Drawn

Watching this great piece of animation it “Lolek und Bolek” came into my mind. A polish animated series which i loved when i was a kid. Even my daugther (7) loves them watching them on DVD now.
http://tinyurl.com/qpl249

Watching this great piece of animation it “Lolek und Bolek” came into my mind. A polish animated series which i loved when i was a kid. Even my daugther (7) loves them watching them on DVD now.
http://tinyurl.com/qpl249

Oh man, I grew up on Pat and Mat, or rather ‘Buurman en Buurman’ (neighbour and neighbour) as they were known in the Netherlands. It’s strange to see them without the Dutch voices, which were half the appeal really, but it’s still pretty great.
I had no idea they were considered subversive back in Czechoslovakia, makes you wonder how Jan Svankmajer was ever able to make films.

Oh man, I grew up on Pat and Mat, or rather ‘Buurman en Buurman’ (neighbour and neighbour) as they were known in the Netherlands. It’s strange to see them without the Dutch voices, which were half the appeal really, but it’s still pretty great.
I had no idea they were considered subversive back in Czechoslovakia, makes you wonder how Jan Svankmajer was ever able to make films.

So fantastic!

So fantastic!

Thank you for finding that, I always watched them as a child but couldn’t remember their name.
Do you know Cheburashka? It’s the most famous Russian stop motion movies about the cute furry Cheburashka and his friends. http://bit.ly/3pLf97

Thank you for finding that, I always watched them as a child but couldn’t remember their name.
Do you know Cheburashka? It’s the most famous Russian stop motion movies about the cute furry Cheburashka and his friends. http://bit.ly/3pLf97

Many episods You can find on http://www.stream.cz/kategorie/110-pat-a-mat

and two tips :

“jája a pája” : http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=j%C3%A1ja+a+p%C3%A1ja&search_type=&aq=f

and

“potkali se u Kolína” : http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=potkali+se+u+kol%C3%ADna&search_type=&aq=f

Many episods You can find on http://www.stream.cz/kategorie/110-pat-a-mat

and two tips :

“jája a pája” : http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=j%C3%A1ja+a+p%C3%A1ja&search_type=&aq=f

and

“potkali se u Kolína” : http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=potkali+se+u+kol%C3%ADna&search_type=&aq=f

I don’t find it difficult to understand why these films were considered ideologically impure. The two characters are constantly making mistakes, and often the mistakes they make are wasteful of materials and objects. In a Communist country, everything is owned by the people. Wasteful behavior is considered a crime against the people. These two characters seem to have an endless supply of material goods, and they are not bothered in the least by their wasteful ways. Indeed, their blase’ attitude is part of their charm.

I don’t find it difficult to understand why these films were considered ideologically impure. The two characters are constantly making mistakes, and often the mistakes they make are wasteful of materials and objects. In a Communist country, everything is owned by the people. Wasteful behavior is considered a crime against the people. These two characters seem to have an endless supply of material goods, and they are not bothered in the least by their wasteful ways. Indeed, their blase’ attitude is part of their charm.

I think they were afraid of inadvertently publishing/broadcasting creative works that seemed innocent on the surface but were actually political allegories. E.g. the two foolish characters might represent particular communist leaders, or the Soviet Union and China.

I think they were afraid of inadvertently publishing/broadcasting creative works that seemed innocent on the surface but were actually political allegories. E.g. the two foolish characters might represent particular communist leaders, or the Soviet Union and China.

thank you, thank you, thank you!

thank you, thank you, thank you!

they were huge in ex yugoslavia. To this day, when we start a project and we’re terribly clumsy at it, somebody ALWAYS starts singing the opening tune :)

they were huge in ex yugoslavia. To this day, when we start a project and we’re terribly clumsy at it, somebody ALWAYS starts singing the opening tune :)

They used to show this series at finland in Pikku Kakkonen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikku_Kakkonen :)

They used to show this series at finland in Pikku Kakkonen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikku_Kakkonen :)

As somebody who grew up in a Communist country, I am more than a little skeptical towards the description of the series as subversive. (Funnily enough, the originating Wiki claim has no reerence.) The “A je to!” episodes were immensely popular and fairly widely exported, in addition to being made by state TV. I’m not saying Commie authorities weren’t ridiculous in their paranoia; they were (as were their Western counterparts), but a kids’ programme was just a kids’ programme.

As somebody who grew up in a Communist country, I am more than a little skeptical towards the description of the series as subversive. (Funnily enough, the originating Wiki claim has no reerence.) The “A je to!” episodes were immensely popular and fairly widely exported, in addition to being made by state TV. I’m not saying Commie authorities weren’t ridiculous in their paranoia; they were (as were their Western counterparts), but a kids’ programme was just a kids’ programme.

We’ve been fans for years, it’s a tremendous series. So popular in this part of the world that there is a even a beer garden near us named ‘Pat a Mat’…glad to see it’s finally getting some outside exposure.

In my opinion this series and ‘Pingu’ are about the very best in children’s animation…I looked forward to it as much as my kids!

We’ve been fans for years, it’s a tremendous series. So popular in this part of the world that there is a even a beer garden near us named ‘Pat a Mat’…glad to see it’s finally getting some outside exposure.

In my opinion this series and ‘Pingu’ are about the very best in children’s animation…I looked forward to it as much as my kids!

Dececco, same here…I mess up, like with super-glue or with some chairs I was fixing and my wife starts whistling the tune…

Dececco, same here…I mess up, like with super-glue or with some chairs I was fixing and my wife starts whistling the tune…

You should see the one with the garden gnome… :)

I have been a fan of these two practically since they were created.
They are AMAZING.
Of course Czech and Slovak animation is legendary (think Jiri Trnka), but these two
are outstanding in both animation and humour.
I am glad you found them! :)

Oh and BTW, as much as I appreciate political savviness, I would suggest to anyone not to read too much – or anything – into these two characters. It's simply ridiculous. No, they do not “represent” China or the USSR or anything.
Yes, those regimes were usually more than a little paranoid.
But apparently so was the “other side”… (:
Not everything was politics, you know.
Failing to see this for what it is – a fanastically well animated series about two endearingly clumsy characters – is actually tantamount to denying the humanity of “Communists” and the people who lived in such regimes.

P.S. I agree with whomever suggested “Lolek and Bolek”.
They are very good, too.