Merry Christmas from the Octopuses!

Country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany

Copyright

1986

Production year

1984—1986

Premiere

1 November 1987

Runtime

92 min

Director

Jindřich Polák

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Veselé vánoce přejí chobotnice

Czech title

Veselé vánoce přejí chobotnice

English title

Merry Christmas from the Octopuses!

Co-production title

Die Tintenfische wünschen frohe Weihnachten / Fröhliche Weihnachten wünschen die Kraken

Working title

Chobotnice II.

Summary

Director Jindřich Polák and screenwriter Otta Hofman filmed this sequel to the family comedy Chobotnice z II. patra (The Octopuses from the Second Floor, 1986) in the same year as the original was made. Veselé Vánoce přejí chobotnice (Merry Christmas from the Octopuses!) continues the story of young siblings Eva and Honzík Holanový and their amazing little “octopus” friends Modrá and Zelená (Blue and Green). These creatures are made from a strange substance found by the sea, which has come to life. This time, the creatures help to try to prevent the divorce of the Holan parents. Though they cause a good deal of trouble, they ultimately help to save the marriage of the truck driver husband and his National Theatre-based opera singer wife. This light-hearted tale sees Žaneta Fuchsová and Milan Šimáček in the children’s roles. Dagmar Veškrnová and Pavel Zedníček play the parents. Zelená is voiced by Jiřina Bohdalová, who in 1983 also voiced the green figure Ferda in Polák’s “Lucie” stories: Lucie, postrach ulice (Lucy, Terror of the Street, 1980) and …a zase ta Lucie (Lucy Again!, 1983).

Synopsis

Eva and Honzík Holans spend the end of their summer holidays in the countryside. The octopuses Blue and Green, modelled by the two children from revived matter found by the sea, read newspapers and books by "sucking out" the alphabets. Professor George and his assistants offer the children a lift home to Prague. They ask them about the lost matter, but the children deny everything. Their parents are just about to divorce and mum Andrea insists on dividing the property in half. The octopuses take everything literally and the home furnishings, cut in half by a laser, begin to fall apart. The father Holan moves out to a caravan in the backyard. The mother Andrea, a choir singer in the National Theatre, is driven home after a performance by the Master - an aging opera singer. He imagines some philandering but Andrea only wants to provoke her husband's jealousy. The disappointed seducer leaves. The octopuses want to destroy the reasons for the home quarrels - Andrea's singing and Holan's truck business trips abroad. They tear down the wall between the windows and throw the piano out into the Lesser Town's Devil's Stream. They also delete the data from the father's passport by "reading" them. But this even worsens the situation. The wrangling husband and wife suspect each other of bloody-mindedness. The octopuses intrude in the theatre and not only shock the Master as the Water Sprite during a performance of Dvořák's opera Undine, but also the actress playing the title part of Undine. The fainted soloist is successfully replaced by Andrea. Holan is not allowed to cross the border with the invalid passport. It is snowing in Prague. The children are angry at the octopuses because of all the damage they have caused by their eagerness. Everything is discretely repaired by the father. Pupils at school rehearse for a Christmas Party. The Professor's assistant Andreadis is again searching for the live matter in Prague. The octopuses hide from him, thus spoiling Honzík's planned magic performance. The two children receive gifts from their father on Christmas Eve. Holan bought Andrea an upright piano. The woman is, however, still angry at him and so they are only three at the Christmas table while the dad is left alone with the teacher in a pub. When Andrea falls asleep, the octopuses secretly move the piano to the flat and the children wake their mummy up by a four-handed playing of a Christmas carol. The parents reconcile and the divorce is canceled. Holan drives Andrea, the children and the hidden octopuses in his truck, taking them for a trip to the sea. Andreadis pursues them secretly. The family trip is halted by an urgent commission. In a reloading area, the towing vehicle with the children inside suddenly starts moving. It is driven by the octopuses escaping from Andreadis. The vehicle crashes and catches on fire. Eva uses the fire extinguisher and the foam turns the octopuses into the original matter. The children model it into birds and the two creatures fly away.

Note

This is the second feature film edited by the film makers out of the four-sequel TV series, originally shot as a foreign order. Merry Christmas from the Octopuses! is the second sequel of the film The Octopuses from the Second Floor. Sometimes the German distribution title is also used: Fröhliche Weihnachten wünschen die Kraken. The separate prts of the series have the following titles: 1. The Project IV, 2. Alarmstufe blau-grün (Flashes of Lightning above the Devil´s Stream), 3. Das süsse Salz (Half-and-half), 4. Die Tintenfische wünschen frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas Wish You the Green and the Blue).

