I first saw this film on TV about ten years ago. I started watching it almost by mistake, having heard nothing about Karel Zeman at the time.I was immediately drawn into it by the beauty of its visuals, the way the animation flowed, the wonderful story. I was lucky enough to watch it in its original language(Czech) the first time I saw it, but I later saw it in Spanish and in English and it was just as beautiful and technically astonishing.
Its a film that I would recommend to viewers of all ages. One of the most charming films I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be easily available(nor are any of Zeman's other films...shame).
I think the only thing one can do is order it on Japanese DVD from amazon.ja for example. Let's hope this fantastic filmmaker's work gets released on more reasonably priced DVDs in the near future.
