> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://weanimate-magazine.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Nordics Represent at Cartoon Movie - URL: https://weanimate-magazine.ghost.io/the-nordics-represent-at-cartoon-movie/ - Published: 2024-03-04T08:35:05.000Z - Updated: 2024-03-04T08:35:05.000Z - Author: WeAnimate - Tags: Festivals, Feature Films, Funding & Policy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, #Import 2026-08-27 20:41 ## Cartoon Movie is upon us, and the annual pitching festival is bigger and more important than ever. To date, Cartoon Movie has helped nearly 450 released films achieve their financing goals, building success stories at every phase in development. The event is also important for filmmakers at every stage of their careers, giving networking and business opportunities to newcomers and animation legends alike. ![WA_DK-Films_Forside](https://weanimate.dk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/WA_DK-Films_Forside.jpg) While it’s no surprise that animated films from France are always well represented at Cartoon Movie, the Nordics are also showing up this year. Among other success stories, Nordic countries continue to develop successful animation franchises, earning wide releases and great financial returns, boosting the success of Cartoon Movie itself. Here are the Nordic projects that will be presenting at Cartoon Movie this March: ![mov24-378428-balls-vertical-435a7606c86056209c7318121e9df307](https://weanimate.dk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mov24-378428-balls-vertical-435a7606c86056209c7318121e9df307.jpg) ## Balls **Main producer**: Alice Änge­by Naive Animation (Sweden) **Directed by**: Andreas Öhman and Naive Animation Writer/director Andreas Öhman’s first feature, *Simple Simon*, received international acclaim and recognition, and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. *Balls* will be his first animated feature, as well as his first family film. *Balls* is currently in development, and being produced with 3D and 2D hybrid techniques. It tells the story of life from the perspective of a humble ball pit ball. As the balls get kicked around, chewed by dogs, and struck by children, they tell a charming story about friendship and following your dreams. ![mov24-378639-niko_-_beyond_the_northern_lights-vertical-d6643a997d2f6fdf2eebb92d90c00aad](https://weanimate.dk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mov24-378639-niko_-_beyond_the_northern_lights-vertical-d6643a997d2f6fdf2eebb92d90c00aad.jpg) ## Niko - Beyond the Northern Lights **Main producers**: Antti Haikala Animaker (Finland) and Hannu Tuomainen (along with Anders Mastrup at Denmark’s A. Film Production) **Directed by**: Kari Juusonen and Jørgen Lerdam *Niko - Beyond the Northern Lights* is the third film in the wildly successful *Niko* franchise. Currently scheduled for a Christmas 2024 release date, the film has already been sold to the Baltics, Benelux, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, and Turkey. For more of our coverage of this highly anticipated film [click here](https://weanimate.dk/articles/niko/?ref=weanimate-magazine.ghost.io) ![mov24-378391-finding_home-vertical-6b3d6826ade16e2726baa3f37605f033](https://weanimate.dk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mov24-378391-finding_home-vertical-6b3d6826ade16e2726baa3f37605f033.jpg) ## Finding Home **Main producer**: Lillian Løvseth Trollfilm (Norway) **Directed by**: Anja Mánou Hellem *Finding Home* is a 2D and 3D animated film, still in the concept stages. It is about a young musk ox undertaking a heroic journey from Norway to Greenland in order to be reunited with his family. It’s a story about magic, friendship, and finding your place in the world. ![mov24-378418-kaja_the_great-vertical-ddc2ee07e680c6438904203fa274e5c9](https://weanimate.dk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mov24-378418-kaja_the_great-vertical-ddc2ee07e680c6438904203fa274e5c9.jpg) ## Kaja the Great **Main producer**: Ruben Thorkildsen Storm Films (Norway) **Directed by**: Martin Lund Martin Lund is a celebrated writer/director, best known for his 2019 unconventional coming-of-age drama *Psychobitch*, also a collaboration with Storm Films. *Kaja the Great* is the story of a small cancer cell who cannot mutate like all the other cancer cells. Frustrated and ostracized, she undertakes a dangerous journey through the body to understand her world better. This unusual 3D animated film is still in development, and explores themes of friendship and inclusion. ![mov24-378455-the_polar_bear_prince-vertical-dab090af2ab51b6f2884071f920964ee](https://weanimate.dk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mov24-378455-the_polar_bear_prince-vertical-dab090af2ab51b6f2884071f920964ee.jpg) ## The Polar Bear Prince **Main producer**: Cornelia Boysen Maipo Film (Norway) **Directed by**: Mikkel B. Sandemose *The Polar Bear Prince* is in production, slated for a 2024 release. This beautiful film has already been sold to Benelux, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, and looks to make an even bigger mark at this Cartoon Movie. For more about this magical project, [click here](https://weanimate.dk/articles/making-an-old-story-new-again-with-the-polar-bear-prince/?ref=weanimate-magazine.ghost.io) ![mov24-378609-pesta-vertical-6bddae41cc33b10eba647e58a232e16d](https://weanimate.dk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mov24-378609-pesta-vertical-6bddae41cc33b10eba647e58a232e16d.jpg) ## Pesta **Main Producers**: Tonje Skar Reiersen and Lise Fearnley Mikrofilm (Norway) **Directed by**: Hanne Berkaak Hanne Berkaak’s *Frydenlund Hair Parlour* made a huge impact on the festival circuit in 2021, and she is once again leveraging her skills as an illustrator and filmmaker to bring us *Pesta*. This young adult film is inspired by darker aspects of Nordic history and folklore, and tells the tragic love story of a young couple in the Middle Ages, divided by religion and social class. Cartoon Movie will also feature three homegrown projects from Denmark: newcomers Rocket Road Pictures with *The Great North Adventure*, A. Film’s *When Mumbo Jumbo Grew Giant*, and *Super Charlie*, a co-production with Nordisk Film Production, based on the bestselling series by Camilla Läckberg. For more about the Danish projects at Cartoon Movie, [click here.](https://weanimate.dk/articles/denmark-goes-to-bordeaux-for-cartoon-movie/?ref=weanimate-magazine.ghost.io) **WeAnimate wishes success to all the projects pitching at Cartoon Movie this week, and we look forward to seeing more animated films from the Nordics on screens around the world this holiday season!** ## Credits Text: **Rebekah Villon** wam#0031