Jan Werich's Fimfárum

A delightful portmanteau of animated Czech folk fables adapted from the late Jan Werich's writings by young talent Klimt and his veteran compatriot Pospísilová, elaborating on the latter's 1991 puppet-animated short When the Leaves Fall from the Bough, which provides the opening entry. 'Fearless Frankie' pits an unflappable youth against all the forces of Hell out for their Tuesday pub night. 'Mean Barbara' sees various village rapscallions playing pass-the-parcel with the body of a priest's tight-fisted housemaid. 'A Dream Fulfilled' is a cautionary gambler's story with a twist. And 'The Meaning of Fimfárum' pits the Devil and a water spirit in league against an incontinent old king's corrupt footman and the philandering young wife of a downtrodden blacksmith. Wood and clay puppets mix with colourful hand-drawn animation, rowdy hi-jinks with black comedy and a flair for comeuppances. The whole thing feels gloriously timeless.