The Flight Before Christmas

Niko & The Way to the Stars (Finnish: Niko – Lentäjän poika) is a 2008 computer animated Christmas film directed by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen. It revolves around a young reindeer named Niko who must overcome his fear of flying by heading to Santa Claus' fell to save him and his fleet of flying reindeer from a pack of wolves. The film was a Finnish production with co-producers in Denmark, Germany and Ireland. It was produced by Anima Vitae, Animaker Oy, A. Film A/S, Ulysses Films, and Magma Films. The animation was produced in Finland, Germany and Denmark, with post-production carried out in Ireland. A 45-minute television edit in American English, was produced in the United States for CBS under the title The Flight Before Christmas. A sequel, Little Brother, Big Trouble: A Christmas Adventure was released in October 2012 in Finland. It is one of the most expensive Finnish films.

Production
The animation took place in three countries; initial animation production and effects were produced in Finland, Germany and Denmark. Rendering and Lighting took place in Finland, and much of the post-production was carried out in Ireland. The American version of the film re-casts Norm Macdonald as Julius and Emma Roberts as Wilma.

English cast

 * Andrew McMahon as Niko, a young reindeer who wishes to fly
 * Morgan Jones as Julius, a flying squirrel
 * Alan Stanford as Black Wolf
 * Susan Zelouf as Essie, a poodle
 * Aileen Mythen as Wilma, a stoat
 * Gavin Morgan as Smiley
 * Carly Baker as Saga
 * Paul Tylak as Prancer, one of Santa's flying forces and the father of Niko, and Specs
 * Patrick Fitzsymons as Leader and Grandpa
 * Morgan Jones, Paul Tylak and Patrick Fitzsymons as Santa's Flying Forces
 * Susan Slott as Oona, the mother of Niko
 * Frank Welker as Lockdown, the transformer character