- Former advertising man, window dresser and poster designer who became a noted pioneer of cinematic live action and animation techniques. From 1955, he produced a series of short fantasy and science-fiction films, which were celebrated for their visual artistry and influenced such later film makers as Terry Gilliam.
- Father of Czech-Canadian artist, animator, and children's book author/illustrator Ludmila Zeman.
- In Prague, Czech Republic there is the Karel Zeman Museum, there you can learn about the man and how he created his special effects for the movies he was involved in.
- For his early studies of animation, he borrowed a release print of an American Felix the Cat cartoon from a local cinema and examined individual frames with a magnifying glass.
- More than 60 years later, his "Invention for Destruction" (1958) (U.S.: "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne" (1961)) remains the most successful Czech motion picture internationally.
- As a young student, he showed a talent for drawing. His teachers recommended that he attend art school. His stepfather insisted that he attend business school instead.
- His "A Christmas Dream" (1946) became the first film to win the award for Best Animated Short at the first annual Cannes Film Festival.
- The very prolific composer, Zdenek Liska, who scored some of his films, was his next door neighbor.
- His name is pronounced "Kah-rehl Zeh-mahn".
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