How a tailor stole a feather from the devil ... or a good old story. My knowledge of Czech cinema is limited to good old comedies like Lemonade Joe and the same kind of fairy tales that Barrandov produced as a child.
However, I will not discover America by saying that The Magic Pen did not go too far from its predecessors, both ideologically and stylistically.
This is a pure fairy tale that took a couple of moves from folk tales (with the addition of author fiction, of course). For example, a plot about how a greedy and evil hero steals magical things from a good simpleton, and how a positive character needs to return them.
Only the authors slightly corrected the plot, and the villain is a cunning but lazy tailor (dreaming to find a treasure and marry the daughter of the innkeeper), and the traits of Boniface become a positive klutz, which Lucifer sends to take to one of the hell offices a magical feather recording all the sins of people.
Boniface very much reminded me of another character in the Czech fairy tale The Robber and Princess - the son of the leader of the robbers Lotrando, who, despite his father's desire to never live honestly, still remained a very sweet and naive young man.
And all the other inhabitants of hell are shown here, not demonic insects, but quite human beings who like to drink beer, scorch songs, and wear terrible costumes with horns and tails only when they go to earth to catch sinners.
And, of course, where Czech fairy tales without songs (I have never seen one without musical accompaniment, although I have not seen very much). In this case, the picture is mostly decorated with dinner songs.
On the way out, everything looks very cute, ironic and fascinating. Although the picture is designed rather for a certain circle of fans, but they will not regret it.
Everyone else can watch for familiarization (younger viewers, accustomed to dynamics and special effects, may not like).
7 out of 10