Czech star the "Little Mole" makes a comeback in July
BEIJING, July 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The cartoon, "The Mole", is now returning to Chinese TV screens this month to meet its old fans and greet new audiences. More than 10 years after its first airing in China, CCTV is once again presenting "The Mole", a programme that epitomises the Czech classic children's literature tradition and introduces a funny and lyrical style to Chinese audiences.
On 13th July, Home Credit China donated this cartoon to Chinese children through CCTV. Home Credit China, a company which also originates from the Czech Republic, purchased the broadcasting rights for a period of 12 months and handed them over to CCTV at a grand ceremony at its headquarters. The First lady of the Czech Republic, Mrs. Livia Klausova, the Czech ambassador to China, representatives of Home Credit Group, and executives of CCTV witnessed the glorious return of the cartoon star "The Mole" at the ceremony. Home Credit's effort to bring the cartoon to China was vastly supported by the Czech-Sino Chamber of Mutual Cooperation, a Czech non-government organisation, founded by the Czech and Chinese corporations and individuals to promote friendly ties between the two nations. Through the efforts of Home Credit Group and Huawei over the last eighteen months, this non-profit entity has come to fruition. The return of the cartoon "The Mole" to China reflects the efforts of Home Credit China, as a Chamber member, to boost the relationship between the two countries through cultural exchange.
About The Mole
Accompanied by upbeat and amusing background music, a pile of black earth appears on the ground, and a charmingly naive little mole pops its head up to start its adventure in an ancient forest with friends. The renowned animation masterpiece, The Little Mole, is still loved by many parents and children because it brings them tremendous joy and warmth, and more importantly, its peaceful and friendly approach influences children's personalities in a positive way. Children are encouraged to be polite to each other and to take an optimistic attitude to life. As an ordinary but amiable cartoon 'hero', Little Mole has successfully distinguished itself from the mainstream US animation productions that are full of violent elements and flashy characters.
For post-1980s Chinese TV viewers, the tender story of this round-headed Little Mole accompanied them through their childhood. Today, many young parents wear happy smiles on their face whenever they talk of this Czech cartoon. Those young parents say, "'The Mole' was one of my favourite cartoons when I was a child, and many stories are educational, so I have given it to my daughter as a present." Another Little Mole fan also says, "'The Mole' was broadcast on CCTV when we were small." Most of the stories were created in the 1980s but Little Mole's history dates back to 1957 and the last part of the cartoon series was finished in 2002.
This world-class classic animation, created by Czech animator Zdenek Miler and produced by the Czech Studio "Bratri v triku", has attracted a great number of fans since it was introduced by CCTV in the 1980s. It features an elegant and natural painting style, lively and amusing cartoon images, as well as optimistic and progressive life sentiments, which have positively influenced several generations of children - and not just in the Czech Republic where it was created.
Little Mole, a goodwill messenger of China and theCzech Republic
Created half a century ago in the Czech Republic, the "Little Mole" is small but its fame is great. Series products starring Little Mole are also best-sellers all over the world. In addition to a series of cartoons, books on Little Mole have also been published in over 15 countries globally in over 40 different languages. Millions of the Chinese versions of Little Mole books have been sold since 2003.
"Little Mole is more than a simple cartoon character, it represents the essence of Czech culture. While there is no dialogue in the cartoon, the positive and optimistic attitude towards life embodied by Little Mole has won the understanding and affection of audiences from all over the world, which was the original intention of the cartoon's creator," said Michal Skocil, CEO of Home Credit China.
The Home Credit China CEO also commented that the copyright cooperation between CCTV and Home Credit on "The Mole" is symbolic of the company's effort to promote cultural exchange between the two nations. Skocil says, "I'd like to express our thanks to CCTV for providing this important platform. We are ready to further support the Czech-Sino Chamber of Mutual Cooperation in initiating their efforts in different areas including culture, arts and education to help the two nations get to know each other better. Home Credit China will seek more opportunities to contribute to this development of the friendship between the two countries."
The first tale of the series "The Mole" was broadcast on CCTV-1 on the 13th July in front of a live audience. The other tales will follow during the Chinese school holidays ready to build on the enthusiasm and warmth for Little Mole. Let's recollect our happy childhood memories about Little Mole together.
Notes to editors
Home Credit Group ("Group") is a leading mass market consumer finance provider in Europe and Asia, founded in 1997 in the Czech Republic. In selected countries, the Group has been successfully developing retail banking services. The Group employs 28,000 people and has provided services to more than 28 million clients through 86,000 distribution points (as of 31 December 2011). Home Credit Group is currently active in the Czech Republic (since 1997), Slovakia (since 1999), Russian Federation (since 2002), Kazakhstan (since 2005, minority stake), Belarus (since 2007), China (since 2007), Vietnam (since 2009 and India (since 2012). In addition, the Group develops a new operation in Indonesia and explores opportunities to enter other emerging markets in Asia.
More information available at www.homecredit.net.
Home Credit Group is fully owned by PPF Group N.V. ("PPF")*, one of the largest investment and finance groups in Central and Eastern Europe. With approximately EUR 14.36 billion assets under management (as of 31 December 2011), PPF's business investments range from banking and insurance to real estate, energy, metal mining, agriculture and retail. PPF's reach spans from Central and Eastern Europe to Russia and across Asia.
More information available at www.ppf.eu.
* Licensed CFC company in Tianjin, China, and PPF Vietnam Finance Co. Ltd. (Home Credit Vietnam) are owned directly by PPF Group. N.V., other Home Credit companies are owned by Home Credit B.V., which is 100% subsidiary of PPF Group N.V.
Media Contact:
Home Credit Group
David Sahula
Group Communications Manager
Home Credit International, a.s.
Tel: +420-2241-74485
E-mail: david.sahula@homecredit.eu
Home Credit China
Jenny Tang
PR Specialists
Shenzhen Home Credit Financial Service Co., Ltd
Tel: +86-755-21515960 (ext. 2020)
E-mail: jenny.tang@homecredit.cn
PPF Group
Milan Tomanek
Head of Group Communications
PPF a.s.
Tel: +420-2241-74066
E-mail: tomanek@ppf.cz
