The Strange World of Filemon the Cat (Dziwny świat kota Filemona) and The Adventures of Filemon the Cat (Przygody kota Filemona) are two connected Polish cartoon series from the 1970s and ’80s. The Strange World aired from 1972 to 1974, encompassing 13 nine-minute episodes. It was then followed by The Adventures, from 1977 to 1981, which included 26 episodes, also of about nine minutes each.
The series were made by Se-ma-for Studios, the main Polish animation studio of the era, and was written by Marek Nejman, who wrote a wide range of screenplays and books for children, many of which became very popular in communist Poland.
The series are about two cats, Filemon and Boniface. They lived together in a house in a village with an elderly couple. Filemon is young and naive; Boniface is older and more experienced in the ways of the world. There’s also a small cast of supporting characters—dogs, mice, foxes, even attic monsters. The show is narrated, with one person voicing all the characters.
The series were followed by three short films, with slightly different animation: Filemon and Friends (Filemon i przyjaciele), 1991; Star Cat Filemon (Gwiazdka kota Filemona), 1995; and Easter Cat (Kocia Wielkanoc), 1997.
The two cats are widely beloved in Poland; there are even statues in their honor in Łodz.
Directors: Ludwik Kronic and others
Voice actors: Teresa Sawicka, Barbara Marszałek
Production studio: Se-ma-for
The first episode of The Adventures of Filemon the Cat:
