Famous animation director and Finland make magic together

Denmark’s Jørgen Lerdam has been making animated feature films since the late ‘70’s – and has seen a lot of changes in the medium since then. What hasn’t changed is his eagerness to work with Finns.

Jørgen Lerdam’s approach to crafting great animated movies has often made use of the latest technologies – and sometimes even helped pioneer them. Yet he’s quick to point out that his creative instincts and storytelling style remain connected to the classical animation of the great old Disney films.

Lerdam explains, “For example, the TV series I’m currently working on, Mr. Clutterbuck, is based on a character by popular Finnish children’s book author/illustrator Mauri Kunnas, and relies on CGI (computer generated imagery) to create a style related to classic claymation animation – but fully digital. Yet in a sense the computer is just a more advanced pencil – it’s still the people behind it that makes it magic.” 

Great stories are still the key

Lerdam’s CV of beloved animated children’s films is known to countless kids and parents throughout Europe and beyond. He has directed or been the lead animator on scores of films, with his first international hits such as 'A Troll in Central Park' and 'Thumbelina' coming in the early ‘90’s. In 2012 he co-directed Niko 2, a successful feature film about flying reindeer that started life as short commercial for Finland’s national airline, Finnair.

Finns bring great stories to the table.

Currently, in addition to the upcoming Mr. Clutterbuck series, Lerdam is also directing the film Niko 3, another major project with significant connections to Finland that’s scheduled for release in 2023.

When asked why someone celebrated internationally for his work keeps returning to Finland, he modestly responds, “Well, first of all, they keep asking me. But, more seriously, I like the Finnish mentality, their way of working, their no-nonsense approach to things. I’ve worked in America, China, Germany, and elsewhere, but for some reason I really seem to really click with Finns.

There is simply a mutual respect, an appreciation that both they and I contribute something different – and valuable. But maybe the most important reason from my side is that Finns bring great stories to the table.

Jørgen Lerdam and his daughters Mia and Stine Lerdam established their company Datterselskabet in 2020

The silence of the Finns

Asked to tell a bit more why he enjoys working with Finns, Lerdam is quite direct. “In my experience they are a lot like the Danes, at least in one rather significant way: They don’t talk about what’s good, but instead go straight to what the problems are – and what should be better.”

Likewise, he finds Finnish humor to be delightful, rather dry, and quite familiar. Yet he also points to one big difference in the Finnish working style. “When we are meeting in a small group for creative storyboarding there are sometimes moments where the Finns in the room will go completely silent. I’m a guy who wants to keep the talk going, so at first, I found myself wondering why everyone was suddenly so silent, and it took a little time to learn that with Finns, in this sort of creative process, it’s totally ok – even expected – to become thoughtfully silent at times. Despite this sort of quirk, the bottom line is that I love working with Finns.”

There is a  mutual respect, an appreciation that both they and I contribute something different – and valuable. Finns bring great stories to the table.

People create – technology empowers

Having witnessed – and fully participated in – the rapid advances in how animated films are made over the past few decades, Lerdam speculates about why Finnish animation continues to be appreciated globally. “Perhaps it’s partly because of Finland’s earlier leadership in things like mobile phones. Thanks to this, they were well-positioned to attract financing, and then develop and deepen expertise in the video game sector, and then also animation technology, with Angry Birds being their best-known example of building a strong international reputation in game development.”

He notes that “this continues to be a great incubator for many talented Finns and Finnish companies to further develop expertise in computer-driven animation and how to tell stories in that medium. Yet even though technology is changing the animation sector hugely, I think there will always be the same eternal need – to tell compelling stories.”

Lerdam emphasizes that in addition to great stories and amazing digital tools and processes, a good animation project is always rooted in the culture it comes from. “A great story is very universal, but it gets its charm by being true to the country it comes from. So, for example, when we make decisions about what we are going to show in the upcoming Clutterbuck series, we make clear that it’s happening in Finland, yet the themes are universal in terms of appeal.”