Reindeer Niko is Finland’s most popular movie character in the world

What Finnish films have received the most cinemagoers in the world? Aki Kaurismäki takes the top spots, if the cut is in feature films.

However, Niko animations are their own chapter. The first two films about the reindeer boy reached an even wider audience in the world than A man without a past and Le Havrewhich both gathered more than two million viewers.

Producer Hannu Tuomainen specifies that the statistical viewership figures are not accurate. They lack information from Asia, for example.

“Each of the first two Nikos got more than three million movie theater viewers for sure,” says Tuomainen.

“It motivates people to get going and choose Nikon.”

Now the third film of the series is coming to the premiere, Niko and the riddle of the storm reindeer. It has already been sold all over the world in advance, to more than a hundred countries.

“Many people who saw the first Nikos in cinemas as children already have children of their own”, reminds the producer Antti Haikala.

Haikala, Tuomainen and directed all three films Kari Juusonen have been at Niko-hommi for twenty years.

Niko, the pilot’s son was completed in 2008. When production began in 2004, only one long animated film that had been distributed on the big screen had been made in Finland, Riitta Nelimarkna and Jaakko Seeckin Seven brothers (1979).

Niko and the riddle of the storm reindeer with a budget of 7.2 million euros, it is one of the most expensive Finnish films.

From the previous movie Niko 2: The pilot brothers (2012) seven years had already passed when development began. Tuomainen was in between at the Finnish Film Foundation as a production consultant.

He emphasizes that during the scripting phase, we don’t think about whether there will be trade in Vietnam, but we build the best story in our opinion. It gets funding from the world.

“Like in the javelin throw: don’t think about the result before the performance.”

The script phase is followed by the first implementation, where the Raw version is made using simple 3d models. The picture still looks rough, and the sounds are indicative.

“The stage is merciless when it comes to the story. You can’t cheat in that,” says Haikala.

“We grind, grind and finally implement what works. Then you can already see whether the film excites, laughs, touches and makes you cry,” Tuomainen describes.

The final implementation, including polishing the animation, milieu and lighting, takes a year and a half after the story is locked.

Niko and the storm reindeer sixty Finns worked on the picture.

An animated film national identity is not a simple matter. Niko and the riddle of the storm reindeer is a Finnish-German-Irish-Danish production.

The events take place in Finnish Lapland, and the screenwriters are Juusonen, Tuomainen and an Icelandic-Irish Martin Thorisson.

Animation has a huge advantage to be dubbed in every country.

“The dubbing is better accepted than in the screened film. It’s natural that the animals speak the language of the country where the film is shown,” says Tuomainen.

This is how, for example, in Germany, Nikot could be perceived as a German film.

“It makes it easier to succeed,” says Haikala.

Producers see in Nikoi an authenticity related to Finland that cannot be imitated. For example, that birches look like birches. The world is not a Lapland stereotype adapted from other films and losing its personality along the way.

“Niko is the Finnish film that spreads the most,” says Tuomainen.

“When it’s Finnish Lapland and it’s winter, it does look Finnish. Even if some people still disagree, we have proven that Santa Claus lives in Finland. A lot of work has been done on this matter.”

Niko’s the main production company is Animaker. It is owned by Hannu Tuomainen, whose company Cinemaker is a part producer, and the animation studio Anima Vitae, whose founders include Antti Haikala.

Since Niko films have a history of twenty years, the journey can be full of turmoil. One is the disappearance of the DVD market. It is difficult to overestimate its effect on the financing of films for the entire family.

“Distributors’ risk-taking ability decreased,” says Tuomainen.

“Before, after the movie theater, the secondary market was television, pay channels and DVD. Streaming platforms have not fully compensated for the loss of DVD.”

The most difficult was in the early 2010s, when the DVD market collapsed.

However, with the growth of streaming services, the number of viewer contacts has increased. It refers to all viewers, including television and streaming audiences, which are counted less than cinema visits.

“I can visit my relatives in the United States, and Niko can be found on Netflix,” says Haikala.

“Nikoi has more than a hundred million viewer contacts so far. It’s fantastic,” says Tuomainen.