The Weinstein Co. has signed on to distribute Niko & the Way to the Stars, a CG-animated holiday movie from German distributor Telepool. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Weinsteins will handle the film’s rollout in all English-language and Latin American territories.
Directed by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen, Niko & the Way to the Stars tells the story of a young reindeer who dreams of flying and pulling Santa’s seligh on Christmas like his father. Things turn hairy when he discovers that the Big Bad Wolf and his cohorts are planing to replace the reindeer as Santa’s elite flying outfit.
The film has been sold to more than 100 territories and will be released in Scandinavia by Nordisk, in Germany by Universum, and in Spain by Filmax. It will premiere in Scandinavia next October before getting holiday releases in other parts of the world.
Following the surprise box-office success of the CG family feature Hoodwinked, The Weinstein Co. has been snatching up independent toon features left and right. Most recently, the company teamed with Warner Bros. Pictures to sign a worldwide distribution deal for Imagi Animation Studios’ CG-animated updates of the classic anime franchises Gatchaman and AstroBoy.
