Louis & Luca and the Snow Machine
A Christmas movie to enjoy
Screen grab courtesy of Films of Norway
“Louis” the magpie and “Luca” the hedgehog have snow as their No. 1 wish for Christmas.
GEIR MÆLAND
Films of Norway
Synopsis
The story of Louis & Luca and the Snow Machine takes place in a small “village” called Flåklypa. It is wintertime, but there is no snow, and that is pretty close to a catastrophe in a village like this. Therefore, “Louis” the magpie and “Luca” the hedgehog (named Solan and Ludvig in the original Norwegian) have snow as their No. 1 wish for Christmas. It is not looking promising, as there is no snow on the ground—and no snow in sight.
The only hope is the local inventor, Alfie Clarke. He usually has some kind of technical solution for most challenges. This time, Alfie builds the world’s most powerful snow machine. But just when everything seems to be going the right direction, things instead get out of control and Flåklypa is about to drown in snow. A rescue mission is needed, and the question is: Who can save them? And how? And will everything be all right by Christmas?
Screen grab courtesy of Films of Norway
Author Kjell Aukrust created the Flåklypa environment and the characters in the film.
Review
I have been in love with these characters from Flåklypa since I was a young man and saw the first “Flåklypa” movie, The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix, in 1975.
There is something about these charismatic characters that just melts my heart. I guess it is more about “personality” than aesthetic looks, but it really doesn’t matter. It works.
Louis & Luca and the Snow Machine has the elements that are needed for a good story: conflict, twists and turns, and, of course, a challenge to engage and involve everyone, from beginning to end.
I caught myself in laughing out loud in some of the scenes where the dialogue is so clever in combination with witty humor, that it really is hard to keep a straight face.
This is truly a Christmas movie for the entire family to enjoy.
The very popular author Kjell Aukrust created the Flåklypa environment and the characters in the film. He has written more than 30 books in his lifetime—highly recommended reading in addition to seeing the movies.
It is not fair to talk about the characters and Flåklypa without also mentioning the huge contribution from Caprino Studios in Oslo and the talented people there who made and brought to life the animated figures.
Lastly, here is a fun fact in regard to the first and original Flåklypa movie, The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix. At the time of its theatrical release in Norway, the country had a population of 4 million people, yet 5 million cinema tickets to see it were sold! How was that possible? The explanation is simple enough: people enjoyed it so much that many cinema-goers went to see it twice…or more. These films are simply irresistible!
The film with both Norwegian and English audio is available to stream with subscription to Films of Norway (filmsofnorway.com), where a subscription costs $4.99 per month.
Louis & Luca and the Snow Machine was produced by Maipo Film in Oslo, Norway.
Director: Rasmus A. Sivertsen
Norwegian-language cast: Kari Ann Grønsund, Trond Høvik, Trond Brænne, Kåre Conradi, and Jakob Oftebro
English-language cast: Dermot Magennis, Paul Tylak, Patrick Fytzsymons, Marcus Lamb, and Hugh Bonneville
Year: 2013
Runtime: 76 minutes
This article originally appeared in the Dec. 25, 2020, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
