New sequence... from aiF!

Without further ado, please take a look at this:

What was that?! Well, I wouldn't know - I didn't know this short film even existed until today!

First of all, I have to give out a huge thank you to 이은석 (Eunsuk Lee - please correct your name if I butchered it), who uploaded this clip. You may have heard of him already - he also gave the world a chance to see Karty in 2014. This clip comes from the very same VHS that features Playing Cards as well. The dubbing is not by David Nykl (and Peter Alton) this time - Korean dubbers perform the voices this time, being as awkward and uninspired as on the dubs for the 49 episodes issued by aiF Asia. Here's an edited version by Rakso which removes the voices and subtitles as best as it can, giving a better aproximation of what the film should sound like (definitely not what it should look like - the interlacing and overall feel of the VHS tape ruining the animation quite a bit):

I think it's obvious that this segment was produced around the same time as Karty. To me, it looks like a trailer of sorts, maybe for the announced 52-episodes series. It could also be the opening of Karty, but I don't think that's the case as the segment is over a minute long, though the abrupt cut at the end does leave me pondering the possibility. While this short film shares many traits with Karty, I think an interesting difference between them is the really rapid pacing. Of course, the format dictates fast action, but everything seems to play out faster than I expect it to. Update August 17: From the most reliable of sources, the director himself, I have learned that this sequence was indeed intended to be the opening sequence of the 12-minute version of Karty.

Let's look at the sequence more closely. Interestingly, it seems that Pat and Mat have moved again in this never-made iteration of the series, perhaps into a typical Czech panelák. They live in different flats, but on the same floor. It's really interesting that the problem they face at the opening is the same one they face in my favorite new episode, Potrubní pošta (Tube Post) - it's a flashback from the future!

The solution is quite different, though, and the two come to it with both (a first) of their caps flying into air. The cap flying action, which I quite like, was in the original series used only (and probably invented) by Jan Klos and until 1998 repeated only once, at the end of Dlaždice, so it was a surprise to see it here. Maybe it's subtle advice that František Váša, who also animated Dlaždice, received from his mentor - Váša started out in animation as Klos' assistant on Břetislav Pojar's The Flying Sneakers. In any case, Váša animates all of the scenes here - just compare the handshake scene with the one from 1994's Trezor - same posing, same movements. Váša's Pat and Mat did seem to become looser and looser as time went by, moving ever more elaborately.

We also have an appearance of tiny Pat and Mat figurines. I have seen them before already - in one of the more bizarre promotional photos for various VHSs and DVDs from aiF, where Pat and Mat play chess with figures of their own selves. Unfortunately, I can only offer a low-res image of the photo in question - it's in the upper left of this back cover of a Pat and Mat video game from South Korea. I think the mere existence of this game tells you just how big the two characters were there back then. For good measure, I am also including a photo of a set of Korean DVDs with merchandise, which includes sets of different figurines. I have found these photos on Korean sites some years ago.

Rakso nicely spotted how the whole bit about cutting a hole in the wall is lifted (or at least inspired by) a Mr. Bean episode from 1994 aptly titled Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean. See for yourself from 17:00 onwards. I loved Mr. Bean when I was a kid, I should probably rewatch it sometime...

Is there more even animation from the aiF days? I don't know, but if there indeed is, I presume it is even shorter than this - when could have more been made? Hopefully, the director himself, who was there until the bitter end (August 1998) will tell us in the future. I had a brief e-mail chat with Mr Váša a couple of weeks ago (thanks to reader Dan cz for his help with that!) and can proudly say he very much enjoyed taking a look at this blog. He told me that, in fact, he originally envisioned Karty as a classic silent 8-minute episode. Eventually, his colleagues convinced him that due to potential sales of the series to the USA, it was necessary to create a longer, 12-minute dubbed version (that's where I got the name of Peter Alton) and this meant incorporating new scenes - set in the cellar. So, even though we still have much to learn about this short film, at least we know a bit more about Karty! And if this trailer(?)/commercial(?)/intro(?) was his final work with the characters, it wasn't a bad way to bow out.

That does it!