Does the Early Bird Catch the Worm

This sci-fi comedy that toys with the idea of human cloning stands out among the children’s films made by Drahomíra Králová. The narrative of Kam doskáče ranní ptáče (Does the Early Bird Catch the Worm, 1986) has as its main protagonist 12 year-old Pavel, the clever though somewhat lazy and disobedient son of an assistant at a research institute. Pavel steals a piece of artificial tissue from the laboratory of his mum’s superior, the lecturer Trčka. During a night-time storm the tissue transforms into a clone of the boy. As the disposition of the clone is determined by the momentary mood of the organism, a kindly Pavel II and an unruly Pavel III are created. The fertile idea, unwittingly predating Harold Ramis’ similarly themed comedy Multiplicity (Jako vejce vejci, 1996), provided the script’s authors with an opportunity to stress the moral message of Pavel’s reformation. The director cast twins Pavel and Luboš Musil in the triple-lead role. The adult parts were played by Jiří Ornest (Trčka) and Lenka Termerová (Pavel’s mum), among others.