The best stories - as well as most of the artworks - are numerous, hilarious moments that help you to relax while and switch off at the same time as they stimulate your brain and imagination. The old Hungarian tales are like that. Doctor Bubo, Maris neighbors, Frakk or the Rabbit with the rabit with the chekered ears are familiar for all Hungarians are familiar, since they grew up with these stories. They were entertaining and enjoyable at the same time as they were educational – hence they deserve a thought from us.
Here we created a little collection of the most memorable and classic stories and animated movies. Most of the stories were brought to life by the Pannonia Film Studio.
Cat City (Hungarian: Macskafogó (Cat Catcher)) is a 1986 Hungarian animated film, directed by Béla Ternovszky and written byJózsef Nepp. The title Cat City was used in the United States distribution. The original Hungarian version contains a number of puns which can be hardly rendered in any other edition.
The movie opens with a Star Wars style text scroll, which tells the main situation: In year 80 AM Anno Mickey Mouse, the mice of Planet X are threatened by humiliation and total apocalypse. The well-organized, fully equipped gangs of evil cats are aiming to wipe out the mouse civilization totally, not caring for the old conventions between mice and cats. But in the last moment, when the mouse leaders are beginning to consider leaving the planet, a new hope rises...
The film is a parody of several famous feature films, mainly the James Bond series. The main plot is about a special spy who is sent to the city of "Pokyo" to get the secret plan of a machine which could save the mouse civilization. Of course, the cats don't want this to happen, and send some rat gangsters to stop him, who don't always prove as efficient as their presentation showed.
The family consists of Géza, the father, a comical and inept figure similar to Homer Simpson, his wife Paula who actually dominates family affairs, teenage daughter Kriszta and 12-year old son Aladár, the odball of the family. The cat Maffia and a dog, Blöki (Zorro) accompany the family. Dr. Máris, their cynical neighbour, is regularly and unvoluntarily involved in disasters surrounding the family.
The family makes contact with MZ/X, their descendant relative from the 30th century MZ/X sends them, through the time, various hypermodern gadgets which invariably result in a disaster.
Look in the one part of the Mézga Family:
Cute, animated TV-series based on the children's books by István Csukás. It tells about Pom-Pom, a hairy creature that could be best compared to a wig, who becomes friends with a schoolgirl named Picur and tells her stories about other, equally bizarre creatures and their adventures on her way to school. Most Hungarians who were kids in the 1980s know and enjoyed Pom-Pom and his stories. The series are nice and educative entertainment for children and even thought it was reasonably short lived, it became an instant classic.
Kérem a következőt! (literally: Next, please!) is a Hungarian animated series produced by Pannonia Film Studio in 1974. Featuring a cast of Petting Zoo People (with the occasional Funny Animal), the show stars an owl medic and psychologist named Doktor Bubó. Once an Episode, Bubó attempts to stop a trouble-making animal by psychological methods, only to fail every single time and cause even bigger trouble. He usually gets help from his assistant, the flirty bear nurse Ursula (not to be confused with a different Ursula), his best friend, the falcon police officer Sólyom csőrmester, and Sólyom's sidekick, Teknőc Ernő, the dim-witted tortoise.
Many patients have rather absurd problems – the flea is megalomanic, the elephant worries that he can’t be seen, the goose is hypochondriac, the - Next please! highlights the issues of the society in a light and entertaining way, that’s enjoyable for grownups as well as the younger ones.
Frakk is a fictional Hungarian cartoon character and star of the cartoon television show, Frakk, a macskák réme (lit. Frakk, terror of the cats). Frakk is a dog living his life with a typical, sometimes ironically depicted family. Frakk shares a home with Uncle Carlos (Károly bácsi) and Aunt Vilma (Vilma néni), two Hungarian pensioners along with their two cats, Lukrécia and Szerén, one of them black and the other one a white cat.
Due to the ancient rivalry the three constantly get into conflicts exacerbated by the strict attitude of Aunt Vilma, who favors the two cats as opposed to Uncle Carlos, who definitely takes the dog's side.
The show was created by Ágnes Bálint in 1971. The first season ran through 1971, the second season was added in 1972, and a third in 1978. The show was very popular in Hungary and is considered one of the animated shows that defined the decade of the 1970s for Hungarian children.
A Kockásfülű nyúl (The rabbit with checkered ears) was the title of a 26-episode Hungarian animated children's series produced in 1978 in the studios of PannóniaFilm. Created by the acclaimed children's literature writer and graphic artist Veronika Marék and animatorZsolt Richly, its protagonist, the rabbit with checkered ears quickly became one of the most prolific mascots of Hungarian animation.
The checkered-eared rabbit's fame rocketed in and around Hungary with the rise in popularity of retro not only in fashion and design but with the rediscovery of the qualities of Central Eastern Europe's pre-1980s culture. It also became somewhat sought after in the U.S., where it is often described as the "bunny in a suitcase" and recalled from its frequent broadcasts on the Pinwheel (TV series) cable program which appeared on the original Nickelodeon (TV channel). At the time of the original series, merchandising was an unknown term in Hungary, but with the return of the series (as well as other popular children's programmes of the seventies and eighties from the region) the rabbit can now be found on school accessories, pillows as well as in the form of plush toys.
The Little Fox, known in Hungary as Vuk, is a 1981 Hungarian animated film produced by Pannónia Filmstúdió, based on the novel Vuk by István Fekete. Along with Cat City, it is widely regarded as one of the classics of Hungarian animation. The film tells the story of a little fox, Vuk’s adventures whilst growing up and going experiencing life as it is.
Szaffi is a 1984 Hungarian animated film directed by Attila Dargay. It is based on the 1885 book The Gypsy Baron by Mór Jókai, about the romance between a poor Hungarian aristocrat and a mysterious Romani-looking Turkish girl in the 18th century. Music from Johann Strauss II's operetta The Gypsy Baron, based on the same novel, is used for the film's soundtrack.
It has adventure, and treasure, and love, and a little black cat, and a war, and picturesque villains - a governor with a pressure release valve in his skull and a fat pig-loving baron, and of course, the good gypsies. All of us soviet children saw this cartoon when it was shown on Russian TV back in the 80's and every character is in our memory forever.
The co-production of Attila Dargay and Zsuzsa Fuzesi. The Great Fisherman was first shown in 1982 and the 2nd series came out in 1984. The adventures of the Fisherman and his loyal sidekick the Worm teaches a good lesson about friendship, teamwork and working together to achieve our goals and fight for our dreams.