T
hefirst timeTheodoreRimspoke, SonnyDuckworthand
Lambertwereunveiled inastop-motionanimation, theydidn’t
godown toowell. “I remember it like itwasyesterday,”says
RemoCaprino, thesonofnow-legendarydirector IvoCaprino,
whostill runs theCaprinofilmstudios inSnarøya, on the
outskirtsofOslo.
“The twoheadsof theentertainmentdivisionatNRK [Norway’snational
broadcaster]came toseeasectionwe’dspentalmost twoyearsworkingon.After
theprojectorstopped, therewas just thisheavysilence.Afterwhat felt likeminutes,
oneof them,ErikDiesen, turned tomy fatherandsaidquietly: ‘Ivo, I’msorry, this
is justnotgoodenough.’We thought: that’s that, then. Itwasdevastating.”
ButTheodore, SonnyandLambert–ReodorFelgen, SolanandLudvig, in the
originalNorwegian–wouldhave the lastwhimsical, seamlesslyanimated laugh.
Since its release40yearsago,
FlåklypaGrandPrix
(
PinchcliffeGrandPrix
in
English)hasbecome themostwidelyseenNorwegianfilmof all time, selling5.5
millioncinema tickets–more than thepopulationofNorway.
The taleof inventorTheodorebuildinga fabulouscar, IlTempoGigante, to
defeathis formerapprenticeRudolphGore-Slimey,hasbeenshownaround
Christmas inNorwayandDenmarkeveryyearsince, and lastyear itwas themost-
watchedprogrammeonNorwegian television inDecember.Thesunny,optimistic
magpieSonnyDuckworthand thenervous,melancholyhedgehogLamberthave
becomenational treasures, and thefilmapartof thenational culture.
Butback in 1972, asilent IvoCaprino left theofficeearly–“Heneverdid that”,
recallsRemo–and lefthissonstaringatasetof lifeless, rejecteddolls.
»
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⁄
RemoCaprino inthecurrent
CaprinoStudios inSnarøya,where
mostoftheoriginalpuppetsstill
abide (theoriginalLambertwas
soldatacharityauction)
“After thisheavy silence, Erik turned tomy fatherand said
quietly: ‘I’m sorry, Ivo, this is justnot goodenough’”
n
/053
