Santa’s Apprentice to Get Australian Theatrical Release

SYDNEY: The animated film Santa’s Apprentice, a co-production between Gaumont-Alphanim and Avrill Stark Entertainment, is headed to theaters in Australia in the second half of 2011.

The Christmas-themed movie was released last year in France, selling more than 100,000 tickets in the first week. The movie made more than 3.2 million euros at the French box office. The film is now set for a theatrical release in Australia.

Santa’s Apprentice tells the story of young Nicolas, a 7-year-old Australian boy who struggles with the ups and downs of being the next Santa Claus. He is determined to be the best Santa ever and learns lessons along the way. The film recently received the special UNICEF Award at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France. The title is distributed by Becker Entertainment.

Creative producer Avrill Stark commented: “Santa’s Apprentice truly is a delight for children of all ages. I fell in love with the story immediately as it’s uniquely, a Christmas tale set in Australia. We had a fantastically talented Australian team working on the key animation of the film headed up by Ian Harrowell and a wonderful composer in Nerida Tyson-Chew whose music, with a 50 piece orchestra, brought the emotion of the story to life. It is a true honor for all involved with Santa’s Apprentice to win the UNICEF Award at this year’s Annecy festival.”