Five-year old Kája likes to play most anywhere where water is. And just as his mother dresses him into clean clothes, he is already dirty and his mum has to wash all the time. One day, mummy punishes Kája for his mischiefs and the boy thus decides to run away from home - he takes advantage of mother's momentary distraction and there he is, gone. But it soon begins to rain and the boy hides in the booth by the rafting-yard. There, he discovers Mr Tau, drenched with rain, who has the ability to change into a small man and vice versa with a help of a magic bowler hat. Besides that, he can do a lot of other magic. He wants to help Kája, but his bowler shrank in the rain and lost its effect. He sets off with the boy to take him home, but Kája does not know the address and, moreover, all houses in the housing quarters look the same. In the docks, they board the Nautilus steamboat and go for a trip. The captain of the steamboat calls for the police, which pursues them. But Mr Tau swirls his bowler, which has begun working and can do magic again. The steamboat disappears in the waves, transforms into a sailing boat and sails through the city, landing right under the windows of the flat where little Kája lives.
The film was distributed to Czech cinemas as part of the series Mr Tau Goes to School along with the feature film of the same title and the cartoon film Puzzle (1970; directed by Zdeněk Seydl and Ludvík Kadleček).
The first (I.) series of thirteen medium-length films about Mr Tau was created in the years 1969–1972. It was first launched in cinemas, in series composed of two parts and accompanied by a cartoon movie (1. Mr Tau Arrives, 2. Mr Tau Gives Presents, 3. Mr Tau at the Mountains, 4. Mr Tau and Sunday, 5. Mr Tau Goes to School, 6. Mr Tau and Cold!, 7. Mr Tau and Claudia, 8. Mr Tau Will Handle It, 9. Mr Tau and Trip around the World, 10. Mr Tau in Circus, 11. Mr Tau and the Taxi Driver, 12. Mr Tau Wanted, 13. Mr Tau and a Thousand Miracles). In the Czechoslovak Television, the series was first introduced in December 1972. Due to its success, another thirteen parts (II.) were filmed in 1973–1975, this time intended exclusively for television (1. Mr Tau Returns, 2. Mr Tau and Robinson, 3. Mr Tau and Too Big Balloon, 4. Mr Tau and Dog Goaty-Dog, 5. Mr Tau and Family Celebration, 6. Mr Tau Goes to Work, 7. Mr Tau and Five Pears and Three Apples, 8. Mr Tau and Black Umbrella, 9. Mr Tau and Big Dog, 10. Mr Tau and Tree-Frog. 11. Mr Tau and Alladin Lamp, 12. Mr Tau and Golden Suitcase, 13. Mr Tau Leaves). The third (III.) and last (seven-part) series was filmed in the years 1977 and 1978 (1. Alert in the Sky, 2. Elephant Hunt, 3. Night at Safari, 4. Mr Tau and Woman-Magician, 5. Mr Tau at Pioneer Camp, 6. Mr Tau – And Which Is the Right One?, 7. No Magic from Tomorrow). On TV, the third series was introduced as a series in the original form and was edited for the film distribution into two feature films Alert in the Sky and No Magic from Tomorrow. The popular bowlered hero last appeared in the feature film Mr Tau, created by a German-Czechoslovak co-production in 1988.
pan Tau
Kája
maminka
tatínek Karel
kapitán parníku Nautilus
velitel policistů
dopravní strážník
chlapec námořník
Marta Křesinová, Vilém Kijonka
Jaroslav Tuzar, Vladimír Malík (loutková část)
Stanislava Procházková (loutková část)
Jan Petrů, Václav Pošta, Augustin Valko
Martin Baroch, Jan Syrový, Karel Prchal
Zorka Chrastinová (klapka)
FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), Orchestr Karla Vlacha (Music Conducted by Karel Vlach)
Pan Tau a samá voda
Pan Tau a samá voda
Mr Tau and Cold!
Pan Tau und lauter Wasser / Pan Tau und lauter Wasser
Pan Tau na vodě / Pan Tau I
film
featuretheatrical distribution
children
Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria
1969
1969
start of filming 1 April 1969
projection approval 29 December 1969
the first film copy approved 29 December 1969
end of filming 30 December 1969
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1995
premiere 30 April 1971 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 28 October 1971 /suitable for youths/ (kino Tatra, Praha)
renewed premiere 1 March 1988 /suitable for youths/
Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1971 a obnovená 1988)
Tvůrčí skupina Švabík – Hofman, Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Erich Švabík (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)
medium length film
37 min
1 045 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,37
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech
Exhibition: 22. přehlídka filmů pro děti a mládež Benátky
1970
Benátky / Italy