Niko and the Way to the Stars

"An All-New Holiday Movie About Santa And His Little Helpers!"

2008 1h 20m FI

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 160

AnimationFamilyAdventureDramaFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young reindeer named Niko dreams about flying like his father, whom he has never met. Despite constant teasing from others, he sneaks out of his home valley to take flying lessons from Julius, a flying squirrel.

“An All-New Holiday Movie About Santa And His Little Helpers!”

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Cast

Olli Jantunen
Niko (voice)
Hannu-Pekka Björkman
Julius (voice)
Vuokko Hovatta
Wilma (voice)
Vesa Vierikko
Musta Susi (voice)
Jussi Lampi
Räyskä (voice)
Risto Kaskilahti
Rimppa / Uljas (voice)
Minttu Mustakallio
Essie (voice)
Juha Veijonen
Raavas (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Hegner
Writers: Hannu Tuomainen, Marteinn Thorisson
Languages: English, Finnish
Countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.6× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Finnish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 7 countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Niko Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stephen McKeon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Per Risager shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Hegner directs. Stephen McKeon scores. Per Risager cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway. Dialogue in English, Finnish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 3.6× over at the box office.
3Released 18 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Finnish.
5International production across 7 countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway.
6Part of the "Niko Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7Original score by Stephen McKeon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Per Risager shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Olli Jantunen and Hannu-Pekka Björkman and Vuokko Hovatta carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "An All-New Holiday Movie About Santa And His Little Helpers!".
11IMDB entry: tt0885415 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Released under 26 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Original score: Stephen McKeon
Editing: Per Risager
Production design: Antti Haikala
Sound: John Fitzgerald
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Status: Released
Budget: $6,100,000
Box office: $21,897,141
Return: 359% of budget
Original language: FI
IMDB: Niko and the Way to the Stars (2008)

Part of

Niko Collection

Niko & The Way to the Stars is a 2008 Finnish-Irish computer-animated Christmas comedy-drama film directed by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen. It is about a young reindeer who must overcome his fear of flying by heading to Santa Claus' fell to save him, and his fleet of flying reindeer from a pack of wolves. The sequel follows the story of Niko, who must deal with his mother for getting re-married. But along the way, he needs to look after his little step brother.