The first teaser trailer for the animated feature film ViQueens premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, giving audiences a first look at the epic adventure-comedy starring Ella Purnell and Rita Ora, with a special appearance by football star Erling Haaland.
ViQueens is slated for delivery in late 2026, with its home territory release scheduled for 25 December 2026.
The teaser launch coincided with a special Annecy masterclass led by filmmaker Harald Zwart (The Karate Kid) and producer Veslemøy Ruud Zwart, who shared the creative journey behind the film and introduced their new animation production methodology, reference capture. This methodology combines performance, cinematography, and physical staging to provide animators with a strong visual and emotional foundation, while ensuring every frame is traditionally animated without the use of AI.
Synopsis of the film: ViQueens is an epic adventure-comedy about two fearless viking girls, Ingrid (voiced by Purnell) and Hedvig (voiced by Ora), who defy tradition to return a stowaway boy to China. Their journey takes them across the icy Nordic fjords, through the Byzantine Empire, and along the legendary silk road, where they encounter unexpected allies, ancient wisdom, and magical adventures that challenge everything they know.
“From the beginning, we wanted ViQueens to feel as emotionally authentic and cinematically grounded as a live-action film while retaining all the imagination and scale that animation makes possible,” stated filmmaker Harald. “Reference capture allowed us to bridge those worlds by capturing real performances, camera language, and physicality early in the process, giving our artists a richer foundation from which to build the film’s animated universe.”
“The teaser is our first opportunity to invite audiences into the world of ViQueens,” shared producer Veslemøy. “It captures the humour, heart, adventure, and cinematic scope of the film while showcasing a new approach to animation production that has been central to bringing this story to life.”
The film features an original score by acclaimed composer Christophe Beck, known for his work on Disney’s Frozen and Frozen II. The voice cast also includes Steve Speirs as King Erik, Anton Lesser as the scheming Lars, and Alan Carr as the Bard, an overly enthusiastic royal scribe, alongside Purnell, Ora, and Haaland.
Animation and visual effects for ViQueens are being produced by (Norway-based) Gimpville, with post-production and audio services provided by OPCM (Norway-based post-production studio).
The film is executive produced by Torgeir Sanders (Gimpville), Robert Chandler (Space Age Films), Peter Clausen (OPCM), Andrew Williams (Vamonos), Rasmus Ramstad (Rumba AS), and Solveig Langeland, with Sola Media, a German agency handling worldwide sales for ViQueens.
