Pat & Mat

Pat & Mat (original names in Czech "Kuťáci, ... a je to!, Pat a Mat)" is a Czech stop-motion animated series featuring two handymen, Pat and Mat (Czech for "Stalemate" and "Checkmate", respectively). It was created by Lubomír Beneš and Vladimír Jiránek.

The show

The show features the two characters facing mostly a self-made problem, trying to solve it using any possible and impossible tools and constructing gadgets, which leads to more problems. Yet, eventually, the two manage to get a working result with a mostly surprising solution.

According to the authors, it is the manual ineptitude that inspires the stories. The humour is not the only feature of the show, but also the optmistic approach to life. The two characters always get into problematic situations but they never give up, until they solve the problem in imaginative ways.

The show is also memorable for its soundtrack, composed by Petr Skoumal, of which the main parts consist of the theme song and a harmonica tune.

History

The two characters first appeared in a 1976 short film entitled "Kuťáci (The Tinkers)". Later, the characters appeared in more shorts, making their own TV series called "... a je to! (... And that's it!)", where they got their final look. The two handymen got their names "Pat" and "Mat" in 1989, and this became the name of the show.

While creating the two characters, the authors had in mind especially entertainment for adults, but the show became popular with all audiences. However, in former Czechoslovakia, the first 35 episodes of the series could have been produced as children's TV programme only, in the short's format of 7 minutes.

The show became popular throughout the world, being aired in Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia), Sweden, Poland, Yugoslavia, Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Finland, Netherlands, Croatia, Norway, Spain, Iran, Hungary, Slovenia, Jordan, South Africa and some more countries.

In 1990, shortly after Czechoslovakia became open (and later the Czech and Slovak republics), Lubomír Beneš (who died in 1995) founded his own AIF Studio in Prague (production) and Zurich (marketing, sales, financing), where he and his team produced 14 more episodes, and introduced all 49 of them in the international market.

Festivals, awards, prizes

Several of the Pat & Mat episodes have received prizes and awards at world animation festivals during the years.

From the latest ones directed by Lubomír Beneš, the 38th episode "The Cyclists", animated by Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, participated at the "Annecy '93" (Annecy, France) animation festival competition, and has been invited to a number of other world festivals.

"The Cyclists" has also been included in the selection "The Best of Annecy '93" by Cinémathèque Québécoise (Montreal), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley), Museum of Modern Art (New York) and presented by these institutions in their autumn '93 show.

The 44th episode "The Billiards", animated by František Váša, has been selected for the "Annecy '95" competition, and invited to almost all other world film festivals.

"The Billiards" has got two prizes at the World Animation Celebration in Agoura (CA), March '97:
* 1st prize - best animation for a daytime TV series
* 2nd prize - best stop motion professional animation.

Followers

Later on there were also five DVDs released with the episodes. As of 2005, 78 episodes were made in total, with the idea and characters taken over by partially new teams. Among the team members on the new production was Marek Beneš, Lubomír Beneš' son.

List of show title in other languages

Here is a list of what the series was called in different countries.

* Czech Republic: "Kutaci, ...a je to!, Pat a Mat, Pat a Mat se vraci"
* Poland: "Sąsiedzi, Pat i Mat"
* Germany: "...und fertig!, Peter und Paul, Pat und Mat"
* Switzerland: "Sepp und Heiri"
* Brazil: "Zeca e Joca"
* Finland: "Hupsis, Pat ja Mat"
* The Netherlands: "Buurman en Buurman"
* Iran: "Hamineh"
* Iceland: "Klaufabárðarnir"
* Norway: "To gode naboer" (Two Good Neighbours)
* Slovenia: "A je to! Pat in Mat"
* Slovakia: "A je to! Pat a Mat"
* Britain: "...and that's it!, Pat and Mat"
* Sweden: "Två snubbar"
* Hungary: "Kétbalkezesek"
* Jordan: "Zingo wa Ringo"

Episode Names

External links

* [http://www.patmat.cz official site]
* [http://www.patandmat.net fansite about Pat & Mat]
* [http://www.patandmat.co.uk New Pat & Mat DVD in UK] ----