#swedish animation

[coupleofdays]

Rabbit firefighters from the Bamse magazine strip, the comic book, and the animated version, all drawn by Rune Andréasson.

[theartofperaohlin]

Promotional art for Dunderklumpen! (feature film, 1974)

[asomaton]

There are precious few good, or at least known animators here in Sweden. One that I do like is Jonas Odell. He has made some really good short films which have earned him some recognition. Most of his early works however is sadly forgotten. This one called “Revolver” is from 1994. To me it feels really modern with its looping gif-like snippets. Being from 94 it’s of course drawn by hand but it emulates so much from computer made animations we see today. Pen and ink and magic.

[timetomike]

[coppercookie]

Dunderklumpen! (1974)

This is Sweden's first animated movie and it's quite impressive for the country's first attempt. Dunderklumpen; a troll of sorts, wants to have friends of his own so he takes a few of a kid's toys and brings them to life. Once the kid realises that his toys are gone he chases after Dunderklumpen which is turn leads to his dad chasing after him since it is past his bedtime.

This movie is clearly made for little kids as the intended audience. The plot is loose and simple but it tends to long-winded but it still has such a nice charm to it. It's like winnie the pooh in the way it gives me a fuzzy warm feeling. I don't know what to think about Dunderklumpen himself or if I should root for him or not. Stealing and kidnapping the toys is obviously bad but he is so naive to the point that he doesn't realise the things he is doing is wrong. Maybe I've read this the wrong way but it seems that he was written to be autistic.

Dunderklumpen manages to fuse live action and animation well the shots are well framed and the actors do a good enough job at giving the illusion that the cartoons are real. The animation is pretty darn good for the time as well. I love the art style for the most part. The character designs are super appealing I especially liked the sock rabbit and the lion cub with the shorts that are too big for him. The Teddy bear is a bit unnerving looking though, something about his face weirds me out, his forehead and ears seems too big but he would look generic without them.

Dunderklumpen is great for Sweden's first animated movie and is very charming but is a little too slow for my taste. It is intriguing at least in a historical and visual sense but if you are not interested in those things then there isn't much else to Dunderklumpen for you to enjoy.

The list

[thefredricus]

Cieco

An Animated Thriller! For everybody who loves the Ritual or the Blair Witch, but also grew up with the animation classics.

The kickstarter campaign for this animated film ends in less than 20 days but it might not reach its goal – However, it’s not too late if everyone is willing to contribute with a dollar or ten or so! :) Please consider donating, or at least take a look at the movie on kickstarter, reblog this post and spread the word about the campaign. If you donate at least 20 dollars you will get a free copy of the movie when it’s out. 

We need more animation like this to brighten up our days, especially in times like these. ♥   

(PS. I’m not involved in this project in any way, I’m just really excited about the movie’s esthetics and story and I know how hard work animation is, so please consider donating!)

[felixkeepswalking]

Swedish animator Victor Bergdahl (1878-1939) and his most popular creation, Captain Grogg.

[coupleofdays]

Pelle Svanslös (Peter No-Tail) 1981