Spejbl and Hurvínek

Josef Skupa, Spejbl and Hurvínek

Josef Skupa (1892 - 1957) was a Czech puppeteer whose characters have been entertaining children for over 100 years.  In 1930 he founded a travelling theatre in Plzeň which was the first professional puppet theatre in Czechoslovakia.

In 1943, the Gestapo closed the theatre and he was arrested for anti-fascist resistance.  In 1945, his Nazi prison in Dresden burned down and he escaped.  Following the war in 1945 he opened the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theatre in Prague which is still open to this day.

Skupa's most famous characters are Spejbl and Hurvínek which were created in 1920 and 1926 respectively.  Spejbl is the foolish father and Hurvínek is his mischievous son.  They also have a dog, Žeryk, who is able to bark out words.  Other characters include Hurvínek's friend Mánička and her granny Mrs. Kateřina Hovorková.

Spejbl and Hurvínek have travelled to over 30 countries.  Albums, television shows and movies have been released.  Despite being over a century years old, the show still does a great job of showing the generation gap between parents and children.

Here's an episode I found on YouTube called Únor bílý, pole sílí (White February, Fields Grow).  Spejbl, Hurvínek, and Mánička compete for the best snowman and first prize is a cake.

In August 2017, a 3-D animated film called Hurvínek a kouzelné muzeum (Hurvínek and the Magic Museum) was released.  Of course Tünde wanted to go see it.

Too bad kid's movies aren't subtitled.  Here's the movie trailer.

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