Toys in the Attic

Synopsis

Set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in Prague, this award-winning stop-motion animated feature has been called "An animation masterpiece" (Anima Basuari), and "a diabolically inventive tale that is four parts Toy Story and one part Tim Burton (New York International Children's Film Festival). The setting for the film was inspired by the cultural and political contrast of the Cold War era and its impact on director Jiri Barta and the Czech Republic. The world of the attic is divided into the land of happy toys in the West and the Land of Evil in the East. The despotic Head of State rules over the Land of Evil with a band of sinister minions, insects and rotted vegetables. When the lovely Buttercup (Vivian Schilling) is kidnapped and held prisoner by The Head (Jiri Labus, with voice by Douglas Urbanski), it is up to her friends--a teddy bear (Forest Whitaker), a mechanical mouse (Joan Cusack) and marionette puppet (Cary Elwes)--to cross the international boundary and attempt their daring rescue.