The Molepire

Curious mole Tonda spends his days inventing a device that would allow him to see the world from above. Digging his way back home, after spending yet another day testing his invention, he finds a wooden box with a toothy winged being Emilka in it. The two share a common desire: discover the world and find a friend. Two creatures, the mole and the vampire, outsiders from different worlds not only help each other fulfill their dreams, they even become blood-bonded for life.

Director’s statement
I remember helping my grandmother as a child to place mole-deterrent devices around the garden, and how I would refuse in tears to flatten molehills. It seemed absolutely wrong to destroy the little earthen mounds that a small, defenceless creature had built simply because it wanted to see what it looked like above ground. The main character of our series The Molepire (26 episodes × 7 minutes) is a mole named Tonda, whose dream is to leave behind his dark and lonely life underground and finally experience the freedom the world above has to offer: freedom in the form of light, warmth, open space. He is fascinated by the human objects he finds while digging his burrows and tunnels; he collects them and, together with his friend a firefly, uses them to build all kinds of inventions, the most important of which is a pair of artificial wings.
Tonda finds an unlikely friend in another outsider, a little bat named Emilie. She is freed thanks to his curiosity alone, after Tonda opens her small coffin-like box — because Emilie is, in fact, a vampire! It turns out that, just like him, she longs for a friend, and that she can help Tonda in ways that aren´t immediately obvious. The story of each episode is built around the experience of adventure and the exploration of themes we consider essential: courage, friendship, equality, understanding, and kindness. We want children (and adults!) to share in stories that are exciting, but also warm and funny. My great inspiration in this regard is Bluey, a series I often looked forward to watching more than my son did.
I´m very glad that the visual side of our project is led by Bára Anna Stejskalová, whose acclaimed puppet film Love is just Death Away is aimed at a more adult audience, but in its story of endearing puppets set against the uncomfortable backdrop of a rubbish dump, it resonates in its own way with our themes as well. We are considering using a combination of 2D and 3D animation, so that we can work with a shift in visual style to underscore the two worlds, above and below ground, naturally with a generous dose of charming stylisation. The Molepire is, at its heart, a series about friendship, but at its core lie further themes: that our outward differences don´t mean we have nothing in common, and that even if we seem frightening on the outside, we can be good at heart. Also, that we should be brave and curious, and above all, that however wild our dreams may seem, they never have to be out of reach.