Shooting for the children’s movie Pettson and Findus II – The Best Christmas Ever is underway at MMC Studios in Cologne, Germany. On March 23, the film project was presented to the press.
During their visit to Pettson’s snowed farm on MMC’s soundstage 53, the press representatives met, among others, actors Max Herbrechter, Marianne Sägebrecht and Stefan Kurt, and director Ali Samadi Ahadi.
The filming at MMC Studios will continue until end of March 2015.
Production Notes
On the February 3rd, 2015 the shooting for film Pettson and Findus II – The Best Christmas Ever started in Erfurt, Germany. Since March filming continues at the MMC Studios in Cologne, Germany. Major parts of the film are being shot here at the world’s tallest soundstage, the MMC Studio 53 (height: 85 ft.). To transfer the fanciful look of the original Pettson and Findus picture books (in the USA also known as Festus and Mercury) to the film, the entire farm of Pettson was rebuilt on this soundstage.
Pettson and Findus II – The Best Christmas Ever is a film production of Tradewind Pictures and Senator Film Munich in co-production with public broadcaster ZDF. The film is based on the world-famous children’s books Findus at Christmas and The Mechanical Santa by Swedish author Sven Nordqvist.
The Christmas adventure will be realized as a live action film with animated characters like the first part Pettson and Findus – A Little Nuisance, A Great Friendship that was filmed at MMC Studios as well. The bold tomcat Findus will be animated later in the studios of Chimney.
The film is directed by multiple-award-winning director Ali Samadi Ahadi who already proved in the first Pettson and Findus movie that he not only knows to link live action with animation but also showed a great talent for telling emotional and humorous stories.
Pettson and Findus – A Little Nuisance, A Great Friendship delighted an audience of over 700,000 young and old people in Germany – the sequel is awaited with great expectation.
In the Christmas adventure Pettson promises Findus that this year they will celebrate the best Christmas ever, but then everything goes wrong! Findus is afraid that Christmas will be cancelled at all and starts to organize it by himself.
Stefan Kurt plays the quirky and charming Pettson. At his side act Marianne Sägebrecht as his lovely neighbor Beda and Max Herbrechter as his grumbly neighbor Gustavsson.
Synopsis
It is two days before Christmas and there is a snowstorm roaring around the corners of the little farmhouse of Pettson and Findus. There is nothing left to eat and they still don’t have a Christmas tree, which they wanted to fell in the woods.
The little tomcat is afraid that the Christmas celebration will be cancelled at all. “Christmas won’t be cancelled” promises the old man. On the contrary “it will be the best Christmas ever”.
When they finally go to the forest to fell a little Christmas tree Pettson gets hurt badly. The sleigh runs into his leg and he can hardly walk back home again. They return without a Christmas tree and they cannot buy the food for the Christmas celebration either.
Unfortunately Pettson also refuses to accept help of his neighbors Beda and Gustavsson because he is so humble and shy. Not enough, Findus gets in serious danger as he tries to save Christmas by himself and Pettson again refuses any help at all.
Findus now gets really upset but Pettson tries to calm Findus until they get along with each other again. At home they build their own Christmas tree and cook a humble meal with the last leftovers. Suddenly someone knocks at the door and both of them are surprised to see Beda, Gustavsson and all their relatives bringing Christmas presents, joy and a lot of delicious food. And then they celebrate all together the best Christmas ever…
Pettson and Findus II – The Best Christmas Ever tells a delightful story about giving and taking and the meaning of friendship and love in Christmas times.
Pettson and Findus II – The Best Christmas Ever is one of the most elaborate children’s films ever produced in Germany. The combination of live action with computer-animated characters required a total budget of 8.5 million Euros (9.2 million USD), financed completely by Tradewind Pictures and German partners.
The film was funded by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), MDM, HessenInvest, MFG, and FFA.
On behalf of MMC, the shooting in Cologne is supervised by Bastie Griese, Managing Director of MMC Studios‘ sister company MMC Movies, and MMC Studios’ account manager, Tobias Velmans.
Senator Film Distribution will bring the film to German theaters in November 2016.
Photo: Press event on the set of Pettson and Findus II – The Best Christmas Ever on the world’s tallest soundstage in Cologne, Germany. © MMC Studios
