The Flight Before Christmas

Niko and the Way to the Stars is an animated story of a young reindeer boy Niko, taking place somewhere in Lapland. Niko's father is gone, and his mother tells him dad is a member of Santa's Flying Reindeer Squad. Niko is supervised and taken care of by a flying squirrel named Julius who believes Niko will be able to fly someday, just like his father. The reindeer aren't allowed to go outside the valley because of the wolves who stalk there. After his disobedient visit outside the valley and a consequent incident with the wolves which forces the reindeer to move on, Niko decides to run away and look for his father further north where Santa resides. Adventure ensues.

From a Finn's standpoint this film felt a bit odd. It's written, produced and animated in Finland - yet the Finnish version of the film feels like an American animation film that has been translated and dubbed into Finnish. I wondered about this, but a friend explained to me the film is actually primarily intended for the international, mainly American market, and was written and lip-synced accordingly. Considering the country of origin, I was expecting a bit better Finnish translation though. The characters' lines were full of clumsy Anglicisms. Because of this, I have a feeling that native English viewers will enjoy this film more than Finnish viewers.

At a standard issue family entertainment level this film performs competently. There's family friendly humor and family values, there are no odd quirks, cussing or violence. It's exciting at times, but not too scary for young children. Perhaps with all this it is a bit bland, but still likable.

If you're looking for something to watch with your kids around Xmas, I can recommend this. However, if you're looking for something odd, quirky, eye-opening or original, look somewhere else.