| Titina | |
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| Directed by |
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| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Music by | Kåre Vestrheim |
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| Distributed by | Norsk Filmdistribusjon (Norway) Lumière (Belgium) |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Countries | Norway Belgium |
| Languages | Norwegian (original) English |
Titina is a 2022 Norwegian-Belgian animated feature directed by Kajsa Næss. The film was produced by Mikrofilm producersTonje Skar Reiersen and Lise Fearnley, in co-production with Viviane Vanfleteren from Vivi Film. Titina was written by Per Schreiner and director Kajsa Næss. The music is by Norwegian composerKåre Vestrheim. Titina had its Norwegian theatrical release on October 21, 2022.
Titina is loosely inspired by real events and deals with Norwegian explorerRoald Amundsen and Italian engineerUmberto Nobile's 1926 journey over theNorth Pole, on the airship "Norge". The main character, Titina, is Umberto Nobile's dog, a terrier. The film also contains documentaries footage and stills from the 1920s.[1]
Italian airship engineer Umberto Nobile enjoys a quiet life with his beloved dog Titina, whom he rescued from the streets of Rome. One day, Nobile is contacted by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who wants to order an airship to conquer the North Pole. Nobile is quickly taken with the idea, so Amundsen, Nobile and Titina embark on an expedition to the last undiscovered place on Earth. Their quest is successful but, in the aftermath, the two men start to quarrel over the glory.[2][3]
Titina is crafted as atraditional animated film, meaning that each frame of the film is drawn by hand. The film is made up of roughly 94.000 hand drawn images, and consists of 4380 seconds of animation. The animation process goes through four stages: rough animation, clean up animation, 'in-betweening' and colouring, and on average it takes two days to complete one second of animation. The 2D animation inTitina was drawn digitally, usingToon Boom Harmony.[4] The film also incorporates documentary images of real life expeditions that took place in 1926 and 1928. The majority of these clips are taken from the 90 minute documentary "The Airship Norge's Flight Across the Arctic Ocean" (1926).
Titina received critical acclaim internationally.[5][6][7] French newspaperLe Figaro states that the film has "crazy charm",[8] SwedishDagens Nyheter called it "a colourful sensation",[9] while the British animation magazineSkwigly wrote that "Titina is a seemingly simple yet impressive achievement".[10] In Norway, Titina became the most critically acclaimed family film sincePinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975).[11][12]
The film was nominated for the 2023Amanda Award in the categories Best Children's Film and Best Original Music.[13]
| Award | Category | Nominee/Winner | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cartoon Movie 2023[14] | Producer of the Year | Tonje Skar Reiersen, Lise Fearnley and Viviane Vanfleteren | Nominated |
| Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2023[15] | Award of Excellence | — | Won |
| Zlín Film Festival 2023[16] | Children's Jury Grand Prize | — | Won |
| Karel Zeman Award | — | Won | |
| Amanda Awards 2023[17] | Best Children's Film | — | Nominated |
| Best Original Score | Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim | Nominated |
