Surprisingly, one of "the really great Czech animators" was an American left-liberal, Gene Deitch. Deitch had worked for Terrytoons, a U.S. firm in the 1950s that pioneered the move to a simplier animation. However, unlike most of the TV cartoons that adopted this "limited animation" were quite witty and well-done. Disillusioned with the state of U.S. animation, Deitch moved Czechoslavia in the 1960s and has stayed there since. As far as I know, he wasn't a communist, just a U.S. progressive on the Henry Wallace model. His son Kim Deitch is a fine underground/alternative cartoonist, in the tradition of Robert Crumb.
> What about the really great Czech animators? Anybody
> know about their political background?
>
> Thomas