Valhalla (1986)

Directors:

Peter Madsen
Jeffrey James Varab (co-director)

Writers:

Søren Håkansson (comic book)
Henning Kure (comic book)

Release Date:

10 October 1986 (Denmark)

Genre:

Adventure | Animation | Fantasy | Family

Tagline:

Et eventyr med de nordiske guder baseret på tegneserien "Valhalla".

Plot:

Two children in the Viking age find their way into the magical world of Norse mythology.

Plot Keywords:

Thor | Mythology | Norse Mythology | Ragnarok | Troll

Cast

Dick Kaysø	...	Thor (voice: Danish version)
Preben Kristensen	...	Loke (voice: Danish version)
Laura Bro	...	Røskva (voice: Danish version)
Marie Ingerslev	...	Tjalfe (voice: Danish version)
Nis Bank-Mikkelsen	...	Odin / Udgårdsloke (voice: Danish version)
Benny Hansen	...	Hymer (voice: Danish version)
Olaf Nielsen	...	Rolf (voice: Danish version)
Thomas Eje	...	Quark (voice)
Claus Ryskjær	...	Ravnen Hugin (voice: Danish version)
Kirsten Rolffes	...	Ravnen Munin / Røskvas og Tjalfes mor (voice: Danish version)
Jesper Klein	...	Mimer / Røskvas og Tjalfes far (voice: Danish version)
Susse Wold	...	Sif / Elle (voice: Danish version)
Percy Edwards	...	Other voices (voice: Danish version)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Allan Corduner	...	Loke (voice: English version) (as Alan Corduner)
Michael Elphick	...	Udgaardsloki (voice: English version)
John Hollis	...	Hymer (voice: English version)
Alexander Jones	...	Chalfe (voice: English version)
Mark Lewis Jones	...	Odin (voice: English version)
Suzanne Jones	...	Roskva (voice: English version)
Geoffrey Matthews	...	(voice: English version)
Stephen Thorne	...	Thor (voice: English version)

Runtime:

76 min | USA:89 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-6 | Denmark:7 | Sweden:7 | Iceland:L

Company:

Swan Film Production A/S

Trivia:

The first big-scale cartoon project in Denmark.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bagom Valhalla (2003) (V)

Excellent work; a bit of a classic

"Valhalla" has become a bit of a Danish classic, for years rating as a key product of Danish children's fiction. Since it was based on a popular Danish comic album series and helped establish a growing cartoon industry in Denmark, it has also achieved some popularity with young film aficionados, resulting for instance in the recent petition campaign for the DVD release of the film.

Having re-watched the film on the video release recently, I have almost exclusively positive remarks for the film. In all parts of the production this is solid work. There is, perhaps, more cuteness than true drama, and the film is left too short to be epic, but these are descriptions rather than criticisms.

Three things struck me as particularly note-worthy about the production: First, the story does well to transport the imagination of the beholder into the world of the old mythology. To that end, I took special note of the opening prologue scene in which a narrator introduces us to the land of the gods and the story that is to begin; it is almost perfectly styled. Second, as a very positive quality to the story in general, the gods of the story are portrayed funnily and full of flaws, bad tempers, etc. Third, the music of the entire film is excellent, balancing the dramatic and light styles elegantly to fit the moods of the film.