Best Czech animation movies

The Shadow over Prague (2016)

The Nazis decided to awaken the dark forces of the Old Prague legends in order to use (and abuse) them to destroy the world. The only one who can stop them is Perak.

Animal Lover (1974)

Little Otik (2001)

When a childless couple learn that they cannot have children, it causes great distress. To ease his wife's pain, the man finds a piece of root in the backyard and chops it and varnishes it into the shape of a child. However the woman takes the root as her baby and starts to pretend that it is real.

Sanctuary (2022)

An animal rescuer talks about her experience with adoption of handicapped animals. Sharing stories of an old sick Chihuahua, a paralyzed, French Bulldog and a frightened cat finding their perfect human companion.

Laika (2017)

Life is not easy for Laika, a dog on the outskirts of a big Russian city. She is caught and forcibly retrained to become a pioneer in astronautics. Soon after her lift-off into space, a number of animals follow that are hurriedly launched from Houston and Baikonur. The animals travel astray, but finally manage, with the help of a black hole, to colonize a faraway planet. After a short period of harmonious, undisturbed co-existence with indigenous life forms, however, first human cosmonaut run ashore on their planet, and their harmonious life, indeed their very survival, are suddenly in jeopardy.

Faust (1994)

A very free adaptation of Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus", Goethe's "Faust" and various other treatments of the old legend of the man who sold his soul to the devil. A nondescript man is lured by a strange map into a sinister puppet theatre, where he finds himself immersed in an indescribably weird version of the play, blending live actors, clay animation and giant puppets.

Class of Death (2013)

An animated short film about a school where the students keep mysteriously disappearing. Rybnická elementary school has a new sensation - one pupil dies in teacher Zimová's class every year. Is it a morbid coincidence or are the students in the class really cursed? Filmed based on the comic of the same name by Josef Blažek and Lenka Šimečková.

Česká mše vánoční (2007)

Torchbearer (2005)

The mechanism that propels the cycle of the sun and the moon has failed, and endless night falls. A nameless and silent hero must find his way through a dangerous labyrinth of traps, fierce creatures, and mysterious sentinels to restore the mechanism.

Toys in the Attic (2009)

In an attic full of discarded junk, a pretty doll called Buttercup lives in an old trunk together with her friends, the marionette Prince Charming, lazy Teddy Bear and the plasticine creature Schubert. When Buttercup is snatched and taken off to the Land of Evil, her pals set out to rescue her.

The Maiden and the Soldier (1995)

A strikingly realized puppet tale, based on an old folk ballad of a maiden who sets out to search for her lost fiancé in the turmoils of war. The beloved is found in a stationary hospital where the Grim Reaper is preparing for his gloomy task. It was inspired by the poem The Legend of the Dead Soldier by Bertolt Brecht.

My Sunny Maad (2021)

When Herra, a young Czech woman, falls in love with Nazir, an Afghan, she has no idea what kind of life awaits her in post-Taliban Afghanistan, nor of the family she is about to integrate into. A liberal grandfather, an adopted child who is highly intelligent and Freshta, who would do anything to escape her husband's violent grip.

One Night in One City (2007)

Jan Balej's animated film One Night in One City (2007) from the Czech Republic. Very little dialogue throughout, but instead a rich world of sounds and music which more than match the detailed animation and curious vignettes that create the film.

Surviving Life (Theory and Practice) (2010)

Eugene, an aging man, leads a double life - one real, the other in his dreams. He goes to see a psychoanalyst, who tries to interpret the meaning of his dreams. Eugene finds a way of entering his dream-world at will and finds out about his childhood and what really happened to his parents.

Daughter (2019)

A young girl buries in her soul a memory of a painful moment, when as a child she brought home an injured bird and her father burdened by his own weight of worries didn’t notice her feelings and longing for understanding. The girl took her father’s reaction as indifference and closed herself in her inner world longing for her father’s love and its manifestations. Since that moment she and her dad continued to grow apart, and as an adult she is no longer able to accept his endearments. The father suffers from guilt and searches for a way back to his daughter, trying to revive their lost relationship.

Kitchen Tales (2015)

The kitchen of a forgetful granny comes to life when she’s not around. Saltshaker, Sugarbowl and the rest are set to fix what she's accidentally forgotten.

Awaker (2017)

At a time where there were no alarm-clocks, an old men worked as an awaker. Every day he walked the long way from his house to the village until he gets an old shiny bell.

Goat Story With Cheese (2012)

The young Zuzanka, Honzik and Goat look for the children's parents, whom the devil has apparently kidnapped to punish them for producing devilishly good goat cheese. However, the children find their parents not in hell, but in the castle, where they must make cheese for Kobyl, the king's advisor. Kobyl gained the king's good graces thanks to the cheese. After a dangerous and corny adventure, Kobyl ends up in hell and the family members are reunited.

