred at the same time they were filming. The crew completely evacuated the area, however came back to shoot the month after. They had numerous Geiger Counters set throughout the shoot to monitor radiation levels.

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Quotes

Mio: It felt like we were flying! I didn't know that Miramis could do that!
Jum-Jum: You don't know all that much, Mio.

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Soundtracks

"Mio My Mio"
Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
Sung by Gemini

User Reviews

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!)