Jankovics’ adaptation of János Vitéz stands as a cultural and technical landmark amongst 70’s animation. The psychedelic, chunkiness of Yellow Submarine meets Hungarian folk art, creating a sublime aesthetic that is simply stunning. There was no way they didn’t smoke a lot of weed when they animated this. As a Hungarian American, I cannot emphasize enough how moving it was to see Kalocsa flowers bounce, stretch, and morph into János and Iluska embracing together on a szűr. It was the most Hungarian thing I’ve ever seen on film.
Jankovics’ adaptation of János Vitéz stands as a cultural and technical landmark amongst 70’s animation. The psychedelic, chunkiness of Yellow Submarine meets Hungarian folk art, creating a sublime aesthetic that is simply stunning. There was no way they didn’t smoke a lot of weed when they animated this. As a Hungarian American, I cannot emphasize enough how moving it was to see Kalocsa flowers bounce, stretch, and morph into János and Iluska embracing together on a szűr. It was the most Hungarian thing I’ve ever seen on film.
