Vicky the Viking

Vicky the Viking
Japanese cover art of the series DVD release
GenreAdventure
Comedy
Based on
Vicke Viking
by Runer Jonsson
DirectorsChikao Katsui (eps. 1-26)
Hiroshi Saitô (eps. 27-52)
Kōzō Kusuba (eps. 53-78)
Series compositionYuji Tano
Character designerShuichi Seki [ja]
MusicSeiichiro Uno
Country of originWest Germany
Japan
Original languageJapanese
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes78
Production
Zuiyo Eizo (eps. 1-52)
Nippon Animation (eps. 53-78)
Fuji Television
Taurus Film
Original release
NetworksORF (Austria)
ZDF (West Germany)
FNS (Fuji TV) (Japan)
ReleaseJanuary 31, 1974 (1974-01-31) –
April 8, 1976 (1976-04-08)

Vicky the Viking, known as Wickie und die starken Männer (listenⓘ) in Germany and Austria and Chiisana Viking Bikke (小さなバイキング ビッケ) in Japan, is a German-Japanese animated television series which tells the adventures of Vicky, a young Viking boy who uses his wits to help his Viking fellows. It is based on the novel Vicke Viking (1963) written by the Swedish author Runer Jonsson. It premiered on the German TV channel ZDF on 31 January 1974 and aired in various countries. In 2013, Studio 100 produced a computer animated television adaptation of the anime.

Plot

Vicky is a small boy with shoulder-length reddish-blonde hair who lives with his parents Ylva and Halvar, the latter being the chief of the small village of Flake. Vicky is not a typical Viking boy, being naturally fearful and not particularly strong, but he impresses with his pronounced intelligence, with which he regularly supports adults and friends in seemingly hopeless situations and helps them find a solution. Together with Halvar and his ship's crew of more or less strong men, Vicky experiences dangerous and humorous adventures each episode. Initially he must assert himself against the crew's skepticism, but he quickly develops into an essential figure whom the Vikings cannot go without.

Cast

Production

Vickyland at Plopsaland Belgium

The script was developed from the children's book Vicke Viking (1963) written by the Swedish author Runer Jonsson, who won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Children's Book Award) for it in 1965. The Japanese animation studio Zuiyo Enterprise Company (from which Nippon Animation was formed) adapted the original version (1972–1974) and developed from it an 85-minute-long film (original title: Chiisana Baikingu Bikke) as well as the series with 78 episodes, each 25 minutes long. The animation of the first episodes was commissioned by Zuiyo Eizo to Mushi Production, directed by Chikao Katsui. Following the failure of the latter, Zuiyo Eizo continued the production of the series and hired director Hiroshi Saitô. Later Zuiyo Eizo was split into Zuiyo and Nippon Animation, the latter studio who completed the rest of the episodes with director Kōzō Kusuba, while Zuiyo maintained the rights to the series (copyright has been registered in 1972).

A German dubbing of the series was made by Eberhard Storeck, who spoke as one of the characters (Snorre) himself. The music in the German version was composed by Christian Bruhn and Karel Svoboda. The text of the title song (Hey, hey, Wickie! Hey, Wickie, hey! ...) was written by Andrea Wagner. The German version also features new brief portions of animation. The English dubbing was largely poor, with characters talking endlessly to fit the lip movements of the characters, not pausing for a breath or using verbal punctuation. In the years that followed this was not uncommon for some voice actors who dubbed Japanese-produced series, up to the 1990s' anime boom in the West.

The series was produced for the German TV network ZDF and Austrian TV network ORF. In the United Kingdom, it was shown on ITV.

Other adaptations

TV remake

A modern television 'remake', entitled Vic the Viking, was released in 2013 and was produced by Studio 100 Animation.

Cancelled live-action TV adaptation

A live-action remake of the anime series was announced in 2018, when Belgian production company Studio 100, under its German distribution division Studio 100 Media and its brand management and media subsidiary m4e (whom Studio 100 Media had brought a majority stake in 2017), had teamed up with German film and television production studio Rat Pack Filmproduktion (who previously produced two live-action films Vicky the Viking and its sequel Vicky and the Treasure of the Gods) to produce a TV adaptation of the series. Ulli Stoef, CEO & president of m4e and Studio 100 Media, and Rat Pack executive producer Christian Becker were attached as co-producers. No production news of the project were provided after its initial announcement.

Film adaptations

A feature-length film edited from episodes of the animated series was released in West Germany on March 24, 1978.

German director Michael "Bully" Herbig filmed a live action adaptation of the series called Vicky the Viking. It was produced by Christian Becker of Rat Pack Filmproduktion and released by Constantin Film. Vicky is portrayed by Jonas Hämmerle, while Günther Kaufmann portrays Sven, the antagonist of the Vikings. The Vikings of Flake are portrayed by Jörg Moukkadam (Faxe), Mike Maas (Gorm), Christian Koch (Snorre), Nic Romm (Tjure), Patrick Reichel (Ulme) and Olaf Krätke (Urobe).

The film premiered on 9 September 2009, in Munich. On its opening weekend, it grossed approximately $5,595,895. On 3 October, during a show of Wetten, dass..?, Herbig was presented with the Goldene Leinwand award for the film's viewership of three million within its first 18 weeks. The film sold nearly 5 million tickets in Germany, for a total gross revenue of approximately $40,582,384.

Following the success of the first film, a sequel, Vicky and the Treasure of the Gods, was released on 29 September 2011.

Studio 100 Animation and Studio 100 Film produced a CGI-animated film adaptation of the 1974 anime, titled Vic the Viking: The Movie (also known as Vic the Viking and the Magic Sword), which was released on December 8, 2019. Belgian animation studio DreamWall provided animation services. German film production and distribution company Universum Film distributed the film in Germany while Studio 100 Film handled international distribution rights.

Legacy

VHS release (United Kingdom)

Primary literature (German)

Secondary literature (German)

References

  1. ↑ Watz, Matteo (2021-06-13). "Yama Nezumi Rocky Chuck". Animétudes. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  2. ↑ Whyte, Alexandra (February 12, 2018). "Vicky the Viking inspires live-action series". Kidscreen.
  3. ↑ "Studio 100, M4E and Rat Pack Produce "Vic the Viking" Live Action TV-Series". Licensing International. February 12, 2018.
  4. ↑ Wurm, Gerald. "Wickie und die starken Männer - Der Spielfilm (1978) (Schnittberichte.com)". www.schnittberichte.com (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  5. ↑ KG, imfernsehen GmbH & Co (2024-01-28). "Wickie und die starken Männer". fernsehserien.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  6. ↑ Meza, Ed (2008-01-07). "Herbig to direct 'Vicky the Viking'". Variety. Reed Elsevier. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  7. ↑ "Comedy". ProSieben. 11 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Stars - Kino". ProSieben. 9 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Germany Box Office, September 17–20, 2009". Box Office Mojo.
  10. ↑ "Studio 100 Media's Movie 'Maya The Bee' Finds A Home In Germany". Animation World Network.
  11. ↑ "Studio 100 Announces EFM 2015 Feature Slate". Animation World Network. February 6, 2015.
  12. ↑ "VIC THE VIKING". Studio 100 Animation. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Vic and the Magic Sword". DreamWall.
  14. ↑ Jović, Mario "Flake" Archived 2017-07-11 at the Wayback Machine (in Croatian). Rammstein.hr. Retrieved 2015-01-24.
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