Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid (1836) has served as the inspiration for numerous films. However, the philosophy of contemporary narrative for children frequently clashes with the dark, tragic essence of the tale of the relationship between the daughter of a sea king and an earthbound prince, which does not have a happy ending. In that regard, screenwriter Ota Hofman and co-writer and director Karel Kachyňa decided to respect Andersen’s version. Nevertheless, the ending of their 1976 Malá mořská víla (The Little Mermaid) is slightly different to the original (in the film the unhappy mermaid turns into sea foam after being betrayed by her beloved prince, while in the Andersen she joins her sisters of the air and retains the hope of obtaining an immortal soul). The protagonist in the picture, which co-production with the Soviet Mosfilm lent a more cosmopolitan tone, is a mermaid who with the help of a witch decides to approach her beloved prince of the Southern Kingdom and become human, albeit mute. However, the prince falls victim to random confusion and chooses instead a princess from a neighbouring kingdom, who bears a resemblance to the heroine. The Little Mermaid has to accept her fate: she can only return home as sea foam… Kachyňa’s film is exceptional for its period not only due a gloomy tone at odds with the period optimism of movies for children and young people; it also has merit as a poetic, considerately stylised film that works inventively with the visual form of the underwater kingdom. Alongside the outstanding cinematographer Jaroslav Kučera legendary costume designer Ester Krumbachová made a huge contribution to the picture’s visual art qualities. Regarding casting, Miroslava Šafránková makes an impact as the sweet but resolute mermaid. Her rival from the neighbouring kingdom, who strongly resembles the heroine, was played by the actress’s sister Libuše. Radovan Lukavský impresses as the main character’s father the sea king.
Two daughters of the Sea King are playing in the depths of the sea – the little mermaid and her elder sister. The Sea King has just sunk a ship as a birthday gift to his elder daughter. The curious little mermaid is envious of her elder sister, who is now allowed to rise to the surface and see human beings and the outside world. The little mermaid must wait another year before she is allowed to do the same. One year later, the little mermaid is preparing for her birthday, singing a tune she has heard from a sorceress. The earth prince of the Southern Kingdom hears the melancholy tune while aboard his ship, which also has been picked out for sinking to serve as a present for the Sea King's youngest daughter. But the little mermaid falls in love with the prince and rescues him. She carries his unconscious body to the shore and gives him a goodbye kiss. She is then forced to hide when an alien princess comes by who then leans over the prince just as he opens his eyes, so that the prince mistakenly believes her to be his rescuer. The little mermaid cannot forget the prince. Her father warns her, saying that the prince has thoughts only for the other princess, but the little mermaid decides to change into a human being, even at the cost of losing her voice. She also agrees to endure pain at every step she makes. The earthly prince must marry into a fortune, because his country has been suffering one catastrophe after another. One day he finds the little mermaid, now a young girl, by the ocean shore. He takes her to his castle and they spend many pleasant hours together, even though the girl is dumb. His advisors, however, implore the prince to marry and he is compelled to go off to court a princess from another kingdom. To his surprise, the prince finds that the foreign princess is the girl he believes once came to his rescue. The prince marries her and the couple are happy together. Only the little mermaid's heart is breaking. What is more, she can now only return to the bottom of the ocean as the foam of the sea. Her single hope is to kill the prince, but the mermaid cannot bring herself to do that. She kisses the prince one last time and vanishes in the water. Her song is heard in the distance. The prince's search for the mysterious singer is to no avail. The ship, which is about to collide with a rock, is suddenly enveloped in a bed of flowers that bring the boat to a standstill just before it can hit the rock.
malá mořská víla
král všech moří, otec šesti princezen
princ Jižní říše
babička
čarodějnice
princezna ze sousední říše
princův pobočník
první sestra malé víly
královna Modrého moře, čtvrtá sestra
král Ledového moře
královna Ledového moře, třetí sestra
Voice by Petr Skarke
král Žlutého moře
královna Žlutého moře, pátá sestra
princ Moře zapadajícího slunce, ženich malé mořské víly
král Černého moře
královna Černého moře, druhá sestra
král Modrého moře
princ Sargasového moře, ženich první sestry
orientální princezna
evropská princezna
černá princezna
hispánská princezna
ceremoniář sousední říše
lodní kapitán
rádce
královna, princova matka
starý rybář
šermíř
šermíř
host na zlaté lodi
host na zlaté lodi
host na zlaté lodi
host na zlaté lodi
host na zlaté lodi
král sousední říše
královna sousední říše
rybář
rybářův syn
dirigent
podmořský ceremoniář
zkušený námořník
námořník
námořník
námořník
námořník
děvčátko
dvorní dáma princovy matky
stolník-šlechtic
dítě krále Modrého moře
družina černé princezny
družina černé princezny
družina krále Ledového moře
dubl za Petra Svojtku – potápění
dubl za Miroslavu Šafránkovou – potápění
dubl za Miroslavu Šafránkovou
dubl za Miroslavu Šafránkovou
tanečník
tanečnice
páže
potápěč
Hans Christian Andersen (Malá mořská víla /Den lille Havfrue/ – pohádka)
Luděk Kopal
Vladimír Foukal, Zdeněk Jeřábek, Pavel Šťastný
Stanislav Petřek, Jiří Budín, Anna Volšičková, Daniela Svobodová
Jiří Lenoch, Ivo Špalj (mix zvuku)
Jaroslav Kučera, Vladimír Dvořák, Milan Nejedlý, Ludvík Malý, Trikový ateliér FSB
Jiří Berger (pyrotechnik), Roman Tudžaroff (pyrotechnik)
František Michálek (jezdectví)
Dana Průchová (klapka), Jaroslav Trousil (fotograf)
Song Composer Zdeněk Liška
Writer of Lyrics Josef Hanzlík
Singer Miroslava Šafránková [dab]Lenka Kořínková
Song Composer Zdeněk Liška
Writer of Lyrics Josef Hanzlík
Singer Miroslava Šafránková [dab]Lenka Kořínková
Malá mořská víla
Malá mořská víla
Little Mermaid
film
featuretheatrical distribution
fairytale
Czechoslovakia
1976
1976
withdrawal from distribution 31 August 1993
premiere 12 November 1976 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
gala premiere 9 December 1976 (kino Lucerna, Praha)
premiere 6 January 1977 /suitable for youths/ (kino Paříž, Praha)
Dramaturgická skupina Oty Hofmana, Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)
feature film
84 min
2 372 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,66
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech
Festival: 11. mezinárodní filmový festival Miami
1978
Miami / United States of America
Festival: 15. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež Gijón
1977
Gijón / Spain
Festival: 15. festival českých a slovenských filmů Bratislava
1977
Bratislava / Czechoslovakia
Jaroslav Kučera
Festival: 2. mezinárodní filmový festival Káhira
1977
Káhira / Egypt
Zdeněk Liška
Festival: 17. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov
1977
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Exhibition: 6. mezinárodní týden filmů o moři Cartagena
1977
Cartagena / Spain