Valhalla (1986)

Through Loki's treachery, two children in the Viking age find themselves spirited away into the world of Norse Mythology.

Directors:

Peter Madsen, Jeffrey James Varab (co-director)

Writers:

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

Stars:

Dick Kaysø, Preben Kristensen, Laura Bro

Cast

Credited cast:
Dick Kaysø	...	Thor (voice)
Preben Kristensen	...	Loke (voice)
Laura Bro	...	Røskva (voice)
Marie Ingerslev	...	Tjalfe (voice)
Nis Bank-Mikkelsen	...	Odin / Udgårdsloke (voice)
Benny Hansen	...	Hymer (voice)
Olaf Nielsen	...	Rolf (voice)
Thomas Eje	...	Quark (voice)
Claus Ryskjær	...	Ravnen Hugin (voice)
Kirsten Rolffes	...	Ravnen Munin / Røskvas og Tjalfes mor (voice)
Jesper Klein	...	Mimer / Røskvas og Tjalfes far (voice)
Susse Wold	...	Sif / Elle (voice)
Percy Edwards	...	Other voices (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Radost Bokel	...	Roskva (voice)
Hans Clarin	...	Loki (voice)

Storyline

In a story based freely on Norse mythology, brother and sister Tjalfe and Røskva are paid a surprise visit by gods Thor and Loke. After the children disobey his orders, Thor takes them along with him to Asgaard, the land of gods. After quarreling with Loke, the children follow their own path, accompanied by strange creature Quark, and their adventure takes them to Odin, king of gods, to a playful forest and to the land of the giants.

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Plot Keywords:

mythology | norse mythology | troll | deity | ragnarok | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Odin did not appear in the particular graphic novels and myths the movie is based on, but the filmmakers decided that Odin was too much of an important God to be left out of a movie about Norse Mythology.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ravnen Hugin: Listen! The wind tells a saga... One that was there long ago when Yggdrasil, the tree of life, stood at the center of the world.

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Connections

Spin-off Dragonslayer Quark (1987)

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

10 October 1986 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Valhalla

Box Office

Budget:

DKK40,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Swan Film Production A/S, Asgaard Film ApS, Metronome Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1