Lizzy and Red, friends forever - The animated film from 8 December 2021 to the cinema
A film directed by Denisa Grimmovà and Jan Bubeniček
Based on the Book of Iva Prochàzkovà
A Fresh Films (Czech Republic) and Les Films du Cygne (France) production
Stop-motion, 3D and SFX animation
Duration: 1h26
SYNOPSIS
Following an unfortunate accident, an exuberant mouse and a shy fox cub unintentionally find themselves in the animal paradise. In this strange environment, they will have to put their natural instincts aside and work together to succeed on their journey through this new world. The little mouse and the young fox share many unexpected adventures and surprises and eventually become best friends.
DIRECTOR'S NOTES
Our film tells the story of a little mouse angry with the world that makes her grow up in the shadow of her father. So he takes it into his head to show everyone that he is not afraid of anything. One day she goes a little too far and finds herself in a parallel universe: she ended up in animal paradise. There she meets a fox cub with whom she could never be friends in life, but despite everything they embark on a great adventure together and in the course of the journey they build a true and lasting friendship.
Denisa Grimmova
Belonging to two very different animal species, Lizzy and Red would be destined to be bitter enemies. But when they meet in the afterlife, they can't help but embark on a journey together through the fantastic landscapes of the animal paradise.
Jan Bubenicek
PRODUCTION NOTES
In 2010 Denisa Grimmovà, a friend since film school, proposed to me the idea of adapting the children's book by Iva Prochazkova "Even Mice Belong in Heaven " in an animated feature film. The story lent itself perfectly to a twenty-minute short film, but it took a lot of work to make it a feature film. It ultimately took six years to complete. We wrote numerous versions of the script with two different screenwriters, first Alice Nellis and then Richard Malatinsky, until the story became what we made into a movie and can be watched in the cinema.
This film is a true European co-production. Sometimes the film was made in eight different locations in Europe. Filming went on for just over 14 months. We have built nearly 80 sets and created over 100 puppets. We shot on real different sets simultaneously with 8 animators, making it, in terms of organization and budget, the largest stop-motion production ever made in the Czech Republic.
I did not miss the opportunity to work on this project from the first moment Vladimir proposed the idea to me. When I saw the first drawings, I imagined the sets, the animals, the energy and emotions that could have come out of the story and how it would have touched people and made a hold especially on a young audience.
Alexandre Charlet
CHARACTERS
Lizzy
Lizzy is an impatient and energetic mouse. She is also very stubborn. She was raised by her mother and siblings. Being the younger sister, she was spoiled but also made fun of by the rest of the family. Sometimes she is nervous and fearful, and hates being frightened of others and being addressed like a coward. She is not a coward, she is brave! And it will prove it!
Red
Red is a rather shy and introverted young fox. He was bullied when he was a puppy and is insecure. Suffers a little from stuttering.
Mole
He is a very nice mole. It has the s blesa. He is a good friend: sincere, admires him and is secretly in love with Lizzy. He is always cold and his nose always runs.
Pope
Papa is a model dad; he has a lot of attention and throughout the forest he is known as a hero.
Snout
He's a big evil fox, and he's also Red's cruel and cynical uncle. The whole forest is afraid of him.
And then there are the wise men, the guardians and mentors of the animals in heaven.
The goat
At the gates of animal paradise, this crafty old lady jots everything down in her cabbage leaf notebook and knows everything there is to know about everyone.
The Beetles
The police of the paradise of animals, soldiers who maintain the law by distributing warnings and driving away those who do not respect the rules or behave in a VIOLENT OR IROSO WAY.
The raccoon
The raccoon is an eccentric and affectionate stylist.
The crocodile
He is one of the old sages and he is as serious as he is profound. It takes care of the bathing area.
Frog
She has a stepmother's temper, often grumpy and constantly whiny.
The shrimp
Science in person explains the principles of eternity.
The parrot
a born comedian. A real talker. A track director, who can sometimes become a bit too much!
The Raven
The crow is the parrot's alter ego, and appears when a more serious and deeper tone is required.
The crab
A true entertainer, loving, fun and full of energy! He is a talker, and a bit crazy too, but above all he is a great good-natured.
The whale
The whale is a bit like the captain of this great ship that dictates the course of our characters in the animal paradise and guides them on their journey back to Earth. It has a meditative internal narrative voice.
SEVEN DIFFERENT SETTINGS
The School
Lizzy's schoolmates call her a coward. So she decides to show everyone that she is as brave as her father, considered a hero by everyone.
The Terme Del Paradiso
They are a fascinating place where animals can not only wash and clean themselves, but get rid of their natural instincts by abandoning the claws or fangs necessary for survival on Earth. Here, in the Terme del Paradiso, regardless of size, all species are the same.
The mirror of eternity
It is a bottomless pond where the wise shrimp explains to Lizzy and Red that they cannot go back to the past, but that it is now behind them, and that both must continue their journey.
The Paradise Amusement Park
It is where animals go to have fun, where they can forget their problems and thought processes and assimilate bad memories and experiences of their past lives on Earth.
The Forest Of Forests
The forest of forests is dark and scary. It is the ultimate test to make sure animals accept their weaknesses and are ready to start a new life.
The Bowels Of A Giant Whale
In the belly of the whale is a stunning Italian-style theater where films about each character's past lives are shown before they return to Earth.
