Karel Zeman
Karel Zeman was a Czech film director, artist, production designer and animator, best known for directing fantasy films combining liveaction footage with animation. Because of his creative use of special effects and animation in his films, he has often been called the Czech Mlis.
Zeman was born on November 3, 1910, in Ostrom in what was then AustriaHungary. At his parents insistence, he studied business at high school in Koln. In the 1920s, he studied at a French advertising school, and worked at an advertising studio in Marseilles until 1936. It was in France that he first worked with animation, filming an ad for soap. He then returned to his home country , after visiting Egypt, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Back in Czechoslovakia, Zeman advertised for Czech firms like Baa and Tatra. In 1939 he attempted to make an extended stay in Casablanca, but was barred by the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia established by Nazi Germany unable to get the necessary papers in time, Zeman was required to remain in his home country during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia.
Source: Wikipedia