There is a new Christmas tradition starting in the Nordic this year: a one-hour long animated special with the most beloved Nordic Christmas stories. The show will be shown on TV in Finland, Norway, Iceland and Denmark on Christmas Eve.
From the rich fairytale universe of authors such as Tove Jansson, Kjell Aukrust, Astrid Lindgren and Mauri Kunnas, comes a new adventurous Christmas special for the whole family. The animated special, called Snøbarnas Juletime in Norwegian, premieres December 24 on state television in Norway, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark.
The project is initiated by the Norwegian production company Qvisten Animation, in collaboration with NRK and the most high-profile animation studios in the Nordics. The goal has been to highlight the creative power and storytelling joy of Nordic culture and history:
– This project has been an adventure in itself. Gathering authors, stories, and creators from all over the Nordics has been quite a job, but when we see the end result, it has really been worth the journey, says Fredrik Kiøsterud, General Manager at Qvisten Animation.
The story about Santa Claus is based on Mauri Kunnas book ‘Twelve Gifts for Santa Claus’.
The authors represented are Kjell Aukrust from Norway, Astrid Lindgren from Sweden, Tove Jansson and Mauri Kunnas from Finland, as well as H.C. Andersen and Jakob Martin Strid from Denmark. Fredrik Kiøsterud tells about a search for the best Christmas stories:
– From the rich universes that these authors have created, we have selected stories that are about the values of Christmas: Family, traditions, and charity. But also, a lot of play and fun!
The Moomin family in ‘Christmas Comes to Moominvalley’.
Among the stories is Christmas Comes to Moominvalley, a re-telling of Tove Jansson’s classic story The Fir Tree, Mauri Kunnas’ Twelve Gifts for Santa Claus and Kjell Aukrust’s Rekorden, where Solan and Ludvig give the concept of ski flying a new dimension.
‘Rekorden’ is based on a story by Kjell Aukrust.
– The aim of ‘Rekorden’ is to create a Christmas story that is eternally relevant and at the same time classic, with a snowy Christmas atmosphere and fast-paced fun. We wanted to depict the atmospheric, icy inland winter, with animated wildness for the youngest, combined with Kjell Aukrust’s warmth and humor that is more aimed towards the adult viewers.
– Our vision is for this to be part of the children’s upbringing. We hope and believe that the Christmas hour will become a tradition the whole family will enjoy for many years to come – in all the Nordic countries! Fredrik Kiøsterud concludes.
Snøbarnas Juletime will premiere on NRK, DR, RÚV, Swedish and Finnish YLE on December 24, 2022. Watch the official NRK trailer here.
Brodacast times and titles for each country:
Norway, Snøbarnas juletime:
NRK 1 – December 24th at 10:00
available for streaming on NRK.no starting 06.00
Finland, Joulun tähtitarinoita/Snöbarnens julsagor:
Yle TV2 – December 24th at 12:05 (Finnish)
Yle Fem – December 24th at 18:31 (Swedish)
available for streaming on Yle Areena starting Christmas morning
Iceland, Jólastund snjóbarnanna:
RÚV – December 24th at 10:00
Denmark, Snebørnenes juletime:
Broadcast on DR1 on Christmas Day, 25/12 at 19.00