Captain Morten and the Spider Queen

Eleven-year-old Morten wistfully waits for the return of his father, a captain of the world seas. Living with his Aunt Anna is practically unbearable, and what’s more, the family’s debts have reached alarming proportions. Morten escapes into his imagination: he plays with his toy boat, with insects as the crew, and dreams of becoming a sea captain like his father. But after a chance meeting with the inept magician Señor Cucaracha, Morten is suddenly as tiny as a fly. His own toy boat becomes a proper ship, and the insects a real crew! Morten now has to overcome umpteen incredibly terrifying adventures and ultimately take on the Spider Queen in order to straighten things out in his life.
Estonian director Kaspar Jancis and his team worked for seven years on “Captain Morten and the Spider Queen” to transform his children’s book into a fairy-tale-like, whimsical stop-motion animated film. The subtle blend of puppet animation and computer effects enables the audience to immerse itself in a child’s world of fantasy – and the uncommon perspective of insects. Like Alice in Wonderland or Gulliver on his travels, Morten gets to know a small world on a large scale. This world is not only accurately designed in every detail and in a wide range of colour nuances, but also full of quirky characters and pitfalls that are very likely to delight viewers of all ages. Furthermore, the pace is quick – with the rousing rhythm and musicality, it is evident that the original version of the story was a musical theatre featuring circus acts. It comes as no surprise that the film has already cast a spell over young and old alike in Annecy and at the Animafest Zagreb. (sch)