The Great Bear Animated Feature Film Genre: Adventure/Family Target Group: 7 12 years Length: 73 min Techniques: Animated in Maya Format: 1:1,85 Sound: Dolby SR-D Budget: 1.7 mio Euro Director: Esben Toft jacobsen Written by: Esben Toft Jacobsen & Jannik Tai Mosholt Producer: Petter Lindblad Production company: Copenhagen Bombay International sales: Copenhagen Bombay Sales Year: 2011 Synopsis Jonathan and his sister Sophie are on holiday at their grandfather s place. Jonathan tries to get rid of Sophie, but when he finally succeeds, it s in a way Jonathan would never have imagined. Sophie is kidnapped by a huge bear, and now he has to find her in the forest and get her back home.
Main characters JONATHAN is 12 years old. He wants to be alone, but is constantly forced to spend time with his younger sister Sophie. Jonathan blames her for all the annoying things in life. From his perspective everything would be so much better if she just wasn t there. SOPHIE is 6 years old. She looks up to her older brother, and thinks it s so cool that she gets to spend time with him. Where Jonathan holds the world at arm s length, Sophie is open and puts her trust in everything around her.
Main characters GRANDFATHER lives alone in his great wooden house on the edge of the forest. He loves when his grandchildren visit, and has spent many hours helping Jonathan build his tree house. THE HUNTER has been searching for the bear for as long at is has been sleeping. He is willing to sacrifice anything to kill it, and will stop at nothing, even if it costs him his life.
The forest THE GREAT FOREST is a mythical place. Legend has it that a great bear has taken rule of the forest and that it has long since been abandoned by people. At first glance the forest seems ordinary, but as Jonathan soon discovers it is speckled with strange creatures. All gifted with bizarre gifts and abilities, they live their own lives and only interfere with the chain of events in very special cases, known only to themselves.
Directors note THE GREAT BEAR is a film for children 7-12 years of age, and it will constantly stay on the level of its audience. You relate directly to Jonathan feelings of fear and joy. It s important for me to get under the skin of the characters I work with, to find out who they are, what motivates their actions and what the consequences of these actions are. It s their humanity which is exciting. It s supposed to be fun and exciting because children and their parents are truly immersed in the experiences of the characters. The story takes place in a rich, imaginative universe. A small door from their grandfather s garden leads the children into a colossal forest where, among others, the rain frogs, stealing birds, the world s biggest bear and the hunter live. Their journey will become dark, scary and mysterious, but also fun and adventurous as we follow Jonathan on his quest to rescue his sister. Visually I wanted to work with tactility as a central concept. 3D-animated film can easily get a look that s too polished. As such, the surfaces and tactile look of characters and backgrounds became central, so that they become interesting in their visual expression, and create a feeling that the film lives within it s own world, which the audience get to be a part of.
About the Director Esben Toft Jacobsen was born in 1977. A former student of visual communication at The Danish Design School, he went on to graduate from The National Film School of Denmark as an Animation Director in 2006. Esben Toft Jacobsen has previously worked as a freelance artist and animator on a number of computer games before joining Copenhagen Bombay upon his graduation, where he has developed and directed a number of productions. In 2007 Esben was awarded a special mention at the Berlinale for his graduate film, Having a Brother, and in 2008, he was invited to take part in the yearly Talent Campus at the Berlinale. The Great Bear / Den kæmpestore bjørn (2011) Feature film Kiwi & Strit / Kiwi & Strit (2008) Short film as part of Carsten & Gitte s Movie Madness Having a Brother / Drengen i kufferten (2006) Graduation film from the Danish Film School Director Esben Toft Jacobsen
Copenhagen Bombay In 2006 director Anders Morgenthaler and producer Sarita Christensen founded Copenhagen Bombay, a production company and animation studio with a main focus on original stories for children and youths. Today Copenhagen Bombay has completed a wide selection of films, television series, books, computer games and Cross Media universes. Copenhagen Bombay has additionally formed the International Sales Company Copenhagen Bombay Sales, the national distribution department Copenhagen Bombay Distribution and the Swedish subsidiary Copenhagen Bombay Sverige AB. The producer Petter Lindblad is born in Sweden and holds a master s degree in media production, followed by a Master in European Audiovisual Management at the international Media Business School in Spain. Since 2007 he has been a producer and line producer at Copenhagen Bombay, where he has worked as a producer on several projects, among these Anders Morgenthaler s feature film The Apple and the Worm, and The Great Bear. Currently Petter is producing Jakob Bak Ley s short film Bogus & Humbug; The World s Tiniest Feature Film, and financing Esben s next feature film. Main cast and crew Director: Esben Toft Jacobsen Producer: Petter Lindblad Executive producer: Sarita Christensen Written by: Esben Toft Jacoben and Jannik Tai Mosholt Production design: Andreas Normand Grøntved Editing: Elin Pröjts and Marion Tour Composer: Nicklas Schmidt Sound: Morten Dalsgaard Jonathan: Markus Rygaard Sophie: Alberte Blichfeldt Grandad: Elith Nykjær The hunter: Flemming Quist Møller