Der Kronprinz

This movie was the surprised of my Christmas time in front of a TV. The pleasant one. It is a very solid Czech fairytale that you will not be disappointed with. The plot is well written and I was pleased most of the time.

The performances are splendid. Specially Krystof Hádek was excellent. It looked like he really enjoyed acting as a baddy. In the movie, you can also see another famous Czech actor Pavel Kríz who acts as his servant. The director, Karel Janák, is famous in Czechia by directing Snowboardáci (2004), a teenage comedy. He already made a few well received fairy tales, like Dvanáct mesícku or Princezna a písar.

There are some scenes are worthy to remember. The first one is the animated intro that introduced the story. Which is not typical for Czech movie fairytales. Then there was a part where the knight tournament is held. It reminded me the scene from a Knight's Tale. It was both adventurous and funny.

The dragon looks extremely believable and I wonder if you will also remember the moment when a good prince cut off its head.

In the movie there is magic used to make one forget everything from one's past. When it happens he or she starts smiling again. I found this interesting from a psychological point of view.

At the end of the movie, there is an unusual situation when the bad wizard forgets his evil past and turns into a nice old man.

To sum it up, if you have chance to see this fairy tale do not miss it.