THE KINGDOM OF THE PUPPETS
Stop-motion animation: a Czech tradition
Centuries before puppet animation appeared in Western cinemas, puppets in the Czech Republic were an ancient tradition that was witnessed in small local theaters. Puppet shows reached the peak of popularity during the Austro-Hungarian Empire and, at the time, famous puppeteers such as Josef Skupa took advantage of the lack of interest in puppet theater by political censors who believed that puppet shows were just a form of entertainment for children. However, the censors overlooked the fact that large audiences of adults accompanied children to performances of Czech folklore legends, and puppet theater became a platform for satirical and anti-establishment themes of the moment, a bit like Guignol in France.
Then, during the Second World War, Czech puppets made their first appearance in front of the cameras. Hermina Tyrlova, who liked to evade the rules of censorship, adapted a very popular children's book into an ambitious short film. He was called Ferda The Ant and it was the first Czech animated film to use wooden puppets. Following the success of the film, Hermina Tyrlovà and Karel Zeman became important directors of the Zlin Film Studios.
But the person that audiences most closely associate with Czech puppet animation films is Jiri Trnka, the Walt Disney of puppet animation. At the end of the war, Trnka, already known before the Second World War for its puppet shows in the great tradition of Skupa, created a studio in the center of Prague together with a group of friends, where he produced about twenty films, including 6 feature films, until his death in 1969. Already in 1945 Trnka had the extraordinary and pioneering initiative of founding a national film school alongside his studio to develop 2D animation techniques and puppets. Directors from all over the world came to study or seek inspiration, including Japanese animator Kawamoto and famous Dutch animator Co Hoedeman. Together with Bretislav Pojar, his major collaborator and successor, Trnka developed a very fluid and controlled animation technique to express emotions.
mainly through gestures. Although often inspired by classic children's stories, the films were very modern in both form and content. The stories expressed the problems of the contemporary world but were sublimated by the poetry and fluidity of an animated film. Other big names followed, such as Lubomir Benes and Vladimir Jiranek, creators of the famous animated series Pat and Mat (1976-2004), or Jiri Barta, who in 1985 directed The Pied Piper, or more recently the very original Toys in the Attic, who mixes puppets with other animated techniques and which can now be seen on the big screen in the remastered version.
Although the growth of a company based on a market economy slowed the production of Czech animated films for about twenty years, the famous film school in Prague, FAMU, has continued to churn out new filmmakers. Today more and more are following in the footsteps of big names like Trnka, Pokar and Barta.
Among them are Jan Bubenicek and Denisa Grimmovà, the directors of Lizzy and Red - Friends forever. Their stop-motion film, in the tradition of their masters, is a dreamlike tale full of animals, full of humor and poetry, where "real life" topics are explored such as death, overcoming one's fears, the themes of prejudice and friendship.
A WORLD OF FANTASY
By directors Denisa Grimmovà and Jan Bubenicek
The story, adapted from the book Even Mice Belong in Heaven by Iva Prochazkovà, attracted our attention for two main reasons. Firstly because of its accuracy and sensitivity, and secondly because it addresses the questions our children ask as they grow up. When our first child was three, he asked us: "Mom, will you die one day?" It wasn't an easy question to answer, knowing that whatever we answered would stick in his mind, perhaps for life. It was a great responsibility. We could not say, although this is what we believe, that one day life simply comes to an end and then there is nothing left. This type of response can lead to fear of death, fear of nothingness, a sense of worthlessness and a lack of responsibility for one's life. On the other hand, we did not want to encourage belief in God or in heaven.
Fairy tales have always been a simple way of communicating information to children about the harsh realities of life in a light and easy to understand way. Fairy tales give them the freedom to explore ideas on many different subjects in an imaginative and non-threatening way.
Taboos and fear of death are very common in Western countries and are passed down from generation to generation. We do not speak freely of death and we consider it a sign of human frailty, when in reality it is only a part of the life cycle.
Iva Prochazkovà's book speaks to children in a very natural, gentle and direct way. It speaks of a parallel world that is only the beginning - or rather a step - before starting a new life on earth. Pain is balanced by hope and joy, philosophical questions about Being and Nothingness disappear and are replaced by a search for courage to overcome one's fears.
It is a story that treats death as a passage to enter a parallel world that is an animal paradise, and it is also a story of love and friendship, which in itself is one of the greatest and most beautiful challenges in life. Creating a fantasy world full of mystery, dream images, animals and funny creatures is the perfect material for an animated film for a young audience. With its noble guardians of heaven, this world stimulates the imaginations of little ones, while the serious arguments of grief and grief and the joy of a friendship that is born are a good starting point for creating a story full of twists and turns. , epic scenes and emotional roller coasters.
In the film, the story is told entirely from the point of view of our unlikely couple: Lizzy, a young mouse, and Red, a fox cub. On earth, these species are natural enemies. In the animal paradise they come together and form a strong bond of friendship. In this adventure, our protagonists learn some important life lessons: we must overcome our prejudices, listen and learn to live together with others.
We believe that this film, with its light and deliberately naive approach, will help parents and children find answers to often difficult questions together. Or at least that will allow to bring these difficult issues to light and open a conversation.
We grew up with the works of Czech animation masters, and over the years we have also had the honor of having some of them as masters at the Prague film school, FAMU. We want to be part of this great Czech animation tradition, a tradition that has opened up to the world. With a strong artistic ambition, LIZZY and RED | FRIENDS FOREVER (Even Mice Belong in Heaven) is part of the revival of Czech animation. And we are sure that the team of European talents we have put together for this project has created an original and unique work.
