Kooky (2010)

Why so much hype?

not horrible nor great

i must have seen a different film!!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Sweet, imaginative, emotional, thought provoking, sublime, creepy, lovable, sad, colorful, forests, snow, sunshine, woodlands, magical places in forest, scary, friendship, loyalty, rubbish, recycling, childhood, teddy bears, illness, asthma, evil power hungry beings who betray, friends stick together, plastic bags who suffocate, potato looking beings who are friendly to lost teddy bears, who race speedily, wildly and fast across the stream and forest, in a homage to star wars, who outwit the bad guys, who save the bird eggs and who eventually save the little sick boy who eventually lives up to realizing he has grown up and no longer needs his Kooky, the most dramatic peril I have ever seen and the most kind hearted moment when the birds stuff kooky with feathers - if you want a magical adventure without a Disney feel then watch Kooky - And just like the wizard of oz local homeless man is the real character - excellent. Young Ondra has asthma and so his mom throws away his favorite toy: a musty old stuffed bear named Kooky. That night Ondra dreams that Kooky is determined to find his way back home from the dump. In the boy's fantasy, the bear gets lost in a forest occupied by strange animals and remarkable beings that he never heard of while living on the toy shelf in Ondra's room. And of course even in this small imaginary world, true good exists as does real evil, which Kooky must face up to in order to become a real hero.

This is a brief review of the Czech Language version with English subs. Kuky Returns is a joy to watch, if initially hard to follow. But you soon get into the adventure! The dialogue between characters is great. Its essentially a buddy movie in a round about way. The style of filming/presentation is the main draw. - Im sure you've seen the trailer? if not check it out soon. The puppetry brings everyone to life right down to the last leaf. I am now waiting for the English Language version, as the Directors have employed some great authentic sounding voiceovers for this! apparently they too are Czech Speaking so have been able to reproduce the speaking parts as close to the original as possible! out soon I guess?

I had a chance to see this beautifully simple yet very inspiring fairy tale like movie during annual film festival in Vilnius, and after the viewing came out with my spirits soaring and a huge grin of satisfaction firmly planted on my face. The plot of this puppet movie is rather simple. A kid named Ondra, who is suffering from severe asthma, has to let go of his favorite toy - a stuffed toy named Kooky. But he isn't giving up on his favorite toy easily. Instead all the viewers are brought into his world of fairy tale like childish imagination/dream, where Kooky comes alive and tries to find his way back to Ondra. The story follows Kooky's adventures and misadventures on his journey back home as seen through the eyes of Ondra. And that childish perspective is what gives the magical feeling to this story - a child is telling the story and all the reasoning behind everything that happens to Kooky is limited to child's imagination, which is rather simple yet fascinating.

Kooky's Return (Kuky se vrací) is a story about children's imagination - we don't know if everything happens only in Ondra's fantasy or if it's for real. Jan Svěrák won't tell you which one of these two options is right. YOU - the viewer - have to decide. Most of the characters are moving puppets and they are... well, they are quite ugly but very charming. They are little forest gods or tiny monsters made of garbage (ecology is one of the topics in this movie but don't worry, it won't bother you). And Kooky. Kooky is a cult toy in the Czech Republic right know because he's old-fashioned, pink and plain but sooo cute at the same time. I didn't mention the story so far because it's not the most important thing in Kooky's return. It's adequate: story of a lost toy that wants to come back to its owner and experience some adventures in the forest with picturesque characters. It's the good old manual work with puppets and imagination the the scriptwriter and director Jan Svěrák.