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Mole ( Czech: ''Krtek'', ''Krteček'') is an animated character in a series of
cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
s created by Czech animator
Zdeněk Miler Zdeněk Miler (; 21 February 1921 – 30 November 2011) was a Czech animator and illustrator best known for his ''Mole'' (''Krtek'' or ''Krteček'' in original) character and its adventures. Early years Miler was born in Kladno just west of ...
. The premiere of the first short film with Mole took place at the Venice Film Festival in 1957. Since its inception, the cartoon has gained enormous popularity in many
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an countries, as well as
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,
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,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
,
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
,
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,
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,
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
,
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,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, and
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.


History

Krtek was first seen in 1956 in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, when Miler wanted to create a children's cartoon about how
flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
is processed. He wanted a strong
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
influence to the cartoon by choosing an animal for the leading role, and decided to pick a
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
after stumbling over a molehill during a walk. The first film, called ''"Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel"'' (''"How the mole got his trousers"''), had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1957, where it was awarded two Golden Lions. Production of further episodes started in 1963 and since then, around fifty episodes have been created. The first episode of the cartoon was
narrated A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional ( memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.). Narr ...
, but Miler wanted the cartoon to be understood in every country of the world, so he decided to use his daughters as voice actors, reducing the speech to short non-figurative exclamations in order to express the mole's feelings and world perception. Miler's daughters also became the
bottleneck Bottleneck literally refers to the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids ...
of the creation process as they were the ones who got to see the whole film first, thus Miler was able to decide whether the message of the movie was able to get to children or not. In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the cartoons were transmitted by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
with
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
narration by
Colin Jeavons Colin Abel Jeavons (born 20 October 1929) is a retired British television actor. Career Jeavons' earliest television role was as Jules Neraud in an episode of the 1956 anthology series of teleplays ''Nom-de-Plume''. Broadcast live, it is unkno ...
.


Recent developments


Inclusion on US Space Shuttle flight

On 16 May 2011, a plush toy of Krtek was present on board the
Space Shuttle Endeavour Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is a retired orbiter from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational Shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th and ...
, where it accompanied the U.S. astronaut
Andrew J. Feustel Andrew Jay "Drew" Feustel (; born August 25, 1965) is an American/Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist. Following several years working as a geophysicist, Feustel was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in July 2000. He is the vetera ...
, whose wife is of Czech ancestry, on the STS-134 mission.


US toy market plans

In May 2012, Bloomberg announced that
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
is planning to help Krtek enter the $21 billion U.S. toy market for the first time. Exporting the six-decade-old “Little Mole” through new media is a first step toward establishing the most popular Czech animated icon in America to spur sales of books, movies, and toys.


Mascot

Mole was the mascot for the
2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 5 to 8 March 2015 in the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Bidding process Prague was chosen as the host of the Championships on the European Athletics council meeting in Sofia, B ...
in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, and was subsequently used to promote the Federation's Athletics for Children programme.


CGI adaptation

In 2016, CCTV Animation and Little Mole a.s. (founded by Zdeněk Miler's granddaughter, Karolína Milerová) created a remake version called ''Krtek a Panda''. The show ran until 2019.


Alfa Romeo Racing partnership

On 23 May 2019,
Alfa Romeo Racing Italian motor manufacturer Alfa Romeo has participated many times in Formula One. It currently participates as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen while being operated by Sauber Motorsport AG. The brand has competed in motor racing as both a constructor ...
, a
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
team, announced Krtek as the new team partner.
Frédéric Vasseur Frédéric Vasseur (born 28 May 1968 in Draveil, Ile-de-France) is a French motorsport engineer and manager with a long career managing Formula-series teams. He was the managing director, CEO, and team principal of the Switzerland-based Alfa Rom ...
, principal of the team, said that the goal of the partnership is to capture the imagination of hundreds of thousands of children and get them closer to the sport using Krtek's big follower base all over the world. Mole's iconic figure is appearing on the sidepods of the cars for the rest of the 2019 season.


Music

Music plays an important role in the cartoons, since the characters almost never utter more than emotional sounds, the most common of which is "Ahoj!" ("Hello" in Czech). The original series' music uses acoustic and electric musical instruments, rather than synthesized ones. Composers * Miloš Vacek *
Vadim Petrov Vadim Petrov (24 May 1932 – 7 December 2020) was a Czechs, Czech composer of Russians, Russian-Czechs, Czech descent.http://www.prof-vadim-petrov.cz/putovani.html Biography Petrov was a pianist and composer of classical and popular music. He ...
(1974–1994, most episodes)


Filmography

* From 2002 to 2004, a set of 60 DVDs entitled "Nejlepších večerníčků" (Best Bedtime Stories) was released, some of which included Krtek animations. Included in the list below are the DVD numbers for films in this set. * A DVD set with all 63 episodes called "приключения Крота" (Mole adventure) was produced for Russian audiences.
IMDB Episode List


International broadcast

* Germany ** ARD in
Die Sendung mit der Maus ' (''The Show with the Mouse''), often simply ' (''The Mouse''), is a German children's television series, popular nation-wide for its educational content.Bernhard Borgeest"Von Mäusen und Machern"''Focus, official website. (March 12, 2001) Retr ...


See also

*
Czech animation Czech animation has been a tradition for over 100 years. Czech animators are considered pioneers in film animation. Czech animation dates back to the 1920s, and its "Golden Era" spans between the 1950s and the 1980s. Notable Czech animators include ...
*
Cinema of the Czech Republic Czech cinema is the name for cinematography of Czech Republic, as well as the Czech cinematography while it was a part of other countries. ''The Fabulous World of Jules Verne'' is considered the most internationally successful Czech film ever ma ...


References


External links

*
Big Cartoon Database – Krtek episode info

Little Mole fan website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mole Film characters introduced in 1956 Film series introduced in 1957 Czech animation Czech culture Fictional moles Animated film series