ViQueens Animated Viking Film Unveiled at Annecy
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- ViQueens teaser debuted exclusively at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, unveiled by Dutch-Norwegian director Zwart Arbeid and producer Veslemøy Ruud Zwart during a masterclass.
- Ella Purnell, Rita Ora, and Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland lead the voice cast, joined by Steve Speirs (King Erik), Anton Lesser (Lars), and Alan Carr (the Bard).
- The adventure-comedy follows Viking girls Ingrid and Hedvig on a journey spanning icy fjords, Byzantine intrigue, and the Silk Road to return a stowaway boy to China.
- The filmmakers developed a technique called "Reference Capture" that films live-action performances, camera work, and physical staging early in production to give animators a visual and emotional foundation — with no AI used on any frame.
- Christophe Beck, composer of Disney's Frozen and Frozen II scores, created the original score.
- Animation and VFX are handled by Norway-based Gimpville, with post-production by OPCM and worldwide sales by Sola Media.
- The film is slated for delivery in late 2026, with a home territory Christmas release planned for December 25, 2026.
Why it matters: With a December 25, 2026 holiday release locked in and a deliberately AI-free 'Reference Capture' pipeline that promises live-action emotional authenticity inside animation, ViQueens is positioning itself as both a prestige festival property and a potential production-model test case in an industry actively debating AI's role in animation.
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