Work has begun on a blockbuster animated film trilogy based on the Finnish folklore epic The Kalevala, meant for the international market. Employees of the Finnish gaming companies Rovio and Supercell, known for their worldwide gaming hits Angry Birds and Clash of Clans, are the biggest names behind the production. The first instalment of the Iron Danger trilogy is expected to be released in 2017, just in time to celebrate Finland’s 100-year anniversary of independence.
The producers presented a teaser trailer from the film to potential financiers at the Slush start-up event in Helsinki on Tuesday. Production has already begun on the films, with Finland’s best game developers donating their time to develop the project.
Rovio’s Marketing Director Peter Vesterbacka says the project has not hired any actors as of yet, and still doesn’t have a budget. In terms of a production crew, the less than 200 animators that are on board are the extent of it at present.
A world-class production
“We are looking to attain a Hollywood standard with this production, so it will be big budget. We want to make a world-class spectacle,” said Vesterbacka.
Making films about historic events and Finnish mythology has been a challenge in Finland, due to the exorbitant costs involved. Finland’s widely successful gaming firms now offer a new opportunity: the budget will likely grossly exceed the average 1.5 million euro price tag of an ordinary Finnish production.
Vesterbacka says the goal is to put the IronDanger films on par with Hollywood films, with budgets in the tens or even hundreds of millions.
“We will approach this in the same way that we now produce games and entertainment at Rovio and Supercell and the others. We have no intention of making these films for only five million Finns; we want to make them for the entire world! It will be one of the biggest entertainment projects ever embarked on in this country.”
Staying faithful to the national epic
The national epic of Kalevala has been a perennial favourite in the domestic film market. Two recent films are based on the Karelian mythology: Jari Halonen’s 2013 film ‘Kalevala’ and more remotely, AJ Annila’s 2006 ‘Jade Warrior’.
Larger film productions that stand out include the massive Rauta-aika TV series in the 1980s and the 1959 joint Finnish-Russian production ’Sampo’.
The teaser trailer from IronDanger shown at Slush on Tuesday is a breed of its own, however, dramatically different from what Finns have come to expect. Among other things, it includes an army of giant robots shaking the Earth as they move through the terrain.
Peter Vesterbacka nevertheless reassures purists that the films will stay close to the original narrative.
“We will stay sufficiently faithful to the text, but we don’t want to portray the adventures of roving senior citizens either. The focus will be on young, brave and epic heroes.”
Kind of like 'The Empire Strikes Back'
“It will be a very modern, ‘popcorn’ version of The Kalevala, as the story has never been presented in a very griping or soaring fashion,” he says.
This new modern take can best be explained by the animators themselves, says Vesterbacka. They are a generation that grew up watching the epic 'Star Wars' and 'Lord of the Rings' trilogies.
“Our version will be very game-like and contemporary. Kind of like ’The Empire Strikes Back’.”
“The landscapes will look very Finnish. Lapland and the Finnish forest will be discernible - the Finnish wilderness that is the landscape of our soul. But we want to move it beyond the story of the old bard Väinämöinen and make the tale more accessible to a larger audience.”
