Kooky
Encyclopedia
Kooky is a 2010 Czech action comedy film directed by Jan Svěrák
. The film combines techniques of puppet animation, stop motion
and live action
. It tells the story of a six-year-old asthmatic boy whose parents force him to throw away his favorite toy, an old teddy bear
named Kooky. In the boy's fantasy, Kooky comes to life in the landfill
, escapes into a mysterious forest and begins its journey amongst the rough-and-ready creatures of the forest.
The film was inspired by the works of the Czech sculptor and painter František Skála
, who refused to participate in the production. Svěrák offered collaboration on the technical development of puppets and visual effects to Jakub Dvorský from the video game company Amanita Design
. The puppets in the film were manipulated by the members of the ensemble Buchty a loutky. During the post-production process, Svěrák and his team concentrated on removing the strings and wires with the help of computer animation
. Kooky is technically the most complicated film by Svěrák; it contains three times more visual effects
than Dark Blue World
, the most expensive Czech film up to that point. In addition to fictional puppet figures, the film makes use of real animals (fox
, butterfly
, snail
, frog
etc.)
Kooky was shot at various locations in the Czech Republic
: the winter scenes were filmed at Ještěd
, the forest background was shot near to Bechyně
and in the National Nature Reserve Voděradské bučiny
, and the scenes containing sandstone rocks were filmed in Drábské světničky
. Production began in autumn of 2008. It was planned for 35 days but difficulties extended the duration of the shoot to 100 days.
Kooky was chosen as the official Czech Republic contestant film for the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
.
, the only fictional character in the film connected with the "human world". The other puppet characters are supposed to recall forest creatures rather than toys. Kooky's puppet is 21 cm tall; it was manufactured in 18 versions for the purpose of filming all the technically complicated scenes. Kooky's face is lacking facial expression
, the puppet is smiling constantly.
) is an old forest guardian who seeks to protect Kooky. The manufacturing of Hergot's puppet was complicated; Jakub Dvorský drew hundreds of sketches of the character. The final visual appearance of the puppet is similar to a root vegetable
.
fighting against Captain von Hergot, as he himself wants to become the forest guardian. The puppet has a big mouth and it likes to eat slug
s. Anuška is the only puppet character moving its mouth during speaking and swallowing.
) are the landfill guardians. They chase Kooky, who escaped from the landfill. The puppets are made of deformed plastic bottle
s.
Jan Sverák
Jan Svěrák is a Czech film director. He is the son of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák. He studied documentary filmmaking at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
. The film combines techniques of puppet animation, stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
and live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
. It tells the story of a six-year-old asthmatic boy whose parents force him to throw away his favorite toy, an old teddy bear
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
named Kooky. In the boy's fantasy, Kooky comes to life in the landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
, escapes into a mysterious forest and begins its journey amongst the rough-and-ready creatures of the forest.
Background
Jan Svěrák initially planned to create a film depicting the world viewed from the perspective of a dog who survives floods; however, he changed his plans after he retold parts of the story to his son Ondřej.The film was inspired by the works of the Czech sculptor and painter František Skála
František Skála
František Skála jr is a Czech sculptor, painter, children's book illustrator, musician, and dancer.He studied woodcarving at Secondary Applied Arts School Prague, 1971–1975 and in 1982 graduated from the University of Applied Arts in film and television graphics.He achieved his first major...
, who refused to participate in the production. Svěrák offered collaboration on the technical development of puppets and visual effects to Jakub Dvorský from the video game company Amanita Design
Amanita Design
Amanita Design is an independent Czech video game developing company that was founded in 2003 by Jakub Dvorský. The company has made several Webby Award-winning games, as well as educational and advertising minigames and animations, all using Adobe Flash. Clients include BBC, Nike and The...
. The puppets in the film were manipulated by the members of the ensemble Buchty a loutky. During the post-production process, Svěrák and his team concentrated on removing the strings and wires with the help of computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
. Kooky is technically the most complicated film by Svěrák; it contains three times more visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
than Dark Blue World
Dark Blue World
Dark Blue World is a 2001 film by Czech director Jan Svěrák about Czechoslovak pilots who fought for the British Royal Air Force during World War II. The screenplay was written by Zdeněk Svěrák, the father of the director....
, the most expensive Czech film up to that point. In addition to fictional puppet figures, the film makes use of real animals (fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
, frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
etc.)
Kooky was shot at various locations in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
: the winter scenes were filmed at Ještěd
Ješted
Ještěd is the highest mountain peak of the Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge near Liberec in the north of the Czech Republic. From the summit there are views into Germany and Poland...
, the forest background was shot near to Bechyně
Bechyne
Bechyně , is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located on the Lužnice River 20 km southwest of Tábor and has a population of 5,695 ....
and in the National Nature Reserve Voděradské bučiny
Voděradské bučiny
Voděradské bučiny is a National Nature Reserve located near to the town of Černé Voděrady in the Prague-East District, Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. The area of the reserve is 658 ha....
, and the scenes containing sandstone rocks were filmed in Drábské světničky
Drábské svetnicky
Drábské světničky is a ruin of a 13th century rock castle in the Czech Republic. It is located about northeast of Mnichovo Hradiště on a ragged edge of a sandstone cliff high above surrounding landscape. The castle covers a group of severn sandstone rocks, connected with wooden bridges. It has...
. Production began in autumn of 2008. It was planned for 35 days but difficulties extended the duration of the shoot to 100 days.
Kooky was chosen as the official Czech Republic contestant film for the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....
.
Kooky
Kooky (voiced by Ondřej Svěrák) is a stuffed teddy bearTeddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
, the only fictional character in the film connected with the "human world". The other puppet characters are supposed to recall forest creatures rather than toys. Kooky's puppet is 21 cm tall; it was manufactured in 18 versions for the purpose of filming all the technically complicated scenes. Kooky's face is lacking facial expression
Facial expression
A facial expression one or more motions or positions of the muscles in the skin. These movements convey the emotional state of the individual to observers. Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying social information among humans, but also occur...
, the puppet is smiling constantly.
Captain von Hergot
Captain von Hergot (voiced by Zdeněk SvěrákZdenek Sverák
Zdeněk Svěrák is a Czech actor, humorist and scriptwriter. He is one of the most popular Czech cultural personalities. In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival....
) is an old forest guardian who seeks to protect Kooky. The manufacturing of Hergot's puppet was complicated; Jakub Dvorský drew hundreds of sketches of the character. The final visual appearance of the puppet is similar to a root vegetable
Root vegetable
Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetables. Here "root" means any underground part of a plant.Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrates. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugars, starches, and other types of...
.
Nightshade
Nightshade (in Czech: Anuška, voiced by Jiří Macháček) is an antagonistAntagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
fighting against Captain von Hergot, as he himself wants to become the forest guardian. The puppet has a big mouth and it likes to eat slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
s. Anuška is the only puppet character moving its mouth during speaking and swallowing.
Pytlík Vidlička and Pytlík Zapík
Pytlík Vidlička (voiced by Petr Čtvrtníček) and Pytlík Zapík (voiced by Jiří LábusJirí Lábus
Jiří Lábus is a Czech actor. In 1973, he graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague andjoined theatre Studio Ypsilon, where he remains employed to this day. He also appeared several times as guest actor in other theatres .He performed several roles in both television and film...
) are the landfill guardians. They chase Kooky, who escaped from the landfill. The puppets are made of deformed plastic bottle
Plastic bottle
A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed of plastic, with a neck that is narrower than its real body and an opening at the top. The mouth of the bottle is normally sealed with a plastic bottle cap. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking...
s.