Shipwrecked (1990)
Encyclopedia
Shipwrecked is a 1990 action-adventure film
intended for family
viewing. In Norway it was titled "Haakon Haakonson".
The movie was produced by a consortium of Scandinavia
n companies and released in the U.S. in a dubbed
English-language version by Walt Disney Pictures
.
Shot on location in Fiji
, Norway
, Spain
and the United Kingdom
, the movie is a dramatization of Norwegian author Oluf Falck-Ytter
's book Haakon Haakonsen: En Norsk Robinson (Haakon Haakonsen: A Norwegian Robinson). This adventure story aimed at young readers was inspired by Daniel Defoe's
Robinson Crusoe
and published in 1873.
The film has received favorable reviews as a well-made adventure story for families.
on a ship after his father is injured. Jens (Trond Peter Stamsø Munch), a family friend and a fellow shipmate of Haakon’s father, becomes an older brother to Haakon on their voyage.
At first, Haakon has a difficult time adjusting to life at sea, but eventually earns the respect of his shipmates while earning the distrust of the first mate - after Haakon catches the first mate with weapons he shouldn't have. The first mate forces him to promise not to reveal to the captain about the guns, and then keeps tabs on Haakon.
Haakon even discovers a female stowaway
(Louisa Milwood-Haigh) who turns into a love interest. After the mysterious death of his admired captain
and takeover by the first mate (Gabriel Byrne
), a suspicious new set of shipmates comes on board. Being on board the ship becomes terrible and Haakon is set to be punished when the new captain finds Mary (the stowaway girl trying to reach her uncle in Calcutta) and punishes whoever helped her. However, before he can be whipped, Haakon survives the sinking of his ship in a terrible storm
and wakes up on a deserted tropical island.
After searching the island and discovering treasure as well as wanted poster
s for an English pirate named Merrick, who looks identical to the new captain and former first mate, Haakon discovers that his suspicious shipmates are pirates
.
Following a training with a sword and gun, Haakon even manages to use a horn when a gorilla
attacks. Haakon befriends the gorilla. As days pass, Haakon begins to miss his family. One day, Haakon sees smoke from a distant island and tries various attempts to get there on a raft of his own.
Upon successfully arriving there, he finds a bunch of natives
doing a night dance. Haakon eventually finds Mary with a bunch of traveling natives. When he sees one of the natives dragging Mary, Haakon springs into action frightening the natives with a gunshot until he backs into Jens who explains that the natives are peaceful and saved his and Mary's lives.
Mary explains that they have been traveling island to island looking for Haakon. As the three leave for the other island the next day, Haakon realizes that the pirates are returning to the island. Haakon and Jens managed to get help from Berg and Steine (Knut Walle and Harald Brenna). Haakon manages to outsmart the pirates and he, Hens, Mary, Berg, and Steine return to Norway.
Haakon reunites with his family and introduces them to Mary and that she will be staying with them for awhile.
Note: There are two or three different (slightly) versions of this movie.
s in 1992:
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
intended for family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
viewing. In Norway it was titled "Haakon Haakonson".
The movie was produced by a consortium of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n companies and released in the U.S. in a dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
English-language version by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
.
Shot on location in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the movie is a dramatization of Norwegian author Oluf Falck-Ytter
Oluf Falck-Ytter
Oluf Vilhelm Falck-Ytter was a Norwegian civil servant, writer and editor.He was born in Romedal as a son of vogt Nils Ytter and his wife Marie Dorothea Falck . After taking the cand.jur...
's book Haakon Haakonsen: En Norsk Robinson (Haakon Haakonsen: A Norwegian Robinson). This adventure story aimed at young readers was inspired by Daniel Defoe's
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
and published in 1873.
The film has received favorable reviews as a well-made adventure story for families.
Plot
Haakon Haakonsen (Stian Smestad), a young Norwegian boy in the 1850s, becomes the sole support of his family as a cabin boyCabin boy
A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain....
on a ship after his father is injured. Jens (Trond Peter Stamsø Munch), a family friend and a fellow shipmate of Haakon’s father, becomes an older brother to Haakon on their voyage.
At first, Haakon has a difficult time adjusting to life at sea, but eventually earns the respect of his shipmates while earning the distrust of the first mate - after Haakon catches the first mate with weapons he shouldn't have. The first mate forces him to promise not to reveal to the captain about the guns, and then keeps tabs on Haakon.
Haakon even discovers a female stowaway
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
(Louisa Milwood-Haigh) who turns into a love interest. After the mysterious death of his admired captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
and takeover by the first mate (Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
), a suspicious new set of shipmates comes on board. Being on board the ship becomes terrible and Haakon is set to be punished when the new captain finds Mary (the stowaway girl trying to reach her uncle in Calcutta) and punishes whoever helped her. However, before he can be whipped, Haakon survives the sinking of his ship in a terrible storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
and wakes up on a deserted tropical island.
After searching the island and discovering treasure as well as wanted poster
Wanted poster
A wanted poster is a poster distributed to let the public know of an alleged criminal whom authorities wish to apprehend. They will generally include either a picture of the alleged criminal when a photograph is available, or of a facial composite image produced by a police artist...
s for an English pirate named Merrick, who looks identical to the new captain and former first mate, Haakon discovers that his suspicious shipmates are pirates
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
.
Following a training with a sword and gun, Haakon even manages to use a horn when a gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
attacks. Haakon befriends the gorilla. As days pass, Haakon begins to miss his family. One day, Haakon sees smoke from a distant island and tries various attempts to get there on a raft of his own.
Upon successfully arriving there, he finds a bunch of natives
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
doing a night dance. Haakon eventually finds Mary with a bunch of traveling natives. When he sees one of the natives dragging Mary, Haakon springs into action frightening the natives with a gunshot until he backs into Jens who explains that the natives are peaceful and saved his and Mary's lives.
Mary explains that they have been traveling island to island looking for Haakon. As the three leave for the other island the next day, Haakon realizes that the pirates are returning to the island. Haakon and Jens managed to get help from Berg and Steine (Knut Walle and Harald Brenna). Haakon manages to outsmart the pirates and he, Hens, Mary, Berg, and Steine return to Norway.
Haakon reunites with his family and introduces them to Mary and that she will be staying with them for awhile.
Note: There are two or three different (slightly) versions of this movie.
Cast of Characters
- Haakon Haakonson (Stian Smestad) - A Norwegian youth who signs on as cabin boy aboard a ship whose captain is his father's close friend. At first he is shy and timid from years of being teased and picked on because he is poor, but after being stranded alone on the island and forced to survive, he becomes more confident.
- Lt. John Merrick (Gabriel ByrneGabriel ByrneGabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
) - The pirate captain who poses as a member of the English military, he eventually takes over the ship Haakon is on after the original captain mysteriously dies and proceeds to make life difficult for everyone. - Jens (Trond Peter Stamsø Munch) - Haakon's best friend and a sailor. He sailed with Haakon's father and considers himself Haakon's guardian on the ship after promising Haakon's father to look out for him.
- Mary (Louisa Milwood-Haigh) - A young stowaway searching for her uncle in Calcutta. She escaped from a workhouseWorkhouseIn England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where she was placed after the death of her parents. - Berg (Knut Walle) - One of Jens' shipmates.
- Steine (Harald Brenna) - One of Jens' shipmates.
Awards
Shipwrecked was nominated for three Young Artist AwardYoung Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
s in 1992:
- Best Family Motion Picture — Drama
- Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture — Stian Smestad
- Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Motion Picture — Louisa Haigh