Photos

člen opery

Helena Zachatová

členka opery

Josef Života

člen opery

Vlastimila Vlková

sousedka

Vladimír Dvořák

divák opery

Jaroslav Tomsa

dubl za Pavla Zedníčka

Commentary

Vlastimil Brodský

Dubbing

František Filipovský

hlas Modrého

Jiřina Bohdalová

hlas Zelené

Crew and creators

Art Director

Jiří Vojta (animovaná část)

Set Designer

Bedřich Čermák (vedoucí výpravy), Rudolf Beneš, Jaroslav Lehman, Stanislav Rovný

Costume Designer

Šárka Hejnová

Costumes

Ludmila Ondráčková (vedoucí kostymérka), Iva Bártová, Dana Chaloupková, J. Kolomazníková

Make-Up Artist

Jiří Budín, Valerie Pitelková, Věra Podpěrová

Film Editor

Dalibor Lipský

Assistant Film Editor

Erika Vojáčková, Ruth Kubalíková

Sound Designer

Karel Jaroš

Animation

Jiří Vojta, Seishi Katto

Special Effects

Milan Nejedlý, Michael Poledník, Boris Masník, Jiří Rumler

Production Manager

Jan Šuster, Jaroslav Bouček

Unit Production Manager

Pavel Nový, Jan Peterka

Unit Production Manager

Emil Sirotek ml.

Cooperation

Jana Jiříčková (klapka), Michaela Kopřivová (klapka), František Remeš (vrchní osvětlovač), Jan Kuděla (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Angelo Michajlov

Selected Music

Antonín Dvořák (Rusalka /Květiny bílé po cestě/), Antonín Dvořák (Rusalka /Ubohá Rusalko bledá/), Antonín Dvořák (Rusalka /Polonéza/), Ludwig van Beethoven (Symfonie č.5 c moll /Osudová/)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Mario Klemens), Orchestr Václava Kozla, Orchestr Bavorského rozhlasu (Music Conducted by Libor Pešek), Pěvecký sbor Čs. rozhlasu (Music Conducted by Libor Pešek), Linha Singers

Songs

Rusalka

Song Composer Antonín Dvořák
Writer of Lyrics Jaroslav Kvapil
Singer Dagmar Veškrnová-Havlová [dab]Gabriela BeňačkováPřemysl Kočí [dab]Ondrej MalachovskýRenata Mašková [dab]Gabriela Beňačková

Melodie beze slov

Singer Linha Singers

Tichá noc /Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht/

Song Composer Franz Xaver Gruber

Nesem vám noviny

Production info

Original Title

Veselé vánoce přejí chobotnice

Czech Title

Veselé vánoce přejí chobotnice

English Title

Merry Christmas from the Octopuses!

Co-production Title

Die Tintenfische wünschen frohe Weihnachten / Fröhliche Weihnachten wünschen die Kraken

Working Title

Chobotnice II.

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany

Copyright

1986

Production Year

1984—1986

Production specifications

start of filming 2 October 1984
end of filming 25 October 1985
literary Screenplay approved 27 November 1985 (sestřih do podoby filmu)
technical Screenplay approved 23 June 1986 (sestřih do podoby filmu)
start of filming 23 June 1986 (sestřih do podoby filmu)
end of filming 24 November 1986 (sestřih do podoby filmu)
projection approval 23 December 1986 (sestřih do podoby filmu)
withdrawal from distribution 30 November 1993

Premiere

premiere 1 November 1987 /suitable for youths/

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov, Filmexport Praha, Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln am Rhein, Bayerischer Rundfunk München, Südwestfunk Baden Baden, DRS Zürich, ORF Wien, Revcom Paris, RTP Portugal

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Laboratories

Filmové laboratoře Barrandov

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Creative Group

4. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Marcela Pittermannová (vedoucí 4. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny)

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

92 min

Original length in metres

2 654 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: 19. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1987
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Pavel Zedníček

Vítěz

Exhibition: 19. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1987
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Žaneta Fuchsová

Vítěz

Festival: 27. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1987
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Jiří Vojta

Vítěz

Festival: 27. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1987
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Seishi Katto

Merry Christmas from the Octopuses!

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Co-production title

Working title

Summary

Synopsis

Note

Photos

Cast

Markéta Krbušková

Karel Mašek

Hana Nachtmanová

Martin Otava

Rudolf Horák

Miloslava Ebrová

Jan Strupek

Miloš Antfeist

Martin Beran

Helena Hájková

Eva Hnátková

Marigula Karastathi

Bohumil Klika

Bohumír Nekut

Olga Nekutová

Milada Němečková

Jarmila Novotná (tanec)

Dagmar Tomsová

Jitka Trojanová

Josef Vrabec

Miloslav Arbeit

Hana Beranová

Stanislav Bronec

Štěpán Buršík

Zdenka Černá (opera)

Věra Havlová

Milada Horáková

Hana Hronová

Antonín Hudi

Soňa Janotová

František Křupala

Kateřina Kudlíková

Miroslav Mareš

Stanislava Moravová

Blanka Nyklová

Jarmila Pávová

Jiří Přibyl

Ivana Ročková

Jaroslav Šefrna

Jana Urbanová

Miroslav Vácha

Helena Zachatová

Commentary

Dubbing

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Continuity

Screenstory

Screenplay

Shooting Script

Dramaturg

Director of Photography

Second Unit Photography

Camera Operator

Production Designer

Assistent Production Designer

Art Director

Set Designer