Valhalla (1986 film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Valhalla |
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| Directed by | Peter Madsen Jeffrey J. Varab |
| Produced by | Anders Mastrup |
| Written by | Peter Madsen Henning Kure Niels Søndergaard |
| Starring | Dick Kaysø Preben Kristensen |
| Music by | Ron Goodwin |
| Cinematography | Niels Grønlykke Jan-Erik Sandberg |
| Editing by | Lidia Sablone |
| Distributed by | Metronome |
| Release date(s) | October 10, 1986 (Denmark) |
| Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
| Budget | DKK40 million (estimated) |
Valhalla is a cool Danish animated movie that came out in 1986. It's based on a popular comic book series about Norse mythology. These stories come from old Scandinavian tales, like those found in the Younger Edda and Poetic Edda.
The film was directed by Jeffrey J. Varab, a Disney animator, and Peter Madsen. Peter Madsen also wrote and drew the Valhalla comics. It was the most expensive Danish movie made in 1986. Even though many people watched it, the movie didn't make enough money to cover its costs. This meant it wasn't a financial success.
Contents
The Story of Valhalla
The movie combines stories from three Valhalla comic books. These are "Cry Wolf," "The Story of Quark," and "The Journey to Útgarða-Loki."
Thor and Loki Visit Earth
Thor, the mighty god of thunder, and Loki, the clever god of lies, often visit Midgard (Earth). One night, they find shelter at a lonely farmhouse. A family of Viking peasants lives there with their two children, Tjalvi and his younger sister Röskva.
Thor offers one of his immortal goats for dinner. This goat pulls his chariot. He warns everyone not to break any of its bones. But Loki, always up to mischief, convinces Tjalvi to break a bone for the delicious marrow.
To entertain his hosts, Thor tells a story. He recounts how he once fished for the giant Midgard Serpent, Jörmungandr.
A Lame Goat and a New Servant
The next morning, Thor brings his goat back to life. He is furious to find the animal is now lame. This happened because Tjalvi broke its bone. Thor wants revenge for his injured goat.
Loki suggests a different plan. He says they should take Tjalvi with them to Asgard as a servant. Thor agrees, even though he's not happy about it. Tjalvi is scared to go to Asgard and serve the gods. But his sister Röskva is very brave and wants to go, even though she's not supposed to.
The gods and Tjalvi leave the farm. They travel back to Asgard using the Bifröst bridge. When they arrive, they discover Röskva has secretly come along. She hid in Thor's chariot! So, she is allowed to join her brother at Thor's home, Bilskirnir. Thor's wife, Sif, and their two young children, Þrúðr and Móði, are waiting there.
Life in Asgard
The two human children are immediately put to work. They have to clean the huge mansion, which has 540 rooms! They also care for Thor's two babies and serve the gods.
The exciting feeling of being with the 'immortals' soon fades. Thor is often away on adventures. This leaves Tjalvi and Röskva with all the hard work.
One day, Loki brings a small, quiet jötunn (giant) boy named Quark home. Quark immediately causes trouble in Thor's house. Loki first claims Quark just "followed him" home. But he finally admits he lost a bet with Útgarða-Loki and now has to keep Quark. He must keep Quark until the boy behaves.
Sif is very upset that Quark has to stay. She leaves the house with her two babies. This makes Thor furious. He starts to destroy everything around him. Then he storms out, leaving Loki, Quark, Röskva, and Tjalvi behind.
New Friends and a Vision
Soon, the children and Quark become friends. They realize they have a lot in common. Loki, meanwhile, makes himself comfortable in "his" new home. He acts like a lazy and mean master.
The children and Quark decide to run away. They want to find Odin, the mighty chief of the gods. Odin lives in nearby Valhalla. They hope he will help them with Loki's unfair behavior. But they find out no one is allowed to disturb Odin.
So, they run into the forest and build their own treehouse. They start their own life there. It's almost perfect. Then, Odin's ravens, Hugin and Munin, visit Tjalvi. The ravens are also the storytellers of the movie. They lead Tjalvi to a special well. There, they show him visions of the future.
Tjalvi sees Thor struggling to hold up Jörmungandr. He sees the sea drying up. He also sees Thor quickly growing old and dying. Suddenly, Thor appears. He forces the children, his servants, back to Bilskirnir. Thor then confronts Loki about Quark. He demands that Loki return the boy to Útgarðar. Loki doesn't want to, and can't, bring Quark back. So, Thor forces him to go to Útgarðar, along with Röskva and Tjalvi.
Challenges in Útgarðar
The group travels to Útgarðar. There, Útgarða-Loki, the jötunn-king, offers to take Quark back. But only if they can win a series of challenges.
