‘Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights’ Debuts Clip as Beloved Reindeer Returns for Third Time: ‘In This Film We See the Biggest Change in Niko’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Everyone’s favorite reindeer is set to return for the third time in the hit CGI animated film “Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights,” with a clip (below) debuting exclusively with Variety. He’ll learn some important life lessons in the film.

“I guess we like to make things difficult for Niko,” jokes director Kari Juusonen. Jørgen Lerdam co-directs.

“We knew it had to be clear he’s different at the end, because of this adventure and all these revelations, but that’s what’s so great about animation. You can have a very serious moment, and then a whole lot of flying.”

In the third part of the popular franchise – which started in 2008 with “The Flight Before Christmas” – Niko wants to follow in his father’s hooves and join Santa’s prestigious Flying Forces. He has already overcome his fear of heights, but the pressure to measure up to his dad is taking its toll.

“In this film we see the biggest change in Niko. He always learns something new, but now, he’s really on the verge of growing up. He becomes a teenager,” says production designer Mikko Pitkänen.

“It’s amazing we even have this third film, because it was never our plan. It’s not just about adding more action and funnier jokes – it’s a natural progression of the main character. This story, a story of Niko and his father, finally comes to a conclusion.”

The team at animation studio Anima Vitae wasn’t afraid of some darker themes.

“We don’t mind going quite heavy. Thanks to Mikko, these characters are very appealing, even though reindeers are a bit limited when it comes to animation. They can’t handle any props. With the first ‘Niko,’ we decided we wanted to come close with the camera and make things heavy emotionally, and then balance it out with action and slapstick,” explains Juusonen, while Pitkänen laughs: “If it were up to me, these films would be much darker!”

“It’s funny how dark Disney films used to be – take ‘The Rescuers,’ with two mice helping a kidnapped child. It’s one of the greatest things: to feel scared in the cinema with other people, knowing you’ll be alright in the end.”

The film is produced by Antti Haikala, Hannu Tuomainen, Emely Christians, Moe Honan and Anders Mastrup for Anima Vitae, Cinemaker, Ulysses Films, Moetion Films and A. Film Production, in association with Telepool, Nordisk Film, Global Screen – also handling sales – Bac Films, MTV, RTE and DR.

They never anticipated creating a franchise with international appeal.

“It was a complete surprise. It was a surprise with the first film, it was a surprise with the second one,” says Juusonen.

“That first script… It just felt like a really, really good idea. As Finns, we feel we have this ownership towards Santa and his flying reindeers, so of course we should tell their ‘true’ story. And yet it felt like a pioneering thing in Finland. Nobody tried to do something like that,” adds Pitkänen.

Eager to celebrate Lappish nature and Santa’s hometown [he resides in Rovaniemi], they ultimately went beyond Christmas, focusing on Niko’s family.

“You have this reindeer growing up without a father, trying to figure out if he’s really as wonderful as he thinks he is, and then finding out the truth. I had the same kind of realization with my kids. At one point, they look at you and go: ‘Oh, that dude. He doesn’t have a clue’,” laughs Juusonen.

“It felt like something I haven’t seen in an animated film. You need these little moments of truth and the starting point can come from your own life. My dad died when I was quite young, but I remember looking at him, wondering what kind of man he was.”

Pitkänen responded to the story as a stepfather.

“To have this squirrel as a sort of stepfather to Niko… I’ve always thought it was such a great idea. Most U.S. films focus on ‘nuclear family’ and after the first ‘Niko,’ we got some harsh comments about his father not coming back to the family. People were furious about it! They said it wasn’t suitable for children. To us, it just felt true to life,” he says.

“The adults aren’t always doing the right thing. In this third film, you come to the point when you realize you can make better choices than your parents even did.”

While Niko discovers harsh truths about his dad, there’s still plenty of humor. And plenty of lemmings, threatening to steal the whole show.

“Many people got excited about the lemmings,” admits Pitkänen, spitballing a few ideas for possible sequels. But they won’t be happening anytime soon. Or will they?

“The wise thing would be to start thinking about the next Niko film. We haven’t done that after the second [2012 ‘Little Brother, Big Trouble: A Christmas Adventure’] because we had to wait for the right story. But there are so many things we haven’t done yet.”

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