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Zdeněk Miler

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Zdeněk Miler
Born(1921-02-21)21 February 1921
Kladno, Czechoslovakia
Died30 November 2011(2011-11-30) (aged 90)
Nová Ves pod Pleší, Czech Republic
Resting placeVyšehrad Cemetery
OccupationCartoonist, film director
LanguageCzech
NationalityCzech
GenreChildren's fiction
Notable worksKrtek

Zdeněk Miler (Czech pronunciation: [ˈzdɛɲɛk ˈmɪlɛr]; 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 Prague, the capital of what was then Czechoslovakia. He became an animator partly because of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. He took part in the demonstrations held consequent to the death of Jan Opletal, which led to the closing of universities and colleges. He escaped being sent to a concentration camp and instead wound up working as an animator.

Miler enjoyed painting as a child. His hobby developed when he joined the national graphic school in Prague in 1942. He later studied at the College of Arts and Crafts (Uměleckoprůmyslová škola Praha). In 1948, he began work at the cartoon studio Baťa in Zlín. There, he learned the important practical skills relating to film production, specializing in animated films. After the Second World War, he started work at the cartoon company Bratři v triku and worked first as draughtsman, then author and director. He later became the head of the company.

In 2001, Miler announced that he would no longer be making more films, citing health reasons.

Death

Having retired in 2001, Zdeněk Miler lived at a nursing home in Prague. He was later diagnosed with a form of demyelinating disease, which was strongly suspected to be either Guillain–Barré syndrome or multiple sclerosis. He eventually contracted bronchopneumonia, making his condition even worse than before.[citation needed]

On 30 November 2011, Miler died at a nursing home from cardiac arrest secondary to bronchopneumonia, less than three months before his 91st birthday.[1][2] Miler was cremated on the day after his death, and he is interred at the Slavín tomb in Prague's Vyšehrad Cemetery.[3]

Krtek (the mole)

Main article: Mole (Zdeněk Miler character)

Miler made about 70 films. In approximately fifty of them, the protagonist was his most famous creation, the small mole (Krtek in Czech). The idea for its creation came when he was commissioned to make an educational film for children in 1956. He was not happy with the script he was given. Since he was strongly influenced by the films of Walt Disney, he looked for an animal as the main character. Later, he said that the idea to use a mole as his main character came to him when he stumbled over a mole hill during a walk.[4] The first film was titled Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel (How the mole got his trousers), which won a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In the beginning, the mole spoke, but Miler wanted his creation to be understood everywhere in the world, so he decided to use his daughters as voice actors, reducing the speech to short non-figurative exclamations in order to express Krtek's feelings and world perception. His daughters were also his test audience, who got to see the films first. Thus, Miler could see whether his message resonated with children.

Krtek was a huge success in Czechoslovakia, Eastern Europe, and Germany from the beginning, and today Krtek can be seen in over eighty countries.[citation needed]

