Goat Story

Did You Know?

• The film won the main prize at the 2010 Buenos Aires International Children's Film Festival.
• The film appeared on the cover of the March 2008 edition of American publication Animation.
• In 2015, the producers uploaded both Goat Story and its sequel on YouTube for free.

Plot

The story takes place in Prague during the reign of Charles IV, when the Charles Bridge and Prague Astronomical Clock were still undergoing construction. A villager named Jemmy arrives from the countryside with his goat. A poor student named Matthew arrives in Prague to study with Master Hanuš. Jemmy and his goat stay to work on the bridge, where Jemmy meets Katie for the first time and immediately falls in love with her.

Katie is a city girl who supplies forged nails for the bridge's construction. Jemmy ends up causing the scaffolding on a side of the bridge to fall due to his carving of a statue of Katie from a support beam, and he and his goat are banned by the workers. Master Hanuš looks for sculptors and carvers for the Astronomical Clock statues, catches a glimpse of Jemmy, and is interested in his natural woodcarving talent. Matthew, ridiculed by other students for his poverty, studies with Master Hanuš, gains his teacher's trust, and oversees the plans of the Astronomical Clock.

Having nowhere to sleep, Matthew finds the Faust House in Prague, already abandoned. Thanks to his classmates' frequent ridicule, Matthew picks up a grey tolar in Faust's house to pay for drinks and fit in, but they deceive him and destroy the plans to the Astronomical Clock while unguarded. Matthew gives the ruined plans back to Master Hanuš. The Prague councillors discover the damaged plans and demand punishment; Matthew is placed in a pillory for one day.

He plans to take revenge on Master Hanuš. When Master Hanuš and Jemmy finally complete the Astronomical Clock, they get no respect or recognition. The Chinese government asks Master Hanuš to make an Astronomical Clock in their city too. Matthew witnesses this discussion and signs a contract with Satan.

He writes a letter to Prague councillors explaining that Hanuš is a traitor. The mayor entrusts executioner Mydlář to cut out Hanuš's eyes. Hanuš takes revenge by ruining his own astronomical clock, sabotaging the gears. Jemmy, as his assistant, is commissioned to fix the clock under Katie's threat of being executed if he fails.

Jemmy fixes the clock at the last minute but arrives at the gallows too late, and Katie has been hanged. Jemmy prays in a church for Katie to return, and she enters the church. It is revealed that Jemmy's goat disguised herself as Katie and was hanged in her place. The goat had an iron tube in her throat, meaning her neck was never snapped and she survived.

Production

Production started in 2003 at Jan Tománek's family Art And Animation studio. Jan Tománek along with David Sláma co-wrote the script. The film budget was just under $3 million, receiving funding from the European Union MEDIA development program, AAA Studio, and various co-producers. David Solař wrote the music. Development, animation, lighting, color and storyboarding were done in Prague, Czech Republic. The Czech distributor was Bontonfilm. Mike Buffo and Jo-Anne Krupa joined the cast to supply the voices of Jemmy and Katy in the English version, produced by Karl Hirsh in 2008. The US sales agent was Phase 4 Films, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but all rights are currently maintained by Art And Animation Studio.

Reception

The film did not fare well with some Czech critics, who criticized it for flat jokes and for being chauvinistic, sexist, and not very suitable for children. Despite this, in 2009 the film was awarded the annual Febiofest Kristián award for Best Animated Film. In 2020, YouTuber Kurtis Conner uploaded a video titled 'This Low-Budget Animated Movie Ruined My Life,' reviewing Goat Story. Following this viral upload, various YouTube creators uploaded their own reviews, bringing modern relevance to the film.

The film grossed $1.3 million in the Czech Republic, becoming the most successful Czech animated film of all time. In summer 2023, snippets from the film began to circulate on foreign internet accounts, especially scenes featuring Katie, often as memes on Twitter and TikTok. What caught internet users' attention was the portrayal of Katie with large breasts and buttocks, as well as the explicitness of nudity and violence. Director Tománek stated to The Hollywood Reporter that his intention was not to sexualize Katie but to embody the Czech term 'krev a mlíko' for a woman with a fuller figure, consistent with the overall exaggerated style of the film.