Kooky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kuky se vrací |
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| Directed by | Jan Svěrák |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Jan Svěrák |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Michal Novinski |
| Cinematography |
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| Editing by | Alois Fišárek |
| Release date(s) | 20 May 2010 |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Language | Czech |
| Budget | 40 million CZK |
| Money made | 30 million CZK |
Kooky (which means "Kuky returns" in Czech) is an exciting 2010 Czech film. It was directed by Jan Svěrák. This movie is special because it mixes different ways of making films. It uses puppet animation, stop motion, and live action scenes.
The story is about a six-year-old boy who has asthma. His parents throw away his favorite old teddy bear, named Kooky. But the boy really loves Kooky. One night, he secretly sneaks out to find his teddy bear. He wants to bring Kooky back home from the garbage. Because of this, the boy gets sick. In his dreams, Kooky comes to life! The teddy bear escapes from the landfill and goes into a mysterious forest. There, Kooky meets many different forest creatures and starts a big adventure.
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Making the Movie: Kooky's Journey to the Screen
The director, Jan Svěrák, first thought about a different movie idea. He wanted to show the world from a dog's point of view. This dog would survive floods. However, he changed his mind after telling parts of the story to his son, Ondřej.
The film was inspired by the art of Czech sculptor František Skála. Svěrák also worked with Jakub Dvorský from the video game company Amanita Design. They helped with making the puppets and special visual effects.
How Kooky and Friends Were Made
The puppets in the film were moved by a group called Buchty a loutky. After filming, the team worked hard to remove strings and wires. They used computer animation to make it look like the puppets moved on their own. Kooky was the most complex film Svěrák had made. It had many more visual effects than his earlier movie, Dark Blue World. Besides puppets, the film also used real animals. You can see a fox, a butterfly, a snail, and a frog in the movie.
Where Kooky Was Filmed
Kooky was filmed in many beautiful places in the Czech Republic. The winter scenes were shot at Ještěd. The forest backgrounds were filmed near Bechyně and in the Voděradské bučiny nature reserve. Scenes with sandstone rocks were filmed in Drábské světničky. Filming started in the autumn of 2008. It was planned for 35 days, but it took 100 days to finish.
You can watch Kooky on iTunes. It was also available as part of the Humble Botanicula Debut.
Meet the Characters
The movie has many interesting characters. Some are toys, and others are forest creatures.
Kooky
Kooky is a stuffed teddy bear. He is the only character in the film who connects to the "human world." The other puppet characters look more like real forest creatures than toys. Kooky's puppet is 21 centimeters tall. They made 18 different versions of Kooky for filming. This helped with all the tricky scenes. Kooky's face does not show any facial expression.
Captain von Hergot
Captain von Hergot is an old forest guardian. He is voiced by Zdeněk Svěrák. His job is to protect Kooky. Making Hergot's puppet was difficult. Jakub Dvorský drew hundreds of sketches to get him right. The final puppet looks a bit like a root vegetable.
Nightshade
Nightshade (called Anuška in Czech) is the bad guy in the story. He is voiced by Jiří Macháček. Nightshade wants to become the forest guardian instead of Captain von Hergot. This puppet has a big mouth and loves to eat slugs. Nightshade is the only puppet that moves its mouth when it talks or eats.
Pytlík Vidlička and Pytlík Zapík
Pytlík Vidlička (voiced by Petr Čtvrtníček) and Pytlík Zapík (voiced by Jiří Lábus) are the guardians of the landfill. They chase Kooky after he escapes from the garbage dump. These puppets are made from old, squashed plastic bottles.
