THE MAGIC CRYSTAL
Make it snappy!
An animated feature film
based on an idea by
Mikael Wahlforss
with
Thomas Wipf and David Lloyd
writen by Bob swain and Dan & Nuria Wicsman
with Allesandro Liggieri
YOTAN is a street kid from St Petersburg, who runs away from an orphanage where he has been mistreated and locked away in a dark room. Out in the cold streets he meets up with JIFFY – a squirrel with attitude and a sleep fixation. It’s just before Christmas but – cold and hungry – the joys of the season are not for them. YOTAN dreams of somewhere warm to spend Christmas but JIFFY has little faith in miracles.
They shelter in the main square inside what looks like a Christmas Tableau of Santa’s sleigh and fall asleep under its blankets. But they are watched by SANTA’s evil brother BASIL and his stupid sidekick GROUCH – a runaway child who won’t be missed is just what they need for their plan. They round up PORO – a hypochondriac reindeer – to pilot the jet-powered sleigh back to SANTA’S PALACE on Korvanturi Mountain in far off Lapland.
YOTAN and JIFFY are whisked away as they sleep. When they finally peep out, they are surrounded by SANTA and his TOMTIES as they prepare for the busiest day of the year – Christmas Eve. SANTA’S PALACE is a pretty high-tech place these days, with jet sleighs and jet skis, radar, electronic communications and all kinds of inventions created by SMOO – the super-intelligent TOMTIE.
But most precious of all is the MAGIC CRYSTAL and the precision laser devices that drive it – for this is what enables SANTA to visit every child in the world on the same night of the year. It splits him into thousands of identical SANTAS and transports him with their gifts to all the destinations. The CRYSTAL is so important that SANTA and SMOO keep it safely locked away.
BASIL pretends YOTAN is a stowaway and drags him from the sleigh. He threatens that he’ll send him back to the orphanage unless he does exactly what he’s told. Scared of going back, YOTAN reluctantly helps BASIL steal the CRYSTAL. But as soon as BASIL has it in his hands, he escapes from the PALACE with GROUCH and leaves YOTAN behind to take the blame.
Having lived in the shadow of his slightly older twin all his life, BASIL aims to take his destiny into his own hands. He’ll use the CRYSTAL to get inside all the wealthy houses in the world, steal their money and recruit all the naughty children he can find. He’ll be invincible!
Feeling very sorry for the part he’s played in all this, YOTAN wants to help. But nobody trusts him and he’s forced to stay behind while TOMTIES JAGA and ALPO go in search of BASIL and the CRYSTAL on their jet skis. JAGA in particular wants YOTAN to be held captive – as she doesn’t trust humans one bit.
Just as SMOO has a special star from SANTA that gives him extraordinary powers of intelligence, JAGA has a star that gives her power over metal objects and ALPO has one that enables him to become invisible at will. But despite their powers they are ambushed by BASIL and a group of RABOTNIKS – mountain spirits he has tamed to mindlessly carry out his every command – and taken back to his ICE FORTRESS.
In the meantime, YOTAN grabs a jet sleigh to go and help. JIFFY finds herself on board when she tries to stop him and PORO becomes an unwitting passenger when he tries to grab hold of the sleigh before it disappears. PORO finds himself clinging to the sleigh high up in the sky and YOTAN climbs back to save his life – and so jeopardise his own escape. But when it becomes clear JAGA and ALPO have been captured, PORO agrees they should all go and find them – much to YOTAN’s delight and JIFFY’s terror.
SANTA and SMOO are in touch via video communication devices. SANTA gives YOTAN a star of his own – but will only tell him that he’ll find out what it’s for when he needs it most.
Inside the ICE FORTRESS, BASIL instructs the RABOTNIKS to fire at SANTA’s PALACE and SANTA and SMOO are pounded by wave after wave of laser beams. BASIL takes JAGA and ALPO’s magic stars and locks them both in a cage above a shaft of molten magma. When he realises there’s a sleigh on its way, he takes to the air and – after an exciting chase – blows PORO, YOTAN and JIFFY out of the sky.
All seems to be lost and at first it looks like they have been killed. Incredibly enough they survive – although they are trapped on a dangerous ledge in an ice field. But YOTAN comes up with an ingenious plan to get them out, making a bridge by blasting a column of ice with an engine from their wrecked sleigh. Their escape is full of danger but finally they make their way out of the canyon and across the ice field to BASIL’s ICE FORTRESS.
With the PALACE under attack, JAGA and ALPO caged above a pit of lava and BASIL preparing to use the CRYSTAL to beam himself around the world, there’s no time to lose. YOTAN tells PORO and JIFFY to find a getaway sleigh while he dresses as a RABOTNIK in order to get through the ICE FORTRESS. The plan works well until he reaches BASIL. But then he is overpowered and sealed in a dark cave. It looks like the end for YOTAN.
But from the sleigh park, PORO hears something that sounds like YOTAN calling for help. In his excitement, he knocks a door off its hinges and – together with a petrified JIFFY – ends up clinging to it in a hair-raising toboggan ride through the icy tunnels of the FORTRESS. Finally, they smash into a solid wall of ice and find YOTAN on the other side.
After a happy reunion, they hurry on their way – hiding when they hear someone coming. They watch as BASIL tries on a military Santa costume and gloat over his plans to take over the world. Unseen, JIFFY manages to snatch JAGA and ALPO’s stars from his cloak.
They find JAGA and ALPO and return their stars. But in order to free them, YOTAN is forced to overcome his fear of the dark in order to crawl down a dark tunnel. They all show great bravery in the course of an exciting escape – especially YOTAN. Even JAGA’s heart melts as she is forced to admit to herself that he’s a hero and a suitable member of the team.
BASIL is about to go through the CRYSTAL. But he’s stopped in his tracks when they destroy the generator. But with energy in the FORTRESS being created by the molten lava, this has a dramatic side effect – setting off a volcanic eruption beneath the FORTRESS.
BASIL sets up an emergency generator to power the CRYSTAL. But just as he is again about to depart, YOTAN bursts in together with JAGA and ALPO. They fight the RABOTNIKS and try to stop BASIL disappearing through the CRYSTAL.
It looks like they won’t be able to stop him – until JIFFY appears and reminds YOTAN about his special star. He puts it on and discovers new powers within – as a graceful and powerful Kung Fu fighter.
He finally wins the battle – although BASIL thinks he has won by making his escape through the CRYSTAL. But YOTAN manages to change the settings and BASIL ends up in a garbage bin in St Petersburg!
By now, the volcano under the FORTRESS only has seconds left until it’s ready to blow. So there’s a mad scramble to escape – PORO flying in on a jet sleigh for everyone to clamber on board. They get away with the CRYSTAL just in time.
Back at SANTA’S PALACE, the CRYSTAL is set up for SANTA to make his deliveries to all the children. When he gets back, he announces that YOTAN and JIFFY are welcome stay if they like. Together with JAGA, ALPO, SMOO and PORO they are appointed as SANTA’s RED CAPS – an extra special team of TOMTIES to go on all of SANTA’s most important adventures in the future.
With the support of:
The Finnish Film Foundation
Copyright©Epidem ZOT 2006
Epidem ZOT
Sepänkatu 15 B, 00150 Helsinki, Finland
Tel +358 9 6846612 +358 9 6846612 Fax +358 9 6846614 E-mail: wahlforss (at) epidem.pp.fi
Copyright:Epidem ZOT 2006