Létající Čestmír (''The Flying Cestmír'') is a six-part television series for children, which was co-produced by Czechoslovakia and West Germany in 1983 by director

Václav Vorlíček Václav Vorlíček (3 June 1930 – 5 February 2019) was a Czech film director. He studied filmmaking at FAMU from 1951 to 1956, and began directing feature films since the early 1960s. His filmography includes several comedies made in collaborat ...

. The series was also broadcast in Vietnam, Mongolia, Germany (Der fliegende Ferdinand), Poland (Latający Czestmir), Hungary, Bulgaria. In Germany it is known under name Der Fliegende Ferdinand (The Flying Ferdinand).

Plot

The main hero is the student Čestmír Trnka, who reaches the planet of flowers thanks to a strange and miraculous meteorite. From here he will bring the seeds of two magical flowers. Thanks to one he can fly, thanks to the other he looks like an adult for a while.

Flowers

The following miraculous flowers appear in the series: * Flying flower - whoever smells it can fly. * The flower of aging - whoever smells it grows old. * The flower of goodness - whoever smells it has a desire to make others happy, even at their own expense. * The flower of intelligence - whoever smells it will become very intelligent and gain a lot of knowledge. * The flower of health - whoever smells it will be cured of all diseases, including hair loss. * Flower of power - whoever smells it has great physical strength. * Flower of hearing - whoever smells it will get good hearing. For example, they can hear people's conversations even at a great distance. * White flower - whoever smells it will rejuvenate into childhood. The effect of the health flower and the white flower is permanent, while the effect of the other flowers will disappear after a certain period of time.

Cast

* Lukáš Bech as pupil Čestmír Trnka, eponymous protagonist of the series. He is named Ferdinand in German version. * Jan Kreidl as pupil David Pelc * Žaneta Fuchsová as pupil Barbora Bartáková * Antonín Kala as pupil Oskar Blecha, the main antagonist *

Vladimír Menšík Vladimír Menšík (9 October 1929 – 29 May 1988) was a popular Czech actor and entertainer, born in Ivančice, Moravia, Czechoslovakia. Both comedian and serious actor, he created a wide range of lively characters. He starred in more than 12 ...

as Zbyněk Trnka, Čestmír's father who works at Institute for Betterment of Human *

Zdena Hadrbolcová Zdena Hadrbolcová (13 July 1937 – 20 November 2023) was a Czech actress. Life Zdena Hadrbolcová was born on 13 July 1937 in Prague. She was educated at a French grammar school in Prague and studied theatre directing at the Academy of Perf ...

as Helena Trnková, Čestmír's mother * Ivana Andrlová as Zuzana Trnková, Čestmír's sister and assistant in Institute *

Petr Nárožný Petr Nárožný (born 14 April 1938)) is a Czech actor, television presenter, comedian, and entertainer. Life and career As a boy, Nárožný spent part of World War II in Germany, where he experienced Allied bombings. He graduated from the Fac ...

as Bedřich Blecha, barber, Oskar's father *

Iva Janžurová Iva Janžurová (born 19 May 1941) is a Czech actress. She attended school in České Budějovice and in 1963, she graduated from the Faculty of Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 1964, she became the main member of Vinohra ...

as barber Blechová, Oskar's mother *

Ivan Vyskočil Ivan Vyskočil (born 21 May 1946 in Prague) is a Czech actor. He starred in the film '' Poslední propadne peklu'' under director Ludvík Ráža in 1982. Selected filmography * ''The Tailor from Ulm'' (1978) * ''The Young Man and Moby Dick ''T ...

as teacher Filip Janda *

Jiří Sovák Jiří Sovák (''né'' Schmitzer; 27 December 1920 – 6 September 2000) was a Czech actor, best known for his comedy roles. Life and theatre career Jiří Sovák was born Jiří Schmitzer to the family of an innkeeper in Prague.Jiří Sovák, S ...

as professor Otakar Langmajer, director of Institute for Betterment of Human *

Nelly Gaierová Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

as Otylka Langmajerová, his sister *

Marie Rosůlková Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...

as Cecilka Langmajerová, his sister *

Jiřina Bohdalová Jiřina Bohdalová (born 3 May 1931 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic) is a Czech actress. Career She began acting in theatre and film at an early age. She was accepted to The Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts ...

as teacher Klepáčová *

Stella Zázvorková Stella Zázvorková (14 April 1922 – 18 May 2005) was a Czech actress from Prague. Zázvorková, an alumnus of Prague's theatre school of E.F. Burian, appeared in more than a hundred films and series. She was married to the actor Miloš ...

as director of the school *

Martin Růžek Martin Růžek, born Erhard Martin (23 September 1918 – 18 December 1995) was a Czech actor. He starred in the film ''Poslední propadne peklu'' under director Ludvík Ráža in 1982. Personal life Růžek was born on 23 September 1918 in Če ...

as professor Ohlsson *

Jiří Lábus Jiří Lábus (born 26 January 1950, in Prague) is a Czech actor. His brother is the Czech architect Ladislav Lábus. In 1973, he graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and joined the theatre Studio Ypsilon, where he remains ...

as pupil David Pelc - as an adult *

Simona Stašová Simona Stašová (born 19 March 1955) is a Czech stage, film and television actress. Since making her theatre debut in 1976, she has acted on stage in theatres and appeared in numerous films and television productions. Stašová has won multiple ...

as pupil Barbora Bartáková - as an adult * Viktor Král as Otakar Langmajer - after getting younger * Alena Karešová as narrator (voice only)

Episodes

# Modrý kámen # Šest květináčů # Geniální rodina # Velký vezír # Rodina na větvi # Poslední květina

Production

The exteriors of the series were filmed in

Mělník Mělník (; german: Melnik) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Mělník lies in one of the most im ...

and Štiřín Castle. The series exists in two versions, German and Czech. The Czech version has 6 parts of approx. 45 minutes each, the German version has 12 parts of approx. 30 minutes each. The scenes where the inscriptions are in the shot were filmed twice, once in the Czech version and the second time in the German version. Some shots are only found in the Czech version, missing in the German version. Production took eight months.

References

External links

IMDB Entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letajici Cestmir 1980s science fiction television series Czechoslovak television series 1984 Czechoslovak television series debuts 1984 Czechoslovak television series endings Czech adventure television series Czech comedy television series Czech science fiction television series German adventure television series German comedy television series German science fiction television series 1980s Czechoslovak television series Czech-language Czechoslovak Television original programming Czech children's television series