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Mio in the Land of Faraway (Swedish: Mio min Mio; Russian: Мио, мой Мио - Mio, moy Mio) is a 1987 fantasy film directed by Vladimir Grammatikov and starring Christopher Lee, Christian Bale, Nicholas Pickard, Timothy Bottoms and Susannah York. Based on the 1954 novel Mio, My Son by Astrid Lindgren, it tells the story of a boy from Stockholm who travels to an otherworldly fantasy realm and frees the land from an evil knight's oppression.
Mio in the Land of Faraway was co-produced by companies from Sweden, Norway and the Soviet Union with a budget of about fifty million Swedish kronor, making it the most expensive film adaptation of an Astrid Lindgren book during her lifetime. It featured an international cast consisting largely of British, Russian and Scandinavian actors, while its filming locations included Stockholm, Moscow, Crimea, and Scotland. The film was shot in English and subsequently dubbed in Swedish and Russian. Its special effects were created by Derek Meddings. The film's theme song, "Mio My Mio", was composed by two former ABBA members, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and performed by the Swedish band Gemini.
Released in 1987, the film saw Nicholas Pickard's debut as an actor and marked Christian Bale's first appearance in a feature film. It won the Cinekid Film Award in Amsterdam, while its theme song became a top three hit in Sweden. However, Swedish reviewers received the film unfavorably, criticizing it as a poor adaptation of Lindgren's novel.
Original Release
07/01/1987
US Release
12/20/1987
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Nick Pickard | Mio / Bosse |
Christian Bale | Jum-Jum / Benke |
Timothy Bottoms | The King |
Susannah York | The Weaver Woman |
Christopher Lee | Kato |
Sverre Anker Ousdal | The Swordmaker |
Igor Yasulovich | Eno / Carpetbeater |
Gunilla Nyroos | Aunt Edna |
Linn Stokke | Mrs. Lundin |
Stig Engström | Benke's Father |
Directors
Writers
Astrid Lindgren, Andrey Ivanov, William Aldridge
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Nick Pickard | Mio / Bosse |
Christian Bale | Jum-Jum / Benke |
Timothy Bottoms | The King |
Susannah York | The Weaver Woman |
Christopher Lee | Kato |
Sverre Anker Ousdal | The Swordmaker |
Igor Yasulovich | Eno / Carpetbeater |
Gunilla Nyroos | Aunt Edna |
Linn Stokke | Mrs. Lundin |
Stig Engström | Benke's Father |
Geoffrey Staines | The Spirit |
Lyubov Germanova | Jum-Jum's Mother |
Andrei Petrov | Jiri |
Andrey Sergeev | Nonno |
Denis Bodrov | Lollo |
Anna Foght | Millimani |
William Aldridge | Guard |
Robin Berglund | Boy at the Yard |
Tomas Bolme | The King |
Helena Brodin | The Weaver Woman |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Terje Kristiansen | Executive Producer |
Klas Olofsson | Executive Producer |
William Aldridge | Producer |
Ingemar Ejve | Producer |
Göran Lindström | Producer |
Hans Lönnerheden | Producer |