A new Czech co-produced animated feature has received international recognition ahead of its domestic theatrical release, with The Crystal Planet earning a special Golden Arena award at the 73rd Pula Film Festival in Croatia.
Produced by Prague-based Alkay Animation Prague as part of a Czech-Croatian-Slovak co-production, the family adventure was recognized for its contribution to Croatian animation. The award comes just weeks before the film opens in Czech cinemas on Aug. 13, highlighting another example of Prague’s growing role in European animated filmmaking.
A cross-border production rooted in animation history
The jury at the Pula Film Festival presented The Crystal Planet with a Special Golden Arena, Croatia’s highest national film honor, recognizing the feature’s contribution to Croatian animation. Director Arsen Anton Ostojić accepted the award during the festival’s closing ceremony.
According to the festival jury, the film represents a rare achievement in feature-length animation while bringing to life an original concept by legendary Yugoslav animator Dušan Vukotić. Vukotić was one of the most influential figures in European animation, and the first non-American filmmaker to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film with Surogat (The Substitute) in 1962. He is also regarded as one of the founders of the influential Zagreb School of Animated Film.
The project was directed by Croatian filmmaker Ostojić, whose previous live-action features were selected as Croatia’s submissions for the Academy Awards. He described The Crystal Planet as an adventure story carrying broader environmental themes through the perspective of a young protagonist.
“It’s a film with an important message wrapped in an exciting adventure story,” Ostojić said in a statement. “It follows a young girl determined to save a baby creature she has never encountered before.”
Festival audiences also responded enthusiastically to the film. According to the producers, approximately 3,000 viewers attended the main screenings held in Pula’s historic Roman amphitheater, with audiences giving the film an average score of 4.8 out of 5.
Prague animation studio leads international collaboration
While the story and creative team span multiple countries, much of the production was completed in Prague. The Crystal Planet was produced by Alkay Animation Prague, the studio behind Czech animated features The Oddsockeaters and The Fourleaf Clover, alongside Croatia’s Filmosaurus Rex and Slovakia’s BFilm.
The production follows 11-year-old Rea, who befriends a mysterious young creature named Bergy after arriving on the newly settled Crystal Planet. Together, they embark on a journey to reunite Bergy with its mother while confronting the ruthless Governor Mordokan and discovering the fragile balance of an unfamiliar world. The story combines fantasy adventure with themes of environmental protection, friendship, courage, and responsibility.
Producer Petr Horák said the filmmakers sought to create an emotional adventure reminiscent of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, allowing the story’s themes to emerge naturally through its characters rather than through explicit messages.
The production also brought together an internationally recognized voice cast. The English-language version features Jeremy Irons, Vanessa Redgrave, and Michael York, while the Czech dub includes Jiří Lábus, Eliška Balzerová, Miroslav Táborský, Jaroslav Plesl, Patricie Solaříková, Adéla Hesová, Jakub Barták, Jan Barták, Chiara Nella Kekrt, and Berenika Kohoutová, who also performs the Czech version of the film’s theme song.
Animation supervision was led by Jakub Pístecký, whose previous visual effects work includes Rango, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The project was supported by the Czech Audiovisual Fund, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, Eurimages, and the European Union’s Creative Europe MEDIA program, with Czech Television serving as a co-producer.
The award in Pula adds to the international profile of a production that demonstrates the increasingly collaborative nature of European animation, while reinforcing Prague’s position as a regional hub for high-end animated filmmaking. The Crystal Planet opens in Czech cinemas on Aug. 13 through Falcon distribution.
