Fantadroms

Directed by Ansis Bērziņš

Fantadroms is a Latvian children's sci-fi cartoon by production company Studio Dauka. The shorts were released sporadically between 1985 and 1995, and all thirteen of them were released as a collection on DVD in 2006. The hero of the cartoon is a yellow shape-shifting robot called Indrikis XIII, who usually takes the form of a cat. He flies through space, mediating various disputes between the other characters. One recurring dynamic in the show is the love triangle between Indrikis XIII and Receklite - the flying purple cat-octopus with whom he is in love with, and the rat – who is in love with Indrikis. Other recurring characters include a cow, a (human) woman, and an amorphous pink blob. The short "Salt" won the Lielais Kristaps award for best animation in 1985. The animation has no dialogue and drama unfolds through pantomime and expressive noises such as grunts, groans, and laughter, which allows the show to cross language barriers.