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The Polar Bear King

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The Polar Bear King
Directed byOla Solum
Screenplay byErik Borge
Based onWhite-Bear-King-Valemon by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe
East of the Sun and West of the Moon collected by Andrew Lang
Produced byHilde Berg
Erik Borge
StarringJack Fjeldstad
Maria Bonnevie
Tobias Hoesl
Monica Nordquist
Anna-Lotta Larsson
CinematographyPhilip Øgaard
Edited byYngve Refseth
Music byGeir Bøhren
Bent Åserud
Distributed byUnited International Pictures
Release date
  • 12 December 1991 (1991-12-12)
(Norway)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryNorway
LanguageNorwegian

The Polar Bear King is a 1991 Norwegian fantasy adventure film directed by Ola Solum and starring Jack Fjeldstad, Maria Bonnevie, Tobias Hoesl, Monica Nordquist, and Anna-Lotta Larsson.[1] The film is based on the Norwegian fairy tale The White Bear, King Valemon.[2]

Plot

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The land of the far north is ruled by a wise king who has three daughters, one of whom shall one day rule over his kingdom of Winterland. The two older daughters lack depth and understanding, but the youngest is good hearted and kind. She is also uncommonly brave. Unfortunately for the king, she has always desired to live in a land with flowers.

Far to the south young prince Valemon becomes king, however an evil witch has designs on becoming the most powerful person in the world. She believes she can do so by producing a child with the prince. The new king does not wish great power over others, and has no intention of marrying the witch. Angry, the witch curses the young king by turning him into a bear by day, and marks that he has seven years to find someone to fall in love him, and marry him. Further, if anyone should look upon his human face before the seven years are over, he will have lost and will have to marry the witch.

The miserable bear travels north, and enters Winterland. There the growling beast meets the young princess, who has her father's gift of being able to speak with animals. She asks the bear why he is so angry, and learns that he is not a bear, but is really the king of Summerland, cursed to look as he does. When she learns his secret and sees the flowers of Summerland reflected in his eyes, she is filled with compassion for the young king and agrees to go to Summerland with him as his wife.

After their arrival the witch sets about trying to harm the young couple, but is thwarted by the King's mother, who has some mastery of magic as well. With each new child the couple is blessed with the witch arrives to harm them, but the child disappears into safety before the witch can strike. Though their children are safe, the young princess does not know what has become of them. Heartbroken over losing her children, she falls into a deep despair. Hearing of this, her father sends her a special gift, and asks her to visit him. Through the love of her father she is greatly restored, however her older sisters plant the idea in her mind that she should light a candle while her husband sleeps to see what he looks like. As soon as she does the witch appears with a laugh and takes Valemon. Overcome with guilt and grief, she sets out to free him. The effort to rescue Valemon will require all her bravery and guile. Along the way, she meets with the Queen Mother and her three children, all of whom gave the princess scissors that create things out of thin air, boots that climb walls, and a special rug that, if clapped, can make food appear out of thin air. Though she loses her boots, she was given a task by a bearded man, who tells her the wedding is today. Valemon is in his cell, while the witch summons her master of pure evil, the Devil, who states that too much evil destroys evil. The princess intrudes the lab, making the potion that evil will perish of. She almost loses it, but the bearded man, whose beard has gone all white, manages to catch it. The princess, disguised as a boy, creates a wedding dress for her enemy, while Valemon pretends to be evil after spilling the potion the Witch had to turn him to the side of darkness. The guests, being ghosts, ghouls, demons, vampires, trolls, witches, dark elves, and satyrs, arrive at the party while the princess switches the wine for the potion that kills evil, while Valemon is unaffected. The slaves of the witch are now freed and the two reunite with their children and meet with the king of the Winterland.

Cast

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Production and release

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The story was adapted from the Norwegian folktales East of the Sun and West of the Moon and the fairy tale The White Bear, King Valemon, both from the collection of tales gathered by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe. Erik Borge wrote the screenplay.[2] The musical score for the film was composed by Geir Bøhren and Bent Åserud.[3] Filming was completed in Norway and Sweden. The bear in the movie was created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.[4][5] The film was produced in Norway, Sweden and Germany.[6] Originally recorded in Norwegian, the film was dubbed in German and English. It was first released on 28 November 1991 in Germany. It premiered in Oslo two weeks later, on 12 December 1991.

References

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  1. ^ Haase, Donald (2008). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales: A-F. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 9780313334429.
  2. ^ a b "KVITEBJORN KONG VALEMON (1991)". BFI. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "Kvitebjørn Kong Valemon". Norsk filmografi. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  4. ^ Guest Writer (9 December 2019). "An Underrated Holiday Retrospective: The Polar Bear King". KLM. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  5. ^ "The Polar Bear King". MSN. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Der Eisbärkönig". Film Dienst. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
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