Journey to the Beginning of Time

Four boys are interested in the history of a petrified animal world. One of the boys (Yirka) saw an imprint from some kind of sea animal, but does not know what kind of creature it is and what time it lived on Earth. In order to sort things out, his three senior comrades (Peter, Tonic, Enda) go by boat on the river, which leads them to the cave .

But the river leads them first to the most recent ice age . The further they move along the river, the more they get into the more ancient period of the Earth’s history. As they travel in each era, they meet different animals and see plants that existed in a particular era. Finally, they fall into the Silurian period , when there was an ancient primitive sea. There Jirka saw a living trilobite .

• During the journey, children on the way met various Animals from different Epochs.
• I. Animals of the Ice Age.
• 1. Woolly mammoth - a huge Proboscis Mammal, covered with wool, met by the main characters in the Ice Age zone. The mammoth was the very first Beast encountered by the heroes during the journey.
• 2. Woolly Rhino. A couple of individuals were seen by heroes on the opposite bank during a duel for the territory. At the end of the battle, one Rhino pushed another into the River.
• 3. Prehistoric Bison. Several individuals are met by Tonic in the Forest when they briefly separate from their Friends.
• 4. Megaloceros (Bolserogoroy Deer). Friends find his horns in a cave of a primitive hunter. Animal itself does not appear in the film.
• 5. Primitive People are our Ancient Ancestors. The people themselves do not appear in the film, but the heroes find their cave, weapons and cave paintings. The tonic briefly separates from the Friends and falls into the trap of hunters, from where it gets out so dirty that the rest take it for the Primeval Man.
• II. Animals of the Tertiary period.
• 1. Palelodus - Prehistoric Birds similar to modern Flamingos. A whole flock is visible on the River Bank in the area of ​​the Tertiary Period, when the main characters swam past.
• 2. Ancient gazelles. A herd of these Animals sweeps along the Shore in the Tertiary period.
• 3. Ancient Giraffes. There are at least two varieties. The first is similar to the Modern Giraffe. The second seems to be the Paleotragus.
• 4. Deinotherium - Ancient Proboscis, different from modern Elephants in that its tusks grow from the lower jaw. The film is called the Prehistoric Elephant.
• 5. Mahairod - Sabretooth Cat the size of a modern Lion. The film is called Sabretooth Tiger. Peter says that it was one of the most dangerous Predators of the Tertiary Period.
• 6. Hipparions - Prehistoric relatives of Horses the size of a Donkey. A small herd sweeps against the sunset.
• 7. Tree Snake - Peter meets her during the search for Yirka.
• 8. Prehistoric Vultures. A small flock can be seen circling in Heaven, not far from the River. One individual sitting on the Tree is met by Tonic and Enda during the search for Yirka.
• 9. The Big Carp. This fish was caught by Yirk on a homemade bait when he separated from the group.
• 10. Diplocinodons - Prehistoric Crocodiles. A small group swims up at night to the boat of the main characters. Peter drives the Reptiles away with the help of a lantern, and the Reptiles swim away, frightened by the light that they have not seen before.
• 11. Winthater - a Rhino-like Mammal with six horns. The guys notice the animal in the thicket. Having learned the Name of the Beast, Friends chuckle a little at him, but Peter says that such a name is absolutely normal, since the Names of Animals are given only in Latin or Greek, and that in their Language he would be called differently.
• 12. Fossil Jaguar. Looks like his modern Relative. Tries to attack Yirka, but Tonic and Enda distract him with burning branches. It is noteworthy that the Heroes met the Jaguar in the zone of the Tertiary Period, although in fact the Jaguars on the Planet appeared much later.
• 13. Fororakos is a non-flying predatory bird with a hooked beak and long legs. Peter stumbles upon her during the meal. The bird runs after him, but Peter manages to get to the River and return to the boat.
• 14. Macrauchenia - A herbivorous Mammal similar to a Camel, with only a small proboscis instead of a normal nose. The carcass of this Animal was eaten by Fororakos during a meeting with Peter.
• III. Animals of the Mesozoic Era.
• 1. Prehistoric Turtles. The first Animals met by the Children in the zone of the Mesozoic Era.
• 2. Pteranodons - Flying Lizards or Pterosaurs. They attacked the heroes from the Air to check what they were like, and then flew away. Jirka jokingly called them Prehistoric Aircraft.
• 3. Styracosaurus - a horned herbivorous dinosaur from the ceratopsids family. He was the first dinosaur met by heroes in the zone of the Mesozoic Era.
• 4. Stenonychosaurs (Troodons) - small Carnivorous Dinosaurs with big eyes. A couple of individuals catch a glimpse of the background in the zone of the Mesozoic Era.
• 5. Trachodon (Edontosaurus) - The herbivorous Platypus Dinosaur. One individual is found on the Children on the Beach, the other feeds on Algae in the River. Peter says that such an Animal is easier to draw than to describe.
• 6. Brontosaurus (Apatosaurus) - The herbivorous long-necked Dinosaur, the largest Animal encountered during the Journey. Out of curiosity, the Brontosaurus plunges into Water and floats behind the Heroes. Frightened that he would damage the boat, the guys take the oars and sail away. Peter observes that he is big and strong, but very stupid.
• 7. Stegosaurus - A herbivorous dinosaur with plates on its back and spikes at the end of its tail. Meets Heroes twice. For the first time while walking along the Shore. The second time during the Battle of the Ceratosaurus, from which it emerges victorious, but later dies from the wounds received in the battle. The guys swim to his body in a boat to study him. Yirka is very sorry for him.
• 8. Ceratosaurus - A medium-sized Carnivorous Dinosaur with two horns above the eyes and one on the nose. It is first encountered by the guys during the battle with Stegosaurus, which it loses after receiving wounds in the stomach. Later, behind the scenes, it destroys the boat of the main characters, while they examined the dead Stegosaurus. After that, the guys decide to make a raft.
• IV. Animals of the Carboniferous Period.
• 1. Branchiosaurus - a small Amphibian, similar to Triton. Swims under the feet of Yirki.
• 2. Oiderpeton - Amphibian, similar to a Snake. Swims under the feet of Yirki.
• 3. Meganevre - A giant dragonfly the size of an eagle. Yirka tried to catch her when he separated from the group.
• 4. Soledonzavr - transitional link between Amphibians and Reptiles. When Peter lost the Travel Diary, Yirka tried to return it, but collided with Soledonzavr. Shouting a little at the Beast, Yirka still managed to put him on the run to get to the Diary.
• V. Animals of the Silurian Period.
• 1. Bivalves. Guys find their shells on the Shore of the Silurian Sea.
• 2. Trilobite - Primitive Arthropod living in the Sea. It is the plot of the entire film. Finding the petrified Trilobite, Jirka was very interested in these Animals and he really wanted to find the Alive, for which he went on a Journey with the rest. At the end of the film, Yirka finds him and is very glad that he has two Trilobites in his hands, one Petrified, and the second Alive.

