This video serves as a beginner’s guide to the world of Soviet animation. I cover the entire history of the USSR, including films like The Snow Queen, Story of One Crime, Hedgehog in the Fog, Tale of Tales, Mirror of Time, Winnie the Pooh, and Cheburashka.
I made a video devoted to director Fyodor Khitruk you can watch here:
• A Brief Intro to Sovie...
and one devoted to director Yuri Norstein:
• A Beginner's Guide to ...
You can see a list of all of the films mentioned here:
letterboxd.com/kubricklynch23...
You can watch a playlist of all my cinema beginner’s guides here:
• Film Beginner's Guides
0:00 1922-1953
5:11 1953-1964
8:58 1964-1982
15:36 1982-1991
If you'd like to support the channel you can donate here:
www.paypal.me/EvanChester
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/ discord
Please follow me on Twitter @KubricklynchYT,
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or on Facebook:
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It's also worth mentioning that Soviet animation created a lot of works based on history, myths and farytales of not only Soviet nations, but many others, like Greek, Indian, African, Arabic, with strong, smart, proud heroes. They showed me that the world has so many different peopels and cultures.
Thank you so much. As a russian I really appreciate your observations. No just animations, but movies and literature, tv shows did this way. The world of soviet kids and teenagers was much larger than just soviet union by it's self. Such delicate people like you make me believe that maybe all that old horrible stereotypes about our culture will go away someday, maybe.
@@CyarleyBlackI grew up reading tolstoy while ib my late teens. I deeply respect the Russian heritage and Culture, and belive art and love is the way to peace.
@@prophecyrat2965 Russian heritage and culture? This heritage and "culture" have started the war, kill Ukrainians, destroy their home, rape women and torture civil men. Russians paid a lot to make the world believe in their culture but there is no culture when 143 million people are ok to invade a sovereign country, and kill people only because they identify themself as Ukrainians.
@@prophecyrat2965 I grew up being gay so I think I am a bit of an expert here.
Yes, they did it, because Muscovites have a very poor culture.
It warms my heart that animations from my childhood are being discovered by people from other countries and cultures. Those films are treasured to this day.
They are amazing
As they should be; there's some incredible stuff to be found. I think the animation is beautiful, and quite ahead of its time in many ways. Not to mention the adaptations of Russian fairy tales and folklore are so interesting to see aside from the usual German/French ones.
скажи... у меня мурашки размером со слона. Как здорово, что такие видео и люди есть!
Not only yours or mine, but, apparently, Hayo Miadzaki's too! ) I remember whatching Снежная Королева, being 5-or 6.. I was terrified! Man, I am 43 now, and will remember that experience for all my life..) That's sonthing that shapes lifes.
It's great that you got to grow up with these absolute jewels. Kinda jealous tbh
The Snow Queen is SUPER FAMOUS in Italy, where it's shown every Christmas, together with the Peanuts special. Turns out that a communist party member came back from the USSR with a copy, and his brother in law worked at one of the few TV stations Italy had at the time, he liked the cartoon so much he proposed it to the executives, and since then it's been shown at least once a year.
Interesting!
@@kubricklynch I heard it was a great inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki
What about Cipollino? :)
@@kubricklynch5:40 - using different animation style (roto-scoping) to achieve an other-worldly feel - that reminds me of Courage the Cowardly Dog - sometimes Claymation or straight up camera footage (not roto-scoping) is inserted to create a different feel - usually shock and horror in contrast to the usual standard 2D animation - I've definitely heard this in a video or saw it in the comments.
@@someguy2744 waaaiiit is this what happens in Anime sometimes? Like a character freaks out, and they look different for a second, seems like a different style, then it goes back to normal
Many of these cartoons were broadcasted on Sundays on national tv in a culture channel for kids in Mexico. They were a part of my childhood :3
Very interesting. We didn't even know what Soviet cartoons were showing in Mexico.
Las pasaban en el 22!
El canal del politecnico, a cultural channel in Mexico,also in Cuba were very popular this animation .
:3333333
I m surprised, were they translated voiced
It is a shame that most Soviet animation is not getting restored for full-hd resolutions. It is a shame, because even from crappy versions you can see very talented artistic approach, especially in puppet animation.
