Czech Weekend | Mole and Music | Szczecin (Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin) - tickets

Event Description

ARTISTS

Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra

Marek Prášil – conductor

WORKS:

Marko Ivanović and Johana Schmidtmajerová – script

Screening of the animated film Mole with live music

Mole? The first association is obviously: Czech Republic! There is probably no character from a fairy tale in the world that is so obviously associated with the country where it was created. Mole, in Czech Krtek, is originally a Czechoslovak and subsequently Czech series of animated films for children. It was created by Zdeněk Miler.

The character of Mole was created in 1957. Already recognized at that time as a creator, animator, and director of animated films, Zdeněk Miler was commissioned to create an educational film that would depict the production of fabric. The finished film, showing the process of making a cotton shirt, was saturated with numerous descriptions of machine operations. Miler did not like the concept of the film. He wanted the film to interest young viewers and for the information not to be presented directly – the fabric production process was to serve only as a backdrop for the adventures of some animal.

Miler did not want to imitate Disney's productions, so he did not want to make the main character of the film a dog, cat, duck, or mouse – these animals had already been widely exploited by American studios in the 1950s. There is an anecdote related to this, saying that in search of a completely new character for his film, Miler went to the forest. After a few hours of fruitless searching, discouraged, he headed towards a clearing. While walking ahead in a daze, he stumbled upon a molehill – and thus the Mole was born.

It is such a strange mouse without ears, with a long nose and, moreover, it cannot see. I tried to draw it in such a way that it would become a friendly guide in a children's film. I drew for so long that the character began to please me quite a lot – recalled the birth of one of the most popular characters in children's animated films, its creator.

The first film telling the story of how Mole got new shorts was made in 1957. The author initially did not intend to create a series. The great success of the film about Mole made Miler decide to return to his character. In 1963, another film about Mole was created: Mole and the Car. This was the beginning of a series, the subsequent episodes of which were produced until 2002.

Mole gained popularity among children in over seventy countries. He is recognized all over the world. The author constantly worked on his appearance. The contemporary Mole, in contrast to the one from the first film, is cheerier and looks younger. He also became a character in children's books and coloring books.

In the Golden Hall of the Philharmonic in Szczecin, music from three episodes of Mole will sound: Mole the Watchmaker, Mole in the Desert, and Mole and Music.