• State Clement Gottwald Prize in 1953
• Grand Prix for a children's film at the 1955 IFF in Venice
• 1955 IFF Honorary Diploma in Edinburgh
• Criticism Award at the 1955 IFF in Mannheim
• "Gold Medal" for the best children's film in Moscow in 1957

• Original version
  • Joseph Lukash - Peter (Doc)
  • Vladimir Beiv - Jirka (Jo-Jo)
  • Peter Gerrman - Tonic (Tony)
  • Zdenek Gustak - Enda (Ben)
• American version
  • Victor Betral - Joy / Jo-Jo
  • Charles Goldsmith - Ben
  • James Lucas - Doc

• Script writers: Karel Zeman, Josef Novotny
• Stage Director: Karel Zeman
• Operators: Vaclav Pazdernik, Antonin Gorak
• Artists: Karel Zeman, Zdenek Rozkopal , Ivo Mrazek, Zdenek Ostril, Karel Cerny , Maria Mazurkova
• Animators : Karel Zeman, Arnosht Kupchik, Frantisek Kurchmar, Indřich Lishka
• Assistant Director: Vladimir Svitachek
• Sound Engineer: Zdenek Lishka
• Sound Engineer: Frantisek Strangmüller
• Composer: Emil Burian
• Cinema Symphony Orchestra
  • Conductor: Cute Uzelats
• Installation: Zdenek Steglik
• Consultant: Joseph Augusta
• Producers: Antonin Drvota, Karel Hutechka ^{[4] [5]}

•   Cesta Do Praveku, Cesta do pravěku
•   Journey to the Beginning of Time, Journey to Prehistory
•   Journey to the beginning of time, Journey to prehistoric times, Journey to primitive times, Extraordinary journey
•   Voyage dans la préhistoire, Voyage dans les temps préhistoriques
•   Reise in die Urzeit, Reise in die Urwelt
•   Die reise in die urzeit
•   Wyprawa w przyszlosc
•   Ihmemaailman salaisuudet

• The Mystery of the Back Cap Island
• Dinosaur movie list

• A Journey to the Beginning of Time on the Internet Movie Database
• Images from the film (German)
• Movie Review
• A journey to the beginning of time on Youtube