Today, March 5th, 2021, marks the 10th anniversary of the little mole's flight into space with American astronaut Andrew Feustel onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour's mission STS-134.
The History of Krtek (The Little Mole)
Krtek, or Mole in English, is an animated character in a series of cartoons created by Czech animator Zdeněk Miler.
Miler wanted to create a children's cartoon that had a strong Disney influence by having an animal as the main character. He decided to pick a mole after stumbling over a molehill during a walk. The first film, called "Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel" ("How the mole got his trousers"), was about how Krtek got help from other animals with different skillsets to join efforts and make a pair of pants from scratch. This little film had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1957, where it was awarded two Golden LionsMiler wanted to create a children's cartoon that had a strong Disney influence by having an animal as the main character. He decided to pick a mole after stumbling over a molehill during a walk. The first film, called "Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel" ("How the mole got his trousers"), was about how Krtek got help from other animals with different skillsets to join efforts and make a pair of pants from scratch. This little film had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1957.