THE ATOMS (1947)
aka Atom na rozcesti
Article 4814 by Dave Sindelar
Directed by Cenek Duba
Voice cast unknown
Country: Czechoslovakia
What it is: Animated allegory

A mad scientist is trying to invent the atom, but when his assistant beats him to it by inventing the good atom, the scientist locks the atom away and invents an evil atom. To demonstrate its power, he locks the evil atom in a bomb and intends to test it on a small inhabited island. Can the assistant prevent this?

This title just recently ended up on my “ones that got away” list, but since their was no listing on IMDB, I harbored very little hope of ever seeing it. However, almost immediately, a friend posted a link to the short on YouTube, where it was listed as THE ATOMS and dubbed into English. It’s an allegory about the good and evil uses of science; the good atom produces abundance and rebuilds the world, while the evil one destroys things. The animation is excellent, and the English narration is quite effective; it’s an interesting and effective short. From the looks of it, the YouTube video was culled from its appearance on a “Something Weird” tape or disc. I’m glad to see that this one was available.