Dunderklumpen! is a 1974 Swedish family film directed by Per Åhlin, which combines animation and live action. The story involves several musical numbers. It was released on 26 September 1974. At the 11th Guldbagge Awards, Åhlin won a Special Achievement award for the film.[1]

Dunderklumpen!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPer Åhlin
Written byBeppe Wolgers
Produced byGunnar Carlsson
StarringBeppe Wolgers
Jens Wolgers
Halvar Björk
Håkan Serner
Gösta Ekman
Toots Thielemans
Lotten Strömstedt
Sif Ruud
Birgitta Andersson
Hans Alfredson
Stig Grybe
Bert-Åke Varg
CinematographyLennart Carlsson
Pelle Svensson
Edited byPer Åhlin
Music byToots Thielemans
Production
company
G.K. Film
Distributed byEuropa Film-Stockholm Film
Release date
  • 26 September 1974 (1974-09-26)
Running time
97 minutes
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish

Plot

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On a summer evening in northern Sweden, when the sun doesn't quite set, Dunderklumpen (an animated character) comes out of the woods to seek some friends to keep him company. He comes upon a "human" house of the Wolgers family where Dunderklumpen finds toys belonging to a boy named Jens and his young sister. Using his magic, Dunderklumpen brings the toys to life and takes them away to the woods where he lives. This adorable and amusing crew includes the small but fiercely brave lion Lionel, the demanding toy girl Doll, the cute harmonica-playing bear Pellegnillot, and the ridiculous Dummy the Bunny.

Jens hears and sees the toys crying for help and follows Dunderklumpen who is not so quick to surrender his new-found company. They are also followed by Jens's Father who goes searching for his runaway son and is accompanied by the dutiful Bumblebee. Dunderklumpen also has a small locked chest (that he took from the children's room) with him and believes it contains a great treasure. One-Eye, an old nemesis of Dunderklumpen, also seeks the treasure for himself and pursues our heroes. No one knows what the contents are but Dunderklumpen and One-Eye are both sure it's priceless. One-Eye's signature tool is a small counterfeiting machine he uses to beguile the toys and Dunderklumpen.

Following Dunderklumpen into the woods, Jens meets a flower with the name Blossom, which travels on an umbrella and helps him along the way. The gang also meets the flying paper Malte (one of Jens's drawings come to life), the living-talking mountain Jorm, and an elderly woman named Elvira Fattigan who's an old friend of One-Eye.

In the end Elvira reminds One-Eye that his fall from grace came after encountering human materialism, and soon the chest is found to contain a feather, a dandelion and a rock that are considered treasures to a child. Realizing the chest had no valuables but cherished treasures, everyone celebrates in song and dance, One-Eye becomes friends with Dunderklumpen, the toys stay behind with the both of them and Jens and his father return home together.

Cast

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  • Beppe
  • Jens
  • Kerstin Wolgers
  • Camilla Wolgers - Camilla

Voices

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Character Original English
Dunderklumpen Halvar Björk Kenneth Harver
Jätten (Jorm) Chuck Magruder
Lejonel (Lionel) Håkan Serner Jerry Sroka
En-Dum-En (Dummy) Gösta Ekman Don Scardino
Pellegnillot Toots Thielemans
Dockan (Doll) Lotten Strömstedt Liane Curtis
Elvira Fattigan Sif Ruud Paulette Rubinstein
Blomhåret (Blossom) Birgitta Andersson Rose Marie Jun
Humlan (Bumblebee) Hans Alfredson Jeny Sroka
Enöga (One-Eye) Stig Grybe Bill Marine
Huset som pratar (Old House) Bert-Åke Varg George Coe
Vattenfallet (Waterfall) Beppe Wolgers Unknown

References

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  1. ^ "Dunderklumpen (1974)". Swedish Film Institute. 5 March 2014.
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