Originally produced in the Czech language, the animated film is set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in Prague. Following the symbolism of the Cold War era that impacted Barta and the Czech Republic, the world of the attic is divided into the land of happy toys in the West and the land of evil in the East. The despotic Head of State rules over the evil empire of the East with a band of sinister minions, insects and rotted vegetables. When the lovely Buttercup is kidnapped and held prisoner by The Head, it is up to her friends - a teddy bear (Whitaker), a mechanical mouse (Cusack) and marionette puppet (Elwes) - to cross the international boundary and attempt their daring rescue.