Kooky (Czech: Kuky se vrací, literally “Kuky returns”, a pun on Lassie se vrací) is a 2010 Czech action comedy film directed by Jan Svěrák. The film combines techniques of puppet animation, stop motion and live action. It tells the story of a six-year-old asthmatic boy whose parents throw him away his favorite toy, an old teddy bear named Kooky. The boy, however, secretly sneaks out of the house at night to retrieve Kooky from the garbage can and bring him back home. Due to that, the boy gets ill. In his feverish dreams, Kooky comes to life in the landfill, escapes into a mysterious forest and begins its journey amongst the rough-and-ready creatures of the forest.
The film was inspired by the works of the Czech sculptor and painter František Skála, who refused to participate in the production. Svěrák offered collaboration on the technical development of puppets and visual effects to Jakub Dvorský from the video game company Amanita Design. The puppets in the film were manipulated by the members of the ensemble Buchty a loutky. During the post-production process, Svěrák and his team concentrated on removing the strings and wires with the help of computer animation. Kooky is technically the most complicated film by Svěrák; it contains three times more visual effects than Dark Blue World, the most expensive Czech film up to that point. In addition to fictional puppet figures, the film makes use of real animals (fox, butterfly, snail, frog etc.)
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