Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    EmmysSuperheroes GuideSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideBest Of 2025 So FarDisability Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
8 suggestions available
Watchlist
Sign in
Sign in
New customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Jirí Trnka(1912-1969)

  • Writer
  • Director
  • Art Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Jirí Trnka
A graduate of Prague's School of Arts and Crafts, in 1936 he created a puppet theater, which was disbanded after the outbreak of WWII. During the war he designed stage sets and illustrated children's books. In 1945 he set up an animation unit with several collaborators at the Prague film studio; they called the unit "Trick Brothers." Trnka specialized in puppet animation, a traditional Czech art form, of which he became the undisputed master. He also created animated cartoons, but it was his puppet animation that made him an internationally recognized artist and the winner of film festival awards at Venice and elsewhere. He wrote the scripts for most of his own films.
BornFebruary 24, 1912
DiedDecember 30, 1969(57)
BornFebruary 24, 1912
DiedDecember 30, 1969(57)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
    • 4 wins & 3 nominations total

Photos1

View Poster

Known for

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1959)
A Midsummer Night's Dream
7.2
  • Writer
  • 1959
The Czech Year (1947)
The Czech Year
7.1
  • Writer
  • 1947
Bajaja (1951)
Bajaja
6.7
  • Writer
  • 1951
Zvírátka a petrovstí
6.0
Short
  • Writer
  • 1946

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer



  • The Emperor's Nightingale (1949)
    The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka
    7.6
    Video
    • Writer
    • 2000
  • Velryba - Abyrlev
    7.4
    Short
    • novel "Garden"
    • 1977
  • O mysích ve staniolu
    7.5
    Short
    • novel "Garden"
    • 1976
  • Jak ulovit tygra
    7.8
    Short
    • novel "Garden"
    • 1976
  • O té velké mlze
    7.5
    Short
    • novel "Garden"
    • 1975
  • Milovník zvírat
    7.3
    Short
    • novel "Garden"
    • 1974
  • Archandel Gabriel a paní Husa (1965)
    Archandel Gabriel a paní Husa
    6.3
    Short
    • screenplay
    • 1965
  • The Hand (1965)
    The Hand
    7.9
    Short
    • Writer
    • 1965
  • Treffpunkt Kino
    TV Series
    • ep. 'Die Teufelsmühle'
    • 1964
  • Obsession (1961)
    Obsession
    6.9
    Short
    • Writer
    • 1961
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1959)
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    7.2
    • writer
    • 1959
  • Cirkus Hurvínek (1955)
    Cirkus Hurvínek
    6.6
    Short
    • Writer
    • 1955
  • The Good Soldier Schweik (1954)
    The Good Soldier Schweik
    7.4
    • Writer
    • 1954
  • Kutasek a Kutilka - Jak rano vstavali (1954)
    Kutasek a Kutilka - Jak rano vstavali
    5.9
    Short
    • screenplay
    • 1954
  • Two Little Frosts
    7.3
    Short
    • adapted from a Slavic fairy tale by
    • screenplay
    • 1953

Director



  • The Emperor's Nightingale (1949)
    The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka
    7.6
    Video
    • segment director
    • 2000
  • Archandel Gabriel a paní Husa (1965)
    Archandel Gabriel a paní Husa
    6.3
    Short
    • Director
    • 1965
  • The Hand (1965)
    The Hand
    7.9
    Short
    • Director
    • 1965
  • Treffpunkt Kino
    TV Series
    • Director (ep. 'Die Teufelsmühle')
    • 1964
  • Kybernetická babicka (1962)
    Kybernetická babicka
    7.3
    Short
    • Director
    • 1962
  • Obsession (1961)
    Obsession
    6.9
    Short
    • Director
    • 1961
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1959)
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    7.2
    • Director
    • 1959
  • Song of the Prairie (1949)
    Story of the Bass Cello
    6.5
    Short
    • Director
    • 1956
  • Cirkus Hurvínek (1955)
    Cirkus Hurvínek
    6.6
    Short
    • Director
    • 1955
  • The Good Soldier Schweik (1954)
    The Good Soldier Schweik
    7.4
    • Director
    • 1954
  • Kutasek a Kutilka - Jak rano vstavali (1954)
    Kutasek a Kutilka - Jak rano vstavali
    5.9
    Short
    • Director
    • 1954
  • Two Little Frosts
    7.3
    Short
    • Director
    • 1953
  • Old Czech Legends (1953)
    Old Czech Legends
    7.2
    • Director
    • 1953
  • Song of the Prairie (1949)
    The Merry Circus
    6.1
    Short
    • Director
    • 1951
  • The Golden Fish (1951)
    The Golden Fish
    6.9
    Short
    • Director
    • 1951

Art Director



  • Blaho lásky
    6.6
    Short
    • Art Director
    • 1966
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1959)
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    7.2
    • Art Director
    • 1959
  • Jan Hus (1955)
    Jan Hus
    7.0
    • Art Director
    • 1955
  • A Drop Too Much (1954)
    A Drop Too Much
    6.9
    Short
    • Art Director
    • 1954
  • Bajaja (1951)
    Bajaja
    6.7
    • Art Director
    • 1951
  • The Emperor's Nightingale (1949)
    The Emperor's Nightingale
    6.7
    • Art Director
    • 1949
  • The Czech Year (1947)
    The Czech Year
    7.1
    • Art Director
    • 1947
  • The Chimney Sweep (1946)
    The Chimney Sweep
    6.7
    Short
    • Art Director
    • 1946
  • Dárek (1946)
    Dárek
    5.6
    Short
    • Art Director
    • 1946
  • Zasadil dedek repu
    6.5
    Short
    • Art Director
    • 1945

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • February 24, 1912
    • Pilsen, Austria-Hungary [now Plzen, Czech Republic]
  • Died
    • December 30, 1969
    • Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic](heart trouble)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    His name is pronounced "Yih-rzhee Trn-kah".
  • Nickname
    • Walt Disney of Central Europe

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Production art
Photos
Hollywood Power Couples
See the gallery
Production art
List
July 2025 TV and Streaming Premiere Dates
See the list

User lists

Related lists from IMDb users
Create a list
Directors of Animated films
created 12 years ago • 27 people
Jirí Trnka
Filmmakers - 1st Tier
created 11 years ago • 31 people
Victor Sjöström in Wild Strawberries (1957)
Experimental Directors
created 3 months ago • 50 people
Jonas Mekas in In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2001)
Distinguished Figures in the World of Animation
created 5 years ago • 40 people
Gene Deitch in DVTV (2014)
Directors
created 3 years ago • 461 people
Leni Riefenstahl "S.O.S. Iceberg (Germany) 1933 Universal
Directors
created 1 year ago • 3 people
Jirí Trnka

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Demo reel thumbnail
Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel
Demo reel thumbnail

How much have you rated?

Keep track of how much of Jirí Trnka’s work you have rated. Go to your list.
Poster
List
Most Popular Indian Movies of 2025 So Far
See the list

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb App
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.