Category Archives: Russian Animation

Russian Animation: Shareholders

by Editor

This is a cartoon criticism of capitalism by Roman Davydov, from Soyuzmultfilm.  It was made in 1963 and captures the early 1960s better than most American cartoons have.  It’s look at the struggle of an American worker fooled into thinking he’s doing well because he’s a stock owner in his company is very accurate and should speak loudly in today’s circumstances.  The widescreen art looks like it comes straight out of an illustrated magazine advertisement of the time.  The finale with all the race cars and crashes is incredible.  There is an irritating tendency to refer to films like this one as ‘propaganda.’  Why is it so difficult to criticize capitalism in democracies?  Capitalism is simply an economic program and should be under constant criticism and assault from all sides.  There is absolutely nothing about capitalism that should protect it from becoming obsolete.

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Russian Animation: Goodnight Children

by Editor

This is the opening and closing animation for a children’s television show in Russia. It was made by Yuri Norstein who works primarily with pieces of painted paper that he moves to create stop-motion animations unlike any others in the world. This is a beautiful piece that captures the storybook imagination perfectly. It looks damned close to being 3-dimensional. But don’t be fooled – Pixar can’t do this. Only Norstein can. He does it with his fingers. Incredible and brilliant and exquisite.

Shakespeare Animated: The Winter’s Tale

by Editor

Shakespeare: The Animated Tales was a BBC television series of the 1990s that produced 30-minute versions of Shakespeare’s plays with animation done by well-known Russian animators at the Christmasfilms studio. This version of The Winter’s Tale is Shakespeare’s dark comedy about a king’s jealousy run wild.  This little animated version is loaded with gorgeous wintry scenes.

Click the continue reading link for parts 2 and 3.

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Shakespeare Animated: The Tempest

by Editor

Shakespeare: The Animated Tales was a BBC television series of the 1990s that produced 30-minute versions of Shakespeare’s plays with animation done by well-known Russian animators at the Christmasfilms studio. This version of The Tempest from 1992 is a masterpiece. It’s simply one of the best film adaptations of Shakespeare I’ve ever seen. The island setting is wonderfully romantic and diffused. The characters are unbelievably expressive in movement. The voice work is superb. Though the script is pared down to 30 minutes, it preserves the essential fun of Shakespeare’s magical work.

Click the continue reading link for parts 2 and 3.

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Russian Feature Animation: The Lost Letter

by Editor

Here’s a 1945 Russian animated feature about a Cossack who is traveling to deliver a letter to the Tsarina in St. Petersburg. The letter is stolen by a devil and the Cossack goes into hell to retrieve it. It’s a dark and beautiful film with a good sense of humor and wonderful character animation. The backgrounds are mysterious and I have seldom seen nighttime so perfectly depicted.  It’s based on a story by Nikolai Gogol and was directed by the Brumberg sisters and Lamis Bredis.

Click the  Continue reading link for parts 2, 3, and 4.

I found this at Cartoon Brew

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