Telegael’s ‘Captain Morten and The Spider Queen’ nears completion as the project enters the final stages of post production. The film although filmed in Galway, is a European co-production with Telegael being joined by Nukufilm of Estonia, Grid VFX of Belgium, and Calon of the UK.
Directed by Kaspar Jancis and Henry Nicholson, the 75-minute stop-motion animation tells the story of Morten voiced by Cian O’Dowd a daydreaming, 10-year-old boy who spends his days fantasising about captaining his own ship and trying to avoid the anger of his devious and reluctant guardian the mean spinster Anna (Pauline McLynn).
The film features an all-star Irish cast of voice talents including Brendan Gleeson, Ciarán Hinds, Pauline McLynn, Tommy Tiernan, Jason Byrne, Neil Delamere, Mario Rosenstock, Michael McElhatton and more.
Morten’s fantasising distracts him from missing his father Captain Viks (Brendan Gleeson), who is away at sea. Morten aspires to be a captain someday, just like his dad. After a chance meeting with the mysterious and inept magician Senór Cucaracha (Tommy Tiernan), Morten is magically shrunken down to the size of an insect and trapped aboard the deck of his own toy-ship.
With a wicked Spider Queen and Scorpion Pirate already aboard, Morten must take back control of his ship which is caught up in a threatening storm. Engaging the help of a beautiful butterfly-friend Eliza (Susie Power), Morten adventure shows that being Captain is going to be anything but child’s play.
Captain Morten & The Spider Queen is a co-production between Telegael (Ireland), Nukufilm (Estonia) and Grid-VFX (Belgium) in association with Calon of Wales.