Where should our Viking girls come from? In Lofoten, we found a real place to inspire their home, with its sea, landscape and history as the starting point for the adventure.
In March 2024, Harald Zwart, producer Veslemøy Ruud Zwart and Torgeir Sanders from animation studio Gimpville visited Lofoten. Their aim was to choose the locations that would form the basis of the film’s settings.
The Zwart family had been developing the story for several years. The team had been looking for a real home for the girls, and at Borg and Lofotr they found the surroundings they wanted to build on. At the time, the film had the Norwegian working title Vikingjentene.
The visit was about both sweeping landscapes and small details. Longhouses, nature and the local surroundings gave the animators concrete references for building the film’s world. The collaboration with Museum Nord also provided access to knowledge of Viking society and everyday life.
For us, this gave the adventure a clear geographical foundation. Ingrid and Hedvig would travel all the way to China, but their home would be rooted in a place audiences could visit themselves.
The visit took place in the middle of the skrei season, when migratory cod arrive in Lofoten. The fish and its importance to life in the islands also became part of the inspiration the filmmakers took with them.
Lofoten became more than a backdrop to the story. The landscape and the museum’s expertise gave us a starting point for developing our own version of Lofotr — the place where the journey in ViQueens begins.
