Kyberneticka babicka (1962)
Article 5902 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-13-2020
Directed by Jiri Trnka
Voice cast unknown
Country: Czechoslovakia
What it is: Frightening and sad vision of the future

A young girl is taken from her loving grandmother’s side to be raised by a robot in a futuristic household.

Here’s another fascinating puppet animation work from Jiri Trnka. There are no English subtitles, but the first half of the film is mostly without dialogue, and the animation makes it clear how the non-speaking young girl feels about her situation, which is the important thing here. Though the puppet’s faces don’t really express emotion, their body language, their actions, and the way they are framed tells us what we need to know. It’s an evocative and moving short about losing touch with our humanity; we feel strongly about how the little girl has her few possessions (a red ball and photographs of her past life) stripped from her. Here’s another one I highly recommend.