The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix

Reodor Felgen repairs bicycles on a hillside. But his real work is inventing. He has two helpers: a magpie called Solan and a timid hedgehog called Ludvig. One day there is a story in the paper: Reodor's former assistant Rudolf Blodstrupmoen has become a famous racing driver and the design of his car was stolen from Reodor's drawings. Solan sees it. The three decide to build a racing car. They need money and find a backer in an oil sheikh. The car is finished and they enter the race. Ivo Caprino directs. It is a Norwegian production made in puppet animation. The source is Kjell Aukrust's drawings and books. It became the most watched film in Norwegian cinema history and the record stood for a long time. The preparation took years; the puppets and the mechanical parts were made by hand. Real mechanical rigs were used in the racing scenes; the car model was motorised and could be controlled. The matter it treats is who owns work; the stolen design sets the whole reason for the narrative. The characters took a cultural place in Norway and museums were built for them. Its limit is scale; the narrative is simple and the plot runs one way. Another limit is pace; the preparation section is long and the race compressed at the end. Who it is for: viewers who like puppet animation and family films. Who it is not for: it is slow, the story simple, and the humour quiet.