Works

Krtek

Episode English title Czech title Year Duration NV DVD #*
01. How Mole Got His Trousers Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel 1957 11:51 1
02. Mole and the Car Krtek a autíčko 1963 14:30 19
03. Mole and the Rocket Krtek a raketa 1965 08:40
04. Mole and the Transistor Set Krtek a tranzistor 1968 08:10 10
05. Mole and the Green Star Krtek a zelená hvězda 1969 07:30 10,1
06. Mole and the Chewing Gum Krtek a žvýkačka 1969 07:20 10
07. Mole in a Zoo Krtek v Zoo 1969 06:05 10
08. Mole as a Gardener Krtek zahradníkem 1969 06:55 10,1
09. Mole and the Hedgehog Krtek a ježek 1970 08:25 10
10. Mole and the Lollipop Krtek a lízátko 1970 08:00 10,1
11. Mole and the TV Krtek a televizor 1970 05:30 10
12. Mole and the Umbrella Krtek a paraplíčko 1971 07:10 10,1
13. Mole as a Painter Krtek malířem 1972 09:35 19
14. Mole and the Matches Krtek a zápalky 1974 05:30 19
15. Mole and the Music Krtek a muzika 1974 05:15 19
16. Mole and the Telephone Krtek a telefon 1974 05:25 19
17. Mole as a Chemist Krtek chemikem 1974 05:30 19
18. Mole and the Carpet Krtek a koberec 1974 05:40 19
19. Mole as Watchmaker Krtek hodinářem 1974 05:25 19
20. Mole at Christmas Krtek o Vánocích 1975 05:45 19
21. Mole as Photographer Krtek fotografem 1975 05:45 19
22. Mole and the Egg Krtek a vejce 1975 05:35 19
23. Mole and the Bulldozer Krtek a buldozér 1975 05:43 19
24. Mole in the Desert Krtek na poušti 1975 05:52 19
25. Mole and the Carnival Krtek a karneval 1975 05:25 19
26. Mole in Town Krtek ve městě 1982 28:31 33
27. Mole in a Dream Krtek ve snu 1984 28:09 33
28. Mole and the Medicine Krtek a medicína 1987 28:08 44
29. Mole as a Movie Star Krtek filmová hvězda 1988 27:47 44
30. Mole and the Eagle Krtek a orel 1992 28:05 50
31. Mole and the Clock Krtek a hodiny 1994 28:04 50
32. Mole and the Coal Krtek a uhlí 1995 04:10 33
33. Mole and His Friends Krtek a kamarádi 1995 05:18 33,1
34. Mole's Weekend Krtek a víkend 1995 05:05 33
35. Mole and the Robot Krtek a robot 1995 05:00 33,1
36. Mole's and the Celebration Krtek a oslava 1995 05:04 33
37. Mole and the Little Ducks Krtek a kachničky 1995 05:00 33
38. Mole and the Subway Krtek a metro 1997 05:00 44
39. Mole and the Mushrooms Krtek a houby 1997 04:28 44
40. Mole and the Little Mouse Krtek a myška 1997 05:19 44
41. Mole and the Little Hare Krtek a zajíček 1997 05:11 44
42. Mole and the Mother Krtek a maminka 1997 05:20 44
43. Mole and the Flood Krtek a potopa 1997 05:04
44. Mole and the Snowman Krtek a sněhulák 1998 05:09 44,1
45. Mole on Vacation Krtek a dovolená 1998 01:15
46. Mole and cottage Krtek a domek 1998
47. Mole and the chicks Krtek a tresne 1998
48. Mole and snail Krtek a šnek 1998
49. Mole and jewels Krtek a sperky 1998
50. Mole and tv Krtek a televize 1998
51. Mole and the Little Frog Krtek a žabka 1998
52. Mole and painter Krtek a malirem 1998
53. Mole and balloon Krtek a balonek 1998
54. Mole and box Krtek a krabice 1998
55. Mole and hat Krtek a klobouk 1998
56. Mole magician Krtek kouzelnik 1998
57. Mole and duck Krtek a kacenka 1998
58. Mole and the Flute Krtek a flétna 1999 05:05 50,1
59. Mole and the Spring Krtek a pramen 1999 05:33 50
60. Mole and the Grumbler Krtek a šťoura 1999 05:21 50
61. Mole and the Swallow Krtek a vlaštovka 2000 04:25 50
62. Mole and the Little Fish Krtek a rybka 2000 05:02 50
63. Mole and the Little Frog Krtek a žabka 2002 05:20 50,1

Other films

Year Czech title English title
1948 O milionáři, který ukradl slunce The Millionaire Who Stole the Sun
1958 Měsíční pohádka Moon Story
1960 Jak štěňátko dostalo chuť na med How the Puppy Wanted Honey
1960 O štěňátku About the Puppy
1960 Jak štěňátko chtělo malé pejsky How the Puppy Wanted Little Dogs
1960 Jak sluníčko vrátilo štěňátku vodu How the Sun Gave the Puppy Water Back
1961 O nejbohatším vrabci ve světě About the World's Richest Sparrow
1963 Rudá stopa Red Footprint
1963 O Čtverečkovi a Trojúhelníčkovi About the Square and the Triangle
1968 Sametka Velvet
1977 Romance helgolandská A Heligoland Romance
1978 Cvrček a stroj The Cricket and the Machine
1978 Cvrček a pavouk The Cricket and the Spider
1978 Cvrček a housličky The Cricket and the Violin
1979 Cvrček a slepice The Cricket and the Chicken
1979 Cvrček a pila The Cricket and the Saw
1979 Cvrček a bombardón The Cricket and the Bomber
1979 Cvrček a basa The Cricket and the Double Bass

References

  1. ^ Minovitz, Ethan. "Zdenek Miler, creator of "Little Mole," dead at 90". Big Cartoon News.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Zemřel Zdeněk Miler. Otec Krtečka, kterého nám závidí Hollywood" (in Czech). 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  3. ^ Kolina, Josef (20 March 2012). "Potomci slavných neplatí za hroby. Místo bude tvůrce Krtečka". tyden.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  4. ^ Riley, John (23 December 2011). "Zdenek Miler: Czech animator known for his lovable Mole character". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
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