30/08/2006

The animated 3D film The Ugly Duckling and Me, produced in Ireland by Magma Films in co-production with Denmark (A Film), France (Futurikon) and Germany (Ulysses), is going to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (September 7-16) in the festival’s new Family Zone programme.

The creators of Help! I’m a Fish and Terkel In Trouble [+see also:
trailer
film profile] have turned Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale into a comedy in which the star character Ratso, a success-starved rodent impresario is forced to stay in a duck yard. There, he persuades its hostile inhabitants that he is the father of a stray ugly duckling. Ratso and the ugly duckling escape and set off on a perilous journey towards their big breakthrough.

Jane Schoettle, International Programmer at Toronto, said: “It is a real thrill to be able to present such a great film – I know the previous work of the directors, and it's a wonderful collaboration. The animation, the script, the voicing are all top notch.” Ralph Christians, Executive Producer at Magma Films, also added: “We are immensely proud of showcasing such a funny and beautiful film in the Toronto International Festival – proud that it’s an Irish co-production and proud that it is a European production on a world stage.”

The Ugly Duckling and Me is a cinema debut for Irish writer Mark Hodkinson, who co-wrote the script with his Danish counterparts Stefan Hegner, Michael Hegner and Karsten Kiilerich. Both Hegner and Kiilerich also acted as co-directors. This major European production made into a feature film and a TV series of 26 half-hour episodes was supported by the Irish Film Board, Irish tax incentive Section 481, Eurimages, Nordisk Film and TV Fund, the Danish Film Institute, FFA Germany and the Media Programme.

It was pre-bought for theatrical distribution by Eclipse in Ireland (who will release it in early 2007), Nordisk Film in Scandinavia, Warner Brothers in Germany and Gebeka in France. M6 Droits Audiovisuels is handling worldwide sales.