Conspirators of Pleasure (1996)

Six outwardly average individuals have elaborate fetishes they indulge with surreptitious care. A mousy letter carrier makes dough balls she grotesquely ingests before bed. A shop clerk fixates on a TV news reader while he builds a machine to massage and masturbate him. One of his customers makes an elaborate chicken costume for a voodoo-like scene with a doll resembling his plump neighbor. She, in turn, has a doll that resembles him, which she whips and dominates in an abandoned church. The TV news reader has her own fantasy involving carp. Her husband, who is indifferent to her, steals materials to fashion elaborate artifacts that he rubs, scrapes and rolls across his body.

Pat & Mat: Winter Fun (2018)

It is for the first time to see Pat and Mat enjoying the winter. How will they handle the decoration of their houses for he Christmas, and what presents will they found under the Christmas tree. And do they have the same Christmas tree as we know, or will they make their special one. How will the solve the snow calamity and what a new machine will they make? After having fun in the snow the hot sauna would be perfect so lets build it. And how do they celebrate the end of the year?

Fimfarum - To the good of all (2011)

The film contains three Jan Werich's fairy tales, each directed by one artist. The first story sets out to the Sumava mountains in Southern Bohemia to find out whether Ogres ever lived there. The middle tale The Hat and the Little Jay Feather concerns a king who sends his three sons to bring back a hat he left at a tavern when he was young. The third and longest fairy tale Reason and Luck is about the two virtues of the title try to prove their importance by changing the life of a pig herder named Louis. Written by

Leaf (2020)

A beautiful red leaf of a tree is the ticket of the girl who wants to board the big steamer. The scent of this leaf reminds the sailor of his homeland and finally leads him back there.

Joko (2024)

Joko is a young man who works on the cistern, he is the only breadwinner in a family. On his second anniversary of employment, Joko and his colleagues meet with foreign delegates who force boy and the rest to… carry on their back. At first, Joko is against and rebels against this humiliating activity. However, under the pressure and desire to earn good money, he subsides.

Living Large (2024)

In "Living Large," a 12-year-old boy faces bullying due to his weight and decides to take charge of his life by adopting a healthier lifestyle and trying to win the heart of the girl he admires. Through his journey, he learns the importance of positivity and standing against body shaming, discovering that true confidence comes from embracing who you are.

Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light (2023)

Tony has been glowing since the day he was born and it causes him a lot of trouble. Just before the Christmas, a new odd girl with thick glasses moves into Tony’s house. Shelly has a strange way of expressing herself. Tony is fascinated by her but he is also being cautious at first. Together with Shelly’s flashlight, they explore their house and they are slowly getting to know each other. The kids have to join all their efforts to figure out who’s behind the circuit of dark cracks that sucks out all the light bulbs, even the daylight. It must be because of the ​“Spirit of the house”. A film about being different, about friendship, and first loves… But above all about light and darkness.

Cizinec (2015)

A short, darkly humorous slapstick about travelling to different countries.

Mom is Always Right (2022)

What would happen if mum was always right? Do mums always tell their children the truth? If I squint, will I stay cross-eyed forever? And what about beer, can it be safely tasted? Or will it make me the shortest granddad in the old folk’s home? Will I really have muscles like Popeye if I eat spinach? The film follows mothers and children in several households. Their grotesque and absurd tales are based on the most common phrases told to children , for whom though they are an utterly plausible reality. In my film these situations will be showing what would happen if our mothers were always right. Absurdities like unravelled belly button, frogs in one’s stomach, eyes in the neighbours garden etc. are a great opportunity for the animated film, for which not a single literal meaning is impossible or inconcievable to shoot. The film is targeting primarily the adult viewers, parents, to make them realise the power and absurdity of their warnings. But I hope children will enjoy it too.

Jan Werich's Fimfarum (2002)

Humorous as well as educational stories about magical and everyday problems, about devils, miracles, ordinary human vices and wisdom. The graphic design of the stories reflects the humour and the atmosphere of the stories Fimfárum, When the Leaves Fall from the Oak, Franta the Fearless, A Dream Come True, and Greedy Barka, that were recorded by Jan Werich on an LP in the 1960’s and published in a book called Fimfarum.

Weeds (2024)

Far, far away, endless fields overgrown with weeds stretch to infinity. A beautiful garden is hidden in the middle of them, and it is carefully looked after by the Gardener. Her endurance is put to the test when a severe storm breaks out and her garden is flooded with seeds of weeds. This innocent encounter slowly grows into a life-and-death struggle. The Gardener tries her best to defeat this elemental force, but her fear and her desire to resist the intruders at all costs puts her entire world at risk.

Lawrence of Moravia (2024)