Director Jan Tománek reflects on sudden popularity of 'Goat Story' online

Jan Tománek, the writer-director of Goat Story, an independent animated film from the Czech Republic, recently discussed the film and its unexpected popularity. 

Goat Story, released in 2008, tells the story of a Czech peasant named Jemmy who falls in love with the main female character, Katie (Máca in Czech). Katie is portrayed as a stylized image of a Czech girl, embodying the expression "blood and milk," which describes rosy-cheeked country girls in Czech culture.

Tománek addressed the controversy surrounding Katie's character design, particularly her exaggerated chest. Speaking to Variety, he pointed out the hypocrisy of people having an issue with this stylization while accepting exaggerated features like a big nose in animated characters. 

Despite the absence of violence in Goat Story, the film received a PG-13 rating in America due to Katie's appearance, while violence seems to have a different acceptance level.

The film was a labor of love for Tománek, who spent over five years working on each of the two Goat Story films with a small team of about 15 3D graphics and animators. 

He wrote the script, directed the films, and did the artwork himself. The films received positive reception in the Czech Republic, becoming the most successful animated films in the country's history, with over 350,000 people watching them in cinemas. However, the films also divided the audience, with some loving them and others hating them, similar to the current online reactions.

The recent resurgence of interest in Goat Story and Katie seems to be primarily an American YouTube fad, with users creating memes and gifs inspired by the character. 

Tománek stated that he is not involved in the Generation Z gay community, which appears to particularly enjoy using Katie gifs, so he cannot provide insights into their motivations.

Goat Story had a sequel titled Goat Story 2: With Cheese, which was released in 2012 with a smaller audience in mind. However, Tománek acknowledges that the landscape of cinema and society has changed significantly since then, making it uncertain whether a Goat Story 3 will happen.