Maybe we would get that if Russians cared about their legacy at all. Unfortunately they only care about making neighboring countries worse instead of preserving Russian art and architecture. This is the reality we live in.
Unfortunately, if they would decide to restore videos, they would probably also record new audio and that would be a shame. This was done with some soviet cartoons in the early 00's, but they are unwatchable because of terrible sound. Orchestral music from great composers was just played on a crappy synthesizer and the voice acting is bad as well. If you want to see what I mean, look for cartoons with a pink Stripe on the thumbnail. They are on a channel "star media kids". So, I think that it's the best for these cartoons to stay in their original states. A proper reproduction is probably no longer possible, due to lack of orchestra players and good voice actors
@@Jan34279 problem isn't that they were tried to be updated. Problem is that those cartoons were made during different time, during different ideas and now idea is only one - profit. So instead of doing those cartoons justice, those companies just redo shit with least work possible to get some cash...
Unique styles literally get ruined by upscale, because neural nets get the information from pre-existed images.
@@Jan34279 restore to HD videos, and remake the new better voice and music at high cost, it's still better btw.
Great video. I had the honor of meeting Yuri Norstein back in the 90s, when I was studying animation. He and his wife are a huge influence.
Wow! That's awesome.
Please tell me you cintinued animation? :) i miss animation like this
@@projectfear22 Intermittently, but not as much as I would've liked. I miss animation like this, too. :)
I love Yuri, Yaoi is good too, oy.
@@BBWahoo what anime does to a mf
Soviet cartoons were a big part of my childhood. I watched Vinni Pukh, Nu, Pogodi, Troe iz Prostokvashino, and many more. My mom and dad introduced them to me. They watched them themselves when they were young, long before they immigrated from Belarus to the US. They are so charming, I recommend checking them out. Definitely feeling the nostalgia right about now.
Cool your parents migrated from Belarus to America, my parents migrated from Belarus to Ireland.
Those are literally best cartoons
your parents ate a lot of soviet propaganda and ,then they moved to the USA? that sound weird to say the least.
@@frankjames7272 do you really think, that in the US have no propaganda?😂
@@frankjames7272 American propaganda is the most delicious and nutritious. Despite side effects in the form of premature dementia.
Even though I am Mongolian, I grew up with Soviet animations, because during the early 2000s Russian and Soviet animated movies were on TV almost everyday. These animated movies hold precious memories of my childhood.
Have you watched a Soviet cartoon based on the Mongolian fairy tale "Gunan Bator"?
@@DVXDemetrivs I never heard about it, but after I checked it on the internet I remembered it 😂, just didn't know the name. Thanks
@@kazookiddo7605 👍👍
This is really incredible. There is so much fascinating animation from the eastern Europe that gets easily overlooked by US audiences. This is a fascinating survey of some solid films.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Who cares to US audiences? They live in a self affirmative illusion 😢
not even EU audiences look at this
@@SubjektDelta It is most unfortunate that degeneracy, mostly in the form of sub lacking social media -such as TikTok and twitter, is the prevalence of todays society.
We ignore it because a lot of it is garbage, slavjank, or propaganda.
A very enjoyable and informative video. But it makes me laugh that the reason KZhead recommended this to me is probably because I "liked" a version of "Steamed Hams" that draws heavily from "The Glass Harmonica"! 😂
Haha, that is amazing.
Omg I thought it was just me
@@alekderijan8348 I think it happened to me too rofl
Me too xd
Yoo I got the same video today 💀💀
I'm shook... "The Golden Antelope" is a soviet animation! As kids my brother and I (and consequently my parents too lol) used to watch it literally on the daily 😲✨ I'm starting to think we watched more Soviet movies than I previously thought! 😄 Lot of good memories and emotions associated with this movie ❤️
There’s a beautiful Soviet animated film about the nutcracker. This used to stun me a lot as a little kid because of the beauty, and now as an adult I understand the message behind. Soviet animation and art in general were very fascinating and beautiful, they could entertain both kids and adults.
The soviet adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass were fantastic, and far closer to the more modern, darker and quirkier interpretation of Lewis Carroll's work. Also, I absolutely adore the great music and visual madness of The Secret of the Music Box (Шкатулка с секретом). My wife finds it creepy though:)
То же нравится музыка в этой версии.
