Classic tragedy in stop motion about unrequited love and betrayal, in a modern adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s sad tale The Little Mermaid. In these times of overfishing and pollution of the seas the Sea King decides to move to live amongst the humans with his daughters and his mother and they start a fish shop in the heart of the bustling harbour district teeming with people from every corner of the world. The youngest daughter Little has to stay indoors until she’s sixteen. She falls for J.J., owner of a night club where love can be bought, and decides to become human to win his love. He immediately has her on bar duty and she brings him prosperity and wealth but he leaves her unscrupulously and relegates her to kitchen help. However, she can’t summon the courage to sacrifice him and return to her family. A mesmerizing voice over (by well-known Czech actor Oldrich Kaiser) takes you along to the inevitable ending. the delightful visual design and stop motion fits right in the rich tradition of Czech craftmanschip.

This program screened as part of Haff 2016