The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear (Danish: Den utrolige historie om den kæmpestore pære) is 2017 Danish animated film directed by Amalie Næsby Fick, Jørgen Lerdam and Philip Einstein Lipski, based on the book of the same name by Jakob Martin Strid.[2][3][4] The film was nominated for four Robert Awards, including Best Danish Film, but won Best Children's Film and Best Adapted Screenplay.[5]
| The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Danish | Den utrolige historie om den kæmpestore pære |
| Directed by | Amalie Næsby Fick Jørgen Lerdam Philip Einstein Lipski |
| Based on | The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear by Jakob Martin Strid |
| Edited by | Hans Perk |
Release date |
|
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
| Box office | $3 million[1] |
Plot
editThis article's plot summary needs to be improved. (May 2026) |
Jeremiah Severin Bartholomew Olsen, or simply JB, is the mayor of a town named Sunnytown, where the sun shines, hence the name. Mr. Twig is the town's vice mayor, who always wishes to build a town hall. JB lives with two friends, Mitcho, a cat, and Sebastian, an elephant. One day, while playing a game of Yahtzee, JB suddenly remembers about Twig's town hall, and leaves to get him, but he went missing. With JB missing, Twig usurps control of Sunnytown, and builds his town hall, blocking out the sun.
One day, Mitcho and Sebastian find a message in a bottle, revealing that JB ended up in a mysterious island. Included with the letter, they find a small seed, and they plant it in their garden. That night, Sebastian shares to Mitcho that his grandfather saw the mysterious island when he was young, but the island vanished, and his grandfather spent his entire life finding the island but never returned home.
The next morning, the seed grows into a giant pear. Professor Glykose, a scientist, arrives, and builds the pear into a new home. However, Twig accidentally knocks the pear into the water. As Mitcho, Sebastian, and Glykose set off to find JB, they encounter a group of pirates, who Mitcho warns them about the mysterious island.
Returning to the pear, the group uses a magnotube compass to find JB, where they discover Twig's plan to fire a tank at the opening of the town hall. They encounter Ulysses Karlsen, who take them to a library in his ship. There, they find a stone found from the island, and Karlsen reveals that the stone was a gift from Sebastian's grandfather. Karlsen tries to eject the pear from his ship, but Glykose knocks the ship's power out before Karlsen can do so. Mitcho and Sebastian steal the stone, and they escape with the pear. They insert the stone into their compass, revealing JB's location.
They arrive at the island, where they reconcile with JB, who shares that he accidentally fell into a dinghy while trying to meet Twig, where he sailed to the island. The group realizes that their pear home has been destroyed upon arrival, and Sebastian feels awful for what is happening to Sunnytown. Sebastian and Mitcho accidentally fall into an engine room underneath the island, revealing that it is drivable all along. The group returns to Sunnytown, with the pirates and Karlsen joining them.
The group discovers the opening of the town hall is starting already. Sebastian decides to alert Twig by sending him a message in a bottle announcing JB's status, by sending it through a air pipe system. Upon reading the message, Twig furiously fires the tank that strikes the island, but the group survives. A giant pear breaks through the town hall, revealing the sun again. Sebastian and Mitcho drown, but Mitcho saves Sebastian's life from drowning, returning to the town. The town celebrates JB's return, and Twig's town hall is replaced with a new pear-shaped town hall.
Voice cast
edit- Alfred Bjerre Larsen as Sebastian
- Liva Elvira Magnussen as Mitcho
- Peter Frödin as Professor Glykose
- Henrik Koefoed as Borgmester JB
- Peter Plaugborg as Viceborgmester Kvist
- Søren Pilmark as Ulysses Karlsen
- Jakob Oftebro as Piratkaptajnen
- Peter Zhelder as Bodegapiraten
- Bjarne Henriksen as Oldefar
- Peter Aude as Oberst Rekyl
Release
editThe Incredible Story of the Giant Pear was released theatrically in Denmark on 12 October 2017, and became the fourth most viewed Danish film of 2017 with 216,645 admissions.[6] Elsewhere, it grossed a worldwide total of $3,099,852.[1] Outside of Denmark, the top earning countries were Norway ($1,394,046), South Korea ($680,016) and France ($549,898).[1]
Reception
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 The Giant Pear at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ Filmatisering af dansk børnebog begejstrer anmeldere, 11 October 2017. (in Danish). Berlingske. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ Frater, Patrick (13 March 2016) FilMart: Asian Distributors Nibble on LevelK’s ‘Giant Pear’. Variety. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ Melanie, Goodfellow (17 February 2018) Condor swoops on Berlin titles 'The Giant Pear', 'Hagazussa' and IFFR hit 'Loveling' (exclusive). Screen Daily. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ Den utrolige historie om den kæmpestore pære at the Robert Awards – robertprisen.dk. (in Danish). Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ Budtz-Jørgensen, Anders (15 December 2017) Filmåret 2017. (in Danish). Danish Film Institute. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ Felperin, Leslie (25 July 2018) The Giant Pear review – a fruitful family adventure. The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ Ward, Sarah (19 February 2018) ‘The Incredible Story Of The Giant Pear’: Berlin Review. Screen Daily. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ↑ Mottram, James (7 August 2018) Review | The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear film review: bright Danish animation channels Roald Dahl heavily but has positive messages. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 14 May 2021.