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.