''Quest for a Heart'' () is a 2007

animated film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

directed by Pekka Lehtosaari. It is based on the

Rölli Rölli (sometimes called Rollo in English is a character from Finnish television portrayed by Allan "Allu" Tuppurainen. The character originally appeared in segments on the children's TV show ''Pikku Kakkonen'' on YLE's Channel 2 in 1986. Origi ...

character created by

Allu Tuppurainen Allan Rauli Kristian "Allu" Tuppurainen (born 1 April 1951) is a Finnish actor and screenwriter residing in Vaasa. He began acting in Finnish film in the early 1970s and has made a number of appearances in Finnish film ever since, appearing in m ...

, and while it is the third Rölli film (previous films are '' Rolli: Amazing Tales'' from 1991 and ''

Rollo and the Spirit of the Woods ''Rollo and the Spirit of the Woods'' (also titled ''Rolli'', ) is a 2001 Finnish fantasy film directed by Olli Saarela. It is the second film based on the television series '' Rölli'', the first being '' Rölli – hirmuisia kertomuksia'' (1991 ...

'' from 2001), it is also the first Rölli animation. It is also one of the first

feature-length A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

animated films produced in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, before that an animated adaptation of ''

Seven Brothers 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

'' was released in 1979, '' Santa Claus and the Magic Drum'' was released in 1996 and '' The Emperor's Secret'' in 2006. With its over 5 million euro budget, ''Quest for a Heart'' is one of the most expensive Finnish films. The film won the Best Animation Award at the German Schlingel Film Festival in October 2008 and at the Chicago Children's Film Festival in November 2008.

Plot

The story revolves around Rölli the

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

who accompanies a spunky

elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

girl named Milli on a quest to find a magical heart that will save the trolls' village from being turned to stone, despite the fact that trolls and elves are completely opposite in nature.

Cast

Finnish cast

*Saija Lentonen as Millie the Elf *

Esa Saario Esa Saario (born 22 November 1931) is a Finnish actor. He started studying in Helsinki Theatre Academy in 1956. The headmaster of the academy, Wilho Ilmari, and other teachers allowed Saario to skip one year of school due to Saario's giftedness. ...

as Elder/Sage of the Sauna/Narrator *Jyrki Kovaleff as Atonal *

Matti Ranin Matti Helge Ranin (21 November 1926 – 24 November 2013) was a Finnish actor. Ranin had an extensive career in film. He was in his prime as film-actor in the 1950s and 60s, most famously playing Captain Kariluoto in an Edvin Laine film '' The ...

as Longwind *Aarre Karén as Footman *

Maria Järvenhelmi Maria Järvenhelmi (born 14 June 1975) is a Finnish actress and singer. She has appeared in 27 films and television shows since 1990. She starred in the film '' Lights in the Dusk'', which was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Järvenhe ...

as Princess / Frog * Pekka Lehtosaari as additional voicesThe Voices of Quest for a Heart (2007, Animated Film)
/ref>

English cast

Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...

as Rölli *

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

as Millie the Elf * Roger Hammond as Elder * Gary Martin as Sage of the Sauna * Jim McManus as Atonal * Ian Thompson as Longwind *

William Vanderpuye William Vanderpuye, also known as Will Vanderpuye or Will Vanders, is a British actor, broadcaster, writer, voice-over artist and producer. He played Zoomer and a cast of thousands in the BBC animation series Rastamouse and appeared as "Kobi" ...

as Footman *

Jo Wyatt Jo Wyatt is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tweak in '' The Octonauts'' and Little Miss Helpful, Little Miss Naughty, Little Miss Scary and Little Miss Sunshine in '' The Mr. Men Show'', as well as Daisy Kribotnik in ''Love S ...

as Princess / Frog * James Greene as Narrator

Home media

The film was released on DVD in most European territories, and was released as a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

film in United Kingdom on DVD by HB Films.

References

External links

* * Finnish animated films Finnish fantasy adventure films 2007 animated films 2007 films German animated fantasy films British animated fantasy films Russian animated fantasy films German fantasy adventure films Animated films about trolls Animated films about elves Animated films based on Norse mythology 2000s fantasy adventure films British fantasy adventure films Russian fantasy adventure films 2007 multilingual films Finnish multilingual films German multilingual films British multilingual films Russian multilingual films 2000s British films 2000s German films 2000s Finnish films {{2000s-Finland-film-stub