Mr Tau Gives Presents

Country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1970

Production year

1970

Premiere

19 March 1971

Runtime

27 min

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionshort

Original title

Pan Tau naděluje

Czech title

Pan Tau naděluje

English title

Mr Tau Gives Presents

Co-production title

Pan Tau und die schöne Bescherung / Pan Tau und die schöne Bescherung

Working title

Pan Tau II

Synopsis

It is Christmas day. Mr Tau sneaks into the flat of the boy Emil, which is also inhabited by Emil's friend, a dog. The man in the bowler hat moves around the whole flat surprisingly unseen although there is a hectic rush all around. Mother is baking the Christmas sweets, grandfather is building the Christmas crib, Emil's sister Renáta is cleaning and the father is gathering courage to kill the carp. Emil, playing with the fish, splashes water on the whole bathroom and, by way of punishment, is locked into the pantry. He is thus much pleased to meet Mr Tau who, with the help of his magic bowler, can change from a small puppet to an adult man. Mr Tau tries to help everybody secretly, but, being unacquainted with the situation, makes everything even worse. He shocks the grandfather who misses two little sheep for the Christmas crib, by conjuring up two live sheep in the midst of the living room. Then Emil wants to save the carp, Mr Tau complies with his wish and endows the fish with the ability to speak. The father almost turns nuts when the carp, calling himself Albertek, begins to beg for his life. Daddy thus begins to decorate the Christmas tree instead which, however, starts to grow until its top breaks through the ceiling to the flat of Renáta's beloved Petr. Mummy is utterly desperate - the Christmas sweets were in part eaten by the dog and the rest burnt to cinders. It seems that the whole evening will end up in catastrophe but Mr Tau again uses his magic and everything is as it is supposed to be. The festive Christmas dinner is prepared and the tree shines. Renáta is allowed to visit Petr and everybody, dressed for the occasion, can finally enjoy Christmas. At midnight, they together carry Albertek to the river and the father frees the carp.

Note

The film was distributed to Czech cinemas as part of the series Mr Tau Arrives along with the feature film of the same title and a cartoon puppet film What Blew Up? (1970; directed by Břetislav Pojar and Miroslav Štěpánek).

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.

Cast

Josef Beyvl

dědeček

Blanka Krátká

Renáta, Emilova sestra

Antonín Krčmář

Petr, Renátin kluk

Dubbing

Jiřina Bohdalová

hlas kapra Albertka

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Vladimír Zelenka

Assistant Director

Vilém Kijonka

Continuity

Pavla Marková

Director of Photography

Jaroslav Tuzar, Vladimír Malík (loutková část)

Second Unit Photography

Miloš Petrolín

Camera Operator

Jiří Knotek

Production Designer

Jiří Hlupý, Miroslav Hrachovec

Art Director

Stanislav Látal (loutková část)

Set Designer

Václav Pošta, Jan Petrů, Jiří Žůček

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Assistant Film Editor

Růžena Hejsková

Sound Designer

Jaromír Svoboda

Production Manager

Gustav Rohan

Unit Production Manager

Jan Syrový, Karel Prchal, Martin Baroch

Unit Production Manager

Lucie Hertlová

Cooperation

Zorka Chrastinová (klapka)

Music

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), Orchestr Karla Vlacha (Music Conducted by Karel Vlach)

Songs

Tichá noc /Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht/

Song Composer Franz Xaver Gruber
Singer Vokální soubor Lubomíra Pánka

Production info

Original Title

Pan Tau naděluje

Czech Title

Pan Tau naděluje

English Title

Mr Tau Gives Presents

Co-production Title

Pan Tau und die schöne Bescherung / Pan Tau und die schöne Bescherung

Working Title

Pan Tau II

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1970

Production Year

1970

Production specifications

technical Screenplay approved 11 February 1969
start of filming 3 January 1970
end of filming 3 July 1970
the first film copy approved 20 October 1970
projection approval 7 December 1970
withdrawal from distribution 31 March 1982
withdrawal from distribution 1 October 1993

Premiere

premiere 19 March 1971 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 25 March 1971 /suitable for youths/ (kino Hvězda, Praha)
non-distribution premiere 26 December 1971 (televizní uvedení ČST 2)
renewed premiere 1 December 1986 /suitable for youths/

Copyright Holders

Česká televize

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Švabík – Hofman (příprava), Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí a vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Erich Švabík (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí a vedoucí výrobní skupiny), Dramaturgická skupina Oty Hofmana, Výrobní skupina Ericha Švabíka

Technical info

Duration typology

short film

Duration in minutes

27 min

Original length in metres

765 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Exhibition: 11. celostátní přehlídka československých filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1971
Zlín / Czechoslovakia