Lapitch the Little Shoemaker

Not to be confused with Lapitch the Little Shoemaker (TV series).

Lapitch the Little Shoemaker
English edition logo
Directed byMilan Blažeković
Written byMilan Blažeković
Pajo Kanižaj
Ivo Škrabalo
English adaptation:
Alan Shearman
Based onThe Brave Adventures of Lapitch
by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić
Produced byŽeljko Zima
International version:
Steffen Diebold
StarringIvan Gudeljević
Maja Rožman
Tarik Filipović
Pero Juričić
Relja Bašić
Edited byMirna Supek-Janjić
Music byOriginal version:
Duško Mandić
Srebrna krila
Vladimir Kočiš
English version:
Hermann Weindorf
Production
companies
Croatia Film
International version:
HaffaDiebold
ProSieben
Neptuno Films
Distributed byCroatia:
Croatia Film
Germany:
ProSieben Home Entertainment (VHS)
Release dates
  • 23 June 1997 (1997-06-23) (Croatia)[1]
  • 23 October 1997 (1997-10-23) (Germany)
Running time
75 minutes (English version)
83 minutes (international cut)
CountriesCroatia
Germany
Spain
Canada
LanguagesCroatian
Dutch
English
German
Serbo-Croatian
BudgetDM900,000[2][3]

Lapitch the Little Shoemaker (Croatian: Čudnovate zgode šegrta Hlapića, German: Lapitch der Kleine Schummacher) is a 1997 animated feature that was originally released by Croatia Film. Produced on vintage cel equipment during the early 1990s,[4] this was the third feature from Croatia Film's animation unit and director Milan Blažeković, after The Elm-Chanted Forest (1986) and The Magician's Hat (1990).[5][6]

It is based on The Brave Adventures of Lapitch, a 1913 novel by Croatian author Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić. In this adaptation, all of the characters are animals, and the title character is a mouse, rather than the human character of the original work.[2] As with the book, the film is about a shoemaker's apprentice who leaves the confines of his ill-tempered master, and sets off on an adventure. During his journey, he befriends a circus performer named Gita, and fights against the evil Dirty Rat.

Lapitch remains Croatia's most successful production in terms of viewership,[5][7] and became that country's official selection for the 1997 Academy Awards (in the Best Foreign Language Film category).[8] Its popularity led to the production of a 26-episode television series, also called Lapitch the Little Shoemaker, at the end of the 1990s.[9][10]

In February 2000, it first appeared in North America as the initial entry in Sony Wonder's short-lived "Movie Matinee" video series. The Disney Channel also premiered it on U.S. cable television later that same month.[11]

  1. ^ "Lapitch, der kleine Schuhmacher". FILME von A-Z (in German). Zweitausendeins. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b Marušić, Joško (24 January 2002). "Inozemni štanceraj". Vijenac (in Croatian). Matica hrvatska. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference vjesnik was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Beširević, Natasa S. (31 January 2000). "Dis 281-zanimljivosti" (in Croatian). Croatian Information Centre. Retrieved 10 May 2009. Šegrt Hlapić na Disney Channelu.
  5. ^ a b "CHILDREN'S FILM PROGRAMME". Pula Film Festival. July 2008. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  6. ^ "WORKING PART OF FESTIVAL". NAFF - NEUM ANIMATED FILM FESTIVAL. January 2007. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  7. ^ "Čudnovate zgode šegrta Hlapića" (in Slovenian). SloCartoon. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  8. ^ "44 Countries Hoping for Oscar Nominations" (Press release). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 24 November 1997. Archived from the original on 13 February 1998. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  9. ^ Staff (1 November 1999). "Up next: What's developing in kids' production". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications Inc. Retrieved 5 February 2009. HaffeDiebold [sic] and Croatia Film let Lapitch loose
  10. ^ Buterin, Antun Krešimir (5 December 1999). "Scenarij za seriju o našem šegrtu Hlapiću rade Britanci, a crtaju ga Koreanci!" (in Croatian). Vjesnik d.d. Archived from the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  11. ^ McCormick, Moira (5 February 2000). "Child's Play: 'Cinderelmo' Gets Royal Treatment From Sony Wonder". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media (via AllBusiness.com). Retrieved 2 March 2009.