films seen
2
average score
2.00*
nationality
status
Alive and kicking

Movies


A Midsummer Night's Dream

Sen Noci Svatojánské
1959 / 76m - Czechoslovakia
Romance, Fantasy - Animation
2.0*/5.0*
A Midsummer Night's Dream poster

Old puppet animation based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Adapting Shakespeare isn't the most original of ideas, but I will admit that it fits the style, especially with all the fantasy elements presents. Still, I would've preferred to see an original story rather than the umpteenth version of this story.

Read all

Some of the puppet designs are nice and the more fantastical sets are cute, but the pacing is slow, the voice-over sounds somewhat indifferent and the animation is very basic, at least by modern standards. There are some stand-out moments here, but they are few and far between and most of the film was a bit too simplistic to keep me engaged throughout.

The Emperor's Nightingale

Cisaruv Slavík
1949 / 72m - Czechoslovakia
Fantasy - Animation
2.0*/5.0*
The Emperor's Nightingale poster

A classic, somewhat charming puppet animation. The animation quality isn't too great and the story of the Emperor's Nightingale was familiar territory for me, but the puppets are charming, and I do have a soft spot for stop-motion, so I still managed to enjoy it (apart from the live action sequences).

Read all

The live action sequences are somewhat of an eyesore, luckily, most of the film is done in stop-motion. The animation is really rather basic, but the puppets are cute, and the short runtime make sure the film doesn't outstay its welcome. Not great, but fans of stop-motion cinema should get something out of it.