''The Two Who Stole the Moon'' ( pl, O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc) is a 1962 Polish children's film based on

Kornel Makuszyński Kornel Makuszyński (; 8 January 1884 – 31 July 1953) was a Polish writer of children's and youth literature. Dorota Piasecka. ''Proza Kornela Makuszyńskiego dla młodego odbiorcy: zarys problematyki''. PWN. 1984. pp. 11, 34. He was an elected ...

's 1928 story of the same name. Despite having been known to Polish children for many generations, the film gained renewed fame in the 2000s for starring two of the country's future leaders:

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he pre ...

, who served as

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

from 2005 until his death in a 2010 plane crash, and his identical twin brother

Jarosław Kaczyński Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (; born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician who is currently serving as leader of the Law and Justice party (known by its Polish acronym PiS), which he co-founded in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, ...

,Twins who stole the Moon are poised to run away with Poland – Telegraph
/ref> the

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

from 2006 to 2007, Chief of Office of the President of Poland from 1990 to 1991, and current chairman of the Law and Justice party. The twins were thirteen at the time.

Plot

The two twins, Jacek and Placek, start out as cruel and lazy boys whose main interest is eating, eating anything, including chalk and a sponge in school. One day they have the idea of stealing the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

; after all, it is made of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

. : "If we steal the moon, we would not have to work" : "But we do not work now, either..." : "But then we would not have to work ''at all''". After a few small adventures, they manage to steal the Moon. Immediately a gang of robbers notices the little thieves and captures them. The two regain their freedom, and one of the twins devises a plan to enter the "City of Gold". The plan works, but when the robbers try to collect the gold, they turn into gold themselves. The twins escape and then run home and promise to help their parents with their work as farmers. An animated version of the film was also produced in 1984, with virtually the same plot. The musical track from the 1984 animated film includes music by the popular Polish rock group

Lady Pank Lady Pank is a popular Polish rock band, started in 1981 in Wrocław by Jan Borysewicz and Andrzej Mogielnicki. One of the most popular groups in history of Polish rock. Its first hit was ''Mała Lady Punk'' ("Little Lady Punk"). Lady Pank gar ...

. The film has been compared to the Beatles' involvement in ''Yellow Submarine'', as they were both designed to boost said groups' popularity.

Cast

- Jacek *

- Placek * Ludwik Benoit - Wojciech, father of Jacek and Placek *

Helena Grossówna Helena Grossówna (1904, Thorn, German Empire – 1994, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish actress and dancer, who starred in several popular Polish films during the interwar period. She worked as a waitress during the German occupation of Poland, a ...

- mother of Jacek and Placek * Janusz Strachocki - mayor of Zapiecek * Tadeusz Woźniak - teacher in Zapiecek *

Janusz Kłosiński Janusz Kłosiński (19 November 1920 – 8 November 2017) was a Polish film and theatre actor. Biography In 1948 he graduated from The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, which was located in his hometown of Łód� ...

- Mortadella * Wacław Kowalski * Henryk Modrzewski - Tailor of Zapiecek *

Bronisław Darski Bronisław (feminine: Bronisława) is a Polish name of Slavic origin meaning ''broni'' (to protect, to defend) and ''sława'' (glory, fame). The name may refer to: People * Bronislava of Poland, a 13th-century nun who was beatified in 1839 * Bro ...

- Barnaba * Stanisław Tylczyński * Janusz Ziejewski * Włodzimierz Skoczylas *

Tadeusz Schmidt Tadeusz Schmidt (14 November 1920 – 10 May 1976) was a Polish film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1942 and 1976. Selected filmography * '' The Two Who Stole the Moon'' (1962) * ''Potem nastąpi cisza'' (1965) * ''Wester ...

Ryszard Ronczewski Ryszard Ronczewski (27 June 1930 – 17 October 2020) was a Polish actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1954 to 2021 (the premiere of '' The Wedding'' occurred a few months after his death). Ronczewski died from COVID-19 on 17 Octo ...

- Robber "Rozporek"

References

External links

*
FilmWebStopklatka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Two Who Stole The Moon 1962 films Polish children's films Films based on children's books Films about twin brothers Moon in film 1960s Polish-language films Films based on fairy tales 1960s children's films