Animated film sparks craze for plush Kooky teddy bears

Kooky the teddy bear, the hero of Jan Svěrák’s animated film which premiered in Prague in late May has sparked a craze for plush Kooky toys. Twenty-five thousand Kooky toys were put on the market within PR and the original toys are now only available through consumer competitions or at the film’s upcoming international premiere at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The CTK news agency reports that home-made Kooky toys are now being sold on the internet for as much as 1,000 crowns. The film’s Oscar-winning director says he doesn’t mind. If Kooky revived the tradition of home-made toys I can only be happy, he told the daily Lidové noviny. The film tells the story of a boy who imagines that his favorite toy, a red teddy bear named Kooky, goes on an adventurous journey after being tossed out by the boy’s mother.