It's good news for you that you will join the Finnish Film Foundation in January 2013, but probably a bad news for the international fans of Niko the little Reindeer that you invented. Does that mean there will not be a Niko 3?
Hannu Tuomainen: I will not be involved in Niko 3 but the co-producers [A Films in Denmark, Ulysses Films in Germany, Tidal Films in Ireland] will perhaps. It's too early to tell. However I'm really looking forward to taking on the new challenge to work as Feature Film Commissioner.
The original 2D film Niko & the Way to the Stars was seen by over three million people around the world. What is your personal take on the phenomenal success of the Niko franchise?
HT: I think the bottom line is that the film offered something fresh compared to Hollywood animated movies. It's a story inspired by real human relationships, the complexity of modern families. It is sincere and has a heart. International distributors whom I spoke to said that what made the film stand out on the market was its combination of entertainment with serious content.
Niko 2 is opening today on over 100 screens, four years after the Finnish release of the first film. What's the main storyline?
Marteinn and I started to think about what would have happened in the little boy's real life a year later. We came up with the idea that his mother had a new boyfriend who has a son of his own, Jonni. That's the kick start for the movie.
Then Niko 2 develops as a coming of age story as Niko is not the only child, the centre of the universe anymore. His six year-old little brother is charming, innocent; everybody loves him, which is SO annoying for Niko. So he takes Jonni to the woods, hoping he will disappear. The little brother actually does disappear as evil characters kidnap him, mistakenly taking him for Niko. With the help of his friends and family, Niko sets on a mission to find his little brother and the adventure starts.
What characters have you kept and who are the new bad guys?
HT: All Niko's friends and family members from the previous film are there. The bad guys this time are a bunch of block-headed evil eagles. Niko has to beat them in the skies. He also encounters the sinister White Wolf, sister of the late Black Wolf. Niko 2 is all about family affairs again.
Kari Juusonen is directing again but Jørgen Lerdam has replaced Michael Hegner. What other artistic changes did you make?
HT: Yes Michael Hegner has many animation projects so we chose to work with Jørgen from A Film who is also very experienced. Otherwise most of the creative team is the same, including the music from the Irish Stephen McKeon. We do have a new editor from Finland, Antti Haikala who worked on the story board.
The actual animation was done in Denmark, Ireland and Germany. A lot of the technical stuff-rendering, production design etc came from us [Anima vitae, one of Finland's leading animation studios] as we wanted to keep creative control over Niko's environment set in Lapland. We shared the work between all partners and constantly exchanged ideas.
Niko & the Way to the Stars was a CGI animation in 2D. How was it to work in stereoscopic 3D this time?
HT: After Niko 1 we thought we knew everything about animation, but then we had to ‘go back to school', learn how to work in 3D. It was challenging and fun. We felt we had to prove we could do it. Compared with Hollywood films that are 20 times more expensive, we were able to make the film for €7.3m, which is a medium European budget for an animation film. In comparison Niko 1 in 2D cost us €6.1m.
Otherwise did you use pretty much the same financial partners? What was the share of pre-sales?
HT: We had 21 partners for Niko 1. Almost all financiers are the same, but because of the financial crisis in Europe, I had to find a few more partners so 23 people were involved in the sequel. As the film was pre-sold to over 60 territories, pre-sales amounted to nearly 35% of the budget which is great. It proves that distributors trusted us.
Are you going to have star voices for the main animated characters, in particular for the English version?
HT: No we will use the usual voice actors we used for the first film. It's really expensive to use name actors. We felt we didn't need big names. Plus Niko will be dubbed everywhere so nobody felt the need for a star voice casting. We preferred to spend the money on the development stage.
How did you work on the marketing and international release strategy with Global Screen (former Telepool)?
HT: Global Screen was involved from the first draft of the script and helped us with the schedule, information feed and delivery of materials to buyers etc. We also had a great support and interaction with Nordisk Film. After the Finnish release, the film will open on November 1st in Denmark and Germany, in France and Netherlands mid-November, in Poland end of November, in Korea in December etc.
Do you plan to develop the Niko characters on other platforms?
HT: Actually we have just released a Niko 2 game for iPhones and iPads. We have also published a new children's picture printed book plus an iPad book including text, sound and other extra items combining material from the book and the film.
What about an animated Niko TV series?
HT: We'll see. I'm not ready to announce anything yet.