walk. The first film was titled Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel (How the mole got his trousers), which won a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In the beginning, the mole spoke, but Miler wanted his creation to be understood everywhere in the world, so he decided to use his daughters as voice actors, reducing the speech to short non-figurative exclamations in order to express Krtek's feelings and world perception. His daughters were also his test audience, who got to see the films first. Thus, Miler could see whether his message resonated with children. Krtek was a huge success in Czechoslovakia, Eastern Europe, and Germany from the beginning, and today Krtek can be seen in over eighty countries. Works Krtek Other films References External links Krátký Film Praha 1921 births 2011 deaths Czech animators Czech film directors Czech animated film directors Czech animated film producers Czechoslovak film directors People from Kladno People with Guillain–Barré syndrome Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery