Stompa’s ghosts

Twice each day, Hollywood producers are accused of having no imagination and threading the water with countless sequels and remakes. That trend is slightly less strong in the Nordic region, and has now reached a popular 1950s franchise; Stompa. But why is Stompa a topic in these pages?

Most Norwegians of a certain age know Stompa. If you were a kid between the mid-50s and 80s, chances are that you either read any of the 22 Stompa books, heard any of the 26 radio plays or saw any of the four feature movies. Stompa – short for Stein Oskar Magell Paus Andersen – is the lead character in stories about a group of teens at a folk high school, a kind of boarding school. The franchise, which was produced in various media in Norway in the 1950s and 60s, is based on Anthony Buckeridge’s youth novels about Jennings.

However, the question remains why Stompa is a topic here. There was nothing remotely fantastical or supernatural about the original franchise. It was not a precursor to Harry Potter’s adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The thing is; the film series is about to get rebooted in Norway, with ghosts!

stompa

Storm Films was established in 1996 under the name AnimagicNet, and initially produced animated movies. Their first release was as co-producer on the 1996 animated feature film Gurin with the foxtail. In 1998 AnimagicNet contributed to the first CG-animated TV-series in the world, the award winning Two wasted wankers. Upon completion of the series, the company started the production of one of the most expensive and ambitious Norwegian films ever, the feature length CG-animated movie Free Jimmy. In 2004 AnimagicNet was acquired by Storm Group. The company changed name to Storm Films and the VFX-division of AnimagicNet was merged with the Storm Group subsidiary Storm Studios. Since the merger the group has continued to produce, co-produce and distribute movies such as the Oscar winning Peter and the wolf, Dead Snow, The Shamer’s Daughter, King Curling and others.

The radio plays, books and movies were wildly popular in Norway but no new media has been produced since 1967. Next year, Storm Films plans to bring Stompa back, with a spooky addition. -We have been working for some time to find a twist that appeals to today’s audience. This time it will be a funny ghost movie for the entire family. The characters and the universe will be the same, producer Lars Andreas Hellebust said to national broadcaster NRK. The company previously launched youth movies such as Valley of Knights (original title: Julekongen: Full rustning) and Captain Sabertooth.

The new Stompa film, tentatively budgeted at around 25 million NOK (2.8 million euros / 3 million USD) is in development as Stompa: Det spøker på Langåsen (something like The Haunted Langåsen, where Langåsen is the school) and will start filming this year, although at the moment it is unsure wether the film will take place today or in another period of time. -The boarding school environment is timeless, which the Harry Potter movies proves, Hellebust added.

The cast has yet to be announced, as has the type of ghosts.

Stompa’s ghosts

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