Oooh we have much scarier shit than this
I mean secret of the music box
Translation: In my opinion, all Alice in Wonderland adaptations are creepy. Including films. I do not mean that they have no artistic value. I was just an impressionable child. Как по мне, все экранизации Алисы в стране чудес - жуткие. В том числе фильмы. Я не имею ввиду то что они не имеют художественной ценности. Просто я был впечатлительным ребёнком.
У меня в детстве была книжка из отдельных карточек (не знаю, как правильно называется такой формат) по кадрам из этого мультфильма. Вот же ужас на меня наводили его персонажи... Ещё в таком же формате была "девочка и дельфин".
The Town Musicians of Bremen is one of the all-time most iconic Soviet animation pieces. I guess it's natural that you didn't focus on it too much as it was iconic pretty much solely because of its soundtrack and not animated characters.
I can still sing some of the songs from memory its so beautiful
Yep it was like a musical about hippies approved by Soviet authorities
Мы к вам заехали на чаааас!
@@ivanrobinst7538 "Привет, Bonjour, HELLOOOOOO!!!"
Ray of the golden sun, hidden by the darkness veil...
My favourite cartoon is Adventures of Captain Vrungel
It was made in Kiev
The Soviet Union had some absolutely beautiful animations, and it’s interesting how women there could become famous animator artists, unlike in the US where even today there are no famous women animators
Actually, women had many career possibilities in the soviet union and could become university professors aswell
You could hold almost any job as a woman in Soviet Union (by that I mean any that is reasonably possible, limitations only included things that have health risks or unsuitable by design)
i can agree with the statement of beautiful ussr animations, my favorite is definitely Suur Toll!
How many famous male animators can the average person name from the US in the modern day? Well known animators were precisely a product of the disney era of hand drawn films
Actually, nobody knows them widely from people. Only a small amount in industry
The animation of Robert Sahakyants at Armenfilm deserves its own commentary. The Armenfilm tales are absolutely iconic all around the post-soviet space for fun, slightly trippy animation combined with absolutely hilarious witty dialogue. They are extremely fun to watch.
I agree , some cartoons were based on popular tales of famous poet Hovhannes Tumanyan in Armenia
Watching "The Wind" was a very specific kind of "fun"...
Yeah, some of those changing you forever. Armenian animations was something else.
Great comment, couldn't agree more
I was expecting to showcase “Wow! A Talking Fish!” from him. A crazy trippy piece of art
I remember seeing The Snow Queen as a kid, I didn’t realize it was a Soviet cartoon and have been trying to figure out which version it is, so thanks for listing it here. The Hunchback Horse is another of my favorites.
It's creator, Lev Atamanov was an ethnic Armenian, but had to conceal his ethnicity, unfortunately, in order to be allowed to work in Moscow at Soyuzmult film annimation studio. Some realities of USSR that Russians don't talk about.
@@Ellada-hu5tx Please give me a link to the information where he talked about being forced to hide his ethnicity. As far as is known, he did not keep his origin a secret.
@@Ellada-hu5tx you are lying. what for?
В чём был несомненный плюс советской анимации это разнообразие. Цель заработать на фильме была далеко не первичная. Деньги просто выделялись на мультфильм и всё. У студий и режиссеров были свои визуальные и повествовательные стили. Перепутать их было сложно. Также стоит отметить свободу творчества и самовыражения. Рамки были, но они были куда шире, чем на западе, поэтому выражаться можно было как угодно это видно и по визуальной части в частности. Я как любитель анимации это всегда ценил в советской анимации. На американские мультфильмы слишком сильно повлиял дисней и коммерческий успех их работ. Это не делает западную анимацию плохой, но всё же это сделало внешний вид и стиль повествования очень однообразным.
да, обожаю это разнообразие! именно так!!!
Тут комбинация того что заработать на выпуске не получится и низкого выделяемого бюджета, человек всегда начинает креативничать в моменты когда ресурсы сильно ограничены
@@kuronya3582западные режисеры даже говорят, что у советских творцов было больше свободы, тк над ними не висели продюсеры и не ограничивали их в выражении ради стандарта для прибыли.
@@kuronya3582 я бы так не сказал, что бюджеты были низкие. Они были разные. В основном было две статьи первая это госзаказ и второе внутренние средства. Есть работы как 12 месяцев, Снежная Королева, Аленький цветочек... