Vic the Viking and the Magic Sword

Eric
Caze

Eric Cazes, animation film director, split his childhood between France (Toulouse) and California, naturally integrating his dual, cultural backgrounds. California offered him freedom and creativity, inspired from the great Hollywood films plus its whacky, cartoon spirit. As for France, he soaked up its history, its culture and Art, its films d’auteur and its “bande dessinée” (which tend more towards the graphic novel than American comics). With his high school diploma in hand, he decided to return to France and continue his studies at Angoulême. This was during the exciting first years of the Bande Dessinée Workshop, created with the intention of becoming a crossroads for talent from all over and artists such as Sylvain Chomet and Nicolas de Crécy passed through its doors. Versatile and multi-talented, Eric Cazes graduated with a degree in Illustration, bande dessinée and above all, animated film. His first steps in the professional world were as layoutman on the animation series Denver the Last Dinosaur and Lucky Luke. He then joined another major talent hub at Disney Montreuil, where he sharpened his skills, learning to master the most demanding animation techniques in the business. He then joined the Ellipse team (Canal+ group) and became storyboarder after having worked on various productions such as Tintin. In 1996 he was approached by the director Bruno Bianchi (of Inspector Gadget fame) and joined Saban International as storyboard and layout supervisor, then assistant director. He oversaw all of the graphic development of Jim Button, Michael Ende’s German classic, then became show runner, design manager and finally director for the series. From 1999 on, he directed and oversaw graphic development on one animation series after another (The Odyssey, King and Queens, Nidouille, The Proverb, Ramses, Siegfried, Kiri the Clown, Garage Club, Cajou, Mini Ninja, K3, and more recently, Vic the Viking). Over the years, the results of these series have proven his versatility and mastery of the entire spectrum of animation techniques. He was also the director of Trotro the Donkey (winner of the 2017 Export Prize for animation), a series adapted from the graphic children’s books of the same name, which, with their sly but tender touch, marked an entire generation of kids. He has also tackled more challenging topics such as how children with hearing impairment communicate in the series Learning Sign Language with Bali, a mix of song and sign language in live 2D-3D, mixed media. In 2016, he directed episodes for the Talking Tom & Friends global license, which is distributed worldwide thanks to Youtube. His episodes have reached over 36 million views (and continue to be widely viewed). Today, Eric Cazes has finished directing his first animation feature film, by bringing to life in 80 breathless minutes, an adaptation of the Vic the Viking series, a trademark and license that has evolved, just like its director, from the small screen to the big screen!

Vic dreams of going on an adventure with the Viking crew. But Halvar, his father thinks he is too frail to be part of such a dangerous journey. When Vic’s mother, Ylva, is accidentally turned into a golden statue by the magical sword of Loki, Halvar and his crew have no choice but to sail to the forges of Loki, beyond the end of the world, in order to destroy the sword and bring Ylva back to life. Reluctantly, Halvar takes Vic along on a trip filled with surprises and dangers.