The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix

Template:Use mdy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox film The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (Template:Langx) is a 1975 Norwegian stop-motion-animated sports film directed by Ivo Caprino. It is based on characters from a series of books by Norwegian cartoonist and author Kjell Aukrust.<ref name="filmene">Template:Cite web</ref>

It is the most widely seen Norwegian film of all time, having sold some 5 million tickets since its release<ref name="filmene" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to a population which currently numbers just over 5 million. The film sold 28 million movie tickets in the former Soviet Union.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Plot

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Full-scale replica of Il Tempo Gigante

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Model of Il Tempo Gigante

In the village of Flåklypa, (En. Pinchcliffe), the inventor Reodor Felgen (En. Theodore Rimspoke) lives with his animal friends Ludvig (En. Lambert) (a nervous, pessimistic and melancholic hedgehog) and Solan Gundersen (En. Sonny Duckworth) (a cheerful and optimistic magpie). Reodor works as a bicycle repairman; one day, the trio discovers that one of Reodor's former assistants, Rudolf Blodstrupmoen (En. Rudolph Gore-Slimey), has stolen his design for a race car engine and has become a world champion Formula Seven driver. Solan secures funding from Arab oil sheik Ben Redic Fy Fazan (En. Abdul Ben Bonanza), who happens to be vacationing in Flåklypa, and to enter the race, the trio builds a gigantic racing car: Il Tempo Gigante. Reodor ends up winning despite Blodstrupmoen's attempts at sabotage.

History

In 1969, Ivo Caprino and Kjell Aukrust started work on a 30-minute-long TV special<ref name="animation">Template:Cite book</ref> entitled Flåklypa Radio Norway based on Aukrust's books and commissioned for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.<ref name="supreme court">Template:Cite web</ref> Puppets were designed by Ingeborg Isdahl Riser,<ref name= "erikbye">Template:Cite AV media</ref> with the star vehicle Il Tempo Gigante being built by Bjarne Sandemose<ref name= "erikbye" /> (who used entirely house-found material in its construction).<ref>Fædrelandsvennen 1975 issue</ref> Despite major publicity, the NRK were unsatisfied and ceased production;<ref name="supreme court" /> another factor was difficultly adapting the original material<ref name="animation" /> (with the exception of some very short clips, no material from it has ever been seen by the public). A year later, Caprino and Aukrust announced that it would be adapted into a feature-length film.<ref name="supreme court" /><ref name="animation" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The film is heavily inspired by Lom, where Aukrust had roots. The Flåklypa-mountain is a stylized version of a real mountain, where the valley underneath is named Flåklypa. Other names, including Reodor and Blostrupmoen, were taken from the village of Alvdal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The film was made in 3 years by a small team of set builders and camera operators; Caprino directed and animated.<ref name="animation" />

Release and reception

Flåklypa Grand Prix was originally released in Norway on 28th August 1975. Following its immense success, NRK1, later TV 2 Direkte, began broadcasting the film every year on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day respectively, a tradition which continues into the present day.<ref name="filmene" /> To promote it, a life-size replica of Il Tempo Gigante was created.<ref name="supreme court" /> In 2013, the film was released on Blu-Ray and finally available in high definition, the restoration process having began in 2005 for DVD and further enhanced for a theatrical 2010 rerelease.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first English-language release occurred in 1981, distributed by G.G. Communications<ref>1981 film poster.</ref> with a dub recorded in Montreal, Canada. In the United Kingdom another dub premiered on BBC One in 1983;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it is this version that is available on Norwegian home video releases.

Subsequent films based on Aukrust's Flåklypa universe

Gurin with the Foxtail (1998)
Solan og Ludvig - Jul i Flåklypa (2013)
Solan og Ludvig: Herfra til Flåklypa (2015)
Månelyst i Flåklypa (2018)

Other works inspired

In 2000, a computer game based on the film was released. The game was created by Tyr Neilsen who was Creative Director and in charge of production at Ingames Interactive until a debilitating accident ended his video game career. The project was taken over and completed by Caprino's son Remo, while his grandson Mario was lead programmer. The lead designers were Joe Dever and Terry Greer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The game was ported to Nintendo DS in 2010 and sold over 380,000 copies in Norway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The film inspired a young Christian von Koenigsegg to create the Koenigsegg CC, the first of the Koenigsegg line of supercars.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Norwegian hip-hop duo Multicyde based their 1999 single "Not for the Dough" on a sample from the film's soundtrack and featured excerpts from the film in the song's music video.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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External links

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Official website (in English)
History of Caprino Studios' portfolio (in Norwegian. Backup archive.)