Little Gems - Snippets the Mole

Little Gems - The Mole

The Mole by Zdenek Miler

The Mole and the Green Star "The Mole and the Green Star " by Zdenek Miler (Czechoslovakia, 1968)

It is the end of Winter and the Mole pops up out of the ground to see the last snows of Winter melt away. The Mole watches some of the other animals Spring cleaning their burrows and nests and then decides to do some cleaning of his own (not sure if the Mole is male or female). After knocking some earth deep inside his tunnel, a small green shiny gem falls amongst the debris. The Mole thinks it is a fallen star and that it should be placed back high up in the sky.

After some failed attempts with the help of his friends, the rabbit and the birds, a mischievous Magpie offers to help. This birds has designs on the gem and wants it for the nest. The birds soon deal with the bad Magpie but the Mole is still not sure how to get the green gem back up into the sky. Eventually the Moon feels sorry for the Mole and comes down to help. Soon the green gem becomes a sparkling green star shining brightly in the night sky.

"The Mole and the Chewing Gum" by Zdenek Miler (Czechoslovakia, 1969)

Out in the countryside some picnickers have left an awful mess in a nearby field. Little Mole appears out of one of his many tunnels. He investigates all the rubbish that has been left behind and chokes a little on the fumes from the visitor's car. Amongst all the rubbish is some chewing gum and Mole unwisely tries it out. It tastes good but is very sticky.

Soon the Mole finds that he cannot escape from the gum as it has stuck itself firmly to his body. He even enlists the help of the local birds but they are unable to free him. Mole's friend the Mouse appears to lend a helping hand but he too cannot remove the chewing gum.

When they are about to give up hope, a friendly cow appears and chews the gum off the Mole who is overjoyed. The cow then blows some bubbles which startles the birds. Mole and mouse are just glad to be free of the nasty chewing gum and will no doubt never touch the stuff again.

A lovely piece of animation from a great artist. A simple gentle theme for young children to enjoy time and again. My two youngsters love this program even more than the animations of today.