First, Loki competes in an eating contest against a jötunn named Loge. Loki seems to be winning. But he loses when Loge eats the entire trough, not just the food.
Next, Thor is challenged to drink from a giant drinking horn. No matter how much he drinks, the horn never seems to empty. The audience sees that the horn is magically connected to the ocean. Thor's drinking causes the sea level to drop!
Thor demands another challenge. The jötunns just laugh. They ask him to lift Útgarða-Loki's cat. The cat looks small. But Thor can only lift one of its paws off the floor. To save his honor, Thor demands a fight.
Útgarða-Loki calls for his ancient mother, Elle. She looks weak and old. But her appearance frightens the other jötunns. Thor tries to wrestle her down. But he can't. Instead, he starts to age very quickly. The old woman wrestles him to the floor.
Unmasking the Magic Tricks
While Thor wrestles the old woman, Hugin and Munin show Tjalvi, Röskva, and Quark the visions again. They see them in a mirror. They see Loge moving like fire. They see Thor trying to lift Jörmungandr. And they see Thor aging and dying.
The children realize the jötunns are using magic to cheat! The drinking horn is secretly connected to the sea. Loge is actually an unstoppable fire-spirit. Útgarða-Loki's cat is really Jörmungandr, the Midgard-Serpent. And the old woman is actually old age itself!
Tjalvi tries to stop the wrestling match. But Thor seems to die of old age before Tjalvi can reach him. Tjalvi cries over Thor's body. His tears bring Thor back to life and make him young again. Quark throws water on Loge. This reveals Loge's true nature as a fire spirit, putting him out and killing him. Tjalvi and Röskva expose the jötunns' tricks.
Thor is angry that the jötunns cheated. But he and Loki have lost the bet. So, they are forced to keep Quark. But Loki tells Thor not to worry. He has a plan.
A Clever Trick and a Happy Reunion
The next morning, the two gods and the three children leave Útgarð together. Útgarða-Loki laughs at them for losing the bet. But what looked like Quark suddenly turns into a chicken! Loki used his illusions to trick everyone. The real Quark is still inside Útgarð. He now has to stay there with the other jötunns. This makes both Quark and Röskva sad. They wave goodbye to each other as Thor and Loki leave Útgarð.
Back home at Bilskirnir, Thor gives Tjalvi a sword. This shows that Thor now sees Tjalvi as a man. Röskva feels lonely and unwanted. She walks sadly into the forest. She returns to the treehouse she, Tjalvi, and Quark built together. Suddenly, to her great surprise and joy, Quark appears from inside the treehouse! He ran away from Útgarðar. The two friends are happily reunited with big hugs.
Cast
Danish Version
- Dick Kaysø as Thor
- Preben Kristensen as Loki
- Laura Bro as Røskva
- Marie Ingerslev as Tjalfe
- Nis Bank-Mikkelsen as Odin / Útgarða-Loki
- Benny Hansen as Hymir
- Olaf Nielsen as Rolf Sildeskind (credited as portraying "Rolf")
- Thomas Eje as Quark
- Claus Ryskjær as Hugin
- Kirsten Rolffes as Munin
- Jesper Klein as Mimer
- Susse Wold as Sif / Elle
German Version
- Christopher Lee as Thor
- Radost Bokel as Roskva
- Hans Clarin as Loki
- Manfred Erdmann as Rolf Sildeskind (credited as portraying "Rolf")
- Alice Franz as Elda
- Dagmar Heller as Sif
- Monika John as Mutter
- Christian Tramitz as Schildkröte
Swedish Version
- Ernst Günther as Thor
- Ernst-Hugo Järegård as Loki
- Kyri Sjöman as Röskva
- Peter Zell as Tjalfe
- Gunnar Öhlund as Odin / Útgarða-Loki / Munin
- Margret Andersson as Sif / Hugin / The Mother
- Thomas Ungewitter as Hymir / The Father
English Version
- Stephen Thorne as Thor
- Allan Corduner as Loki
- Suzanne Jones as Roskva
- Alexander Jones as Tjalfe
- Michael Elphick as Útgarða-Loki
- John Hollis as Hymir
- Mark Jones as Odin
- Dagmar Heller as Sif
- Thomas Eje as Quark
Greek Version
- Αλέξης Σταυράκης as Thor / Mimer
- Γιώργος Βασιλείου as Loki / Hymer / Quark
- Δήμητρα Δημητριάδου as Roskva
- Αργύρης Παυλίδης as Tjalfe
- Μάκης Ρευματάς as Odin / Útgarða-Loki
- Λέτα Μουσούτη as Sif
