Gene Deitch is an American animator/director that has been living and working in Pragu since 1961. I didn't know anything about him until I started doing a little research on Tom and Jerry cartoons, and discovered that after the studio he worked for won an academy award for Munro; ("Jules Ffeiffer's satire of the army and the draft. A little boy named Munro wreaks havoc on the service after being drafted.") they were picked to produce 12 new Tom and Jerry cartoons. This was immediately after Hanna + Barbera were fired from MGM.

The cartoons they produced definitely give off a weird vibe, as it was produced in communist Czechoslovakia by animators who had never watched Tom & Jerry ever. You can identify one of these cartoons by the introduction: "Made in Hollywood, USA" is conspicuously absent. I've probably seen them, (I know I've seen High Steaks) but never conscoiusly noted the difference. Apparently they are in rotation on Cartoon Network.

The site I linked to includes a bunch of interesting stories by him. Especially of interest is his tale about his failed work on an animated version of The Hobbit, before Tolkien became popular. It's an interesting read for a fan of cartoons.

Edit: Crap I misspelled his name, if a mod could switch the I and E I'd be much obliged.