How Dunderklumpen inspired Levende Liedjes

'Dunderklumpen' poster

'Kapitein Winokio's Levende Liedjes' was the not just the first dvd of Kapitein Winokio, it was the first dvd feature I ever made as well. I've always been fascinated with the combination of live action and animation. A visual style that was that blew me away when I was just a kid, watching the 1974 Swedish film 'Dunderklumpen!'

'Dunderklumpen!' is a 1974 Swedish family film directed by Per Åhlin. Jens is a young boy who spends the holidays with his family on an abandoned island. On midsummer night the family is visited by Dunderklumpen, a strange character that takes all the dolls of his sister Camilla and brings his toys to life by touching them. Yet, the toys are not overly fond of their new company and cry out for help to Jens, who ventures after Dunderklumpen to retrieve them.

Though a little dated today, the movie still gets to me with its stunning visuals. The vast and beautiful scandinavian landscapes, the beautiful integration of all the animated characters, and the great soundtrack which was created by late Toots Thielemans. The film won a special Achievement Award at the 11th Guldbagge Awards for it's visionary combination of two completely different visual styles. The film can be watched on youtube, there is even a Dutch version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9NJwpRtQvM

This movie still works as an inspiration today. It shows the power of the medium, and how things that are film lives in it's own universe. But it also shows that there is more to film then seamlessly integrated CGI. I like these films as much as the next guy (and even love a fair bunch of them), but not every world has to be built around an ton of special effects shots. Sometimes it only takes the right combination of real and unreal elements to be transported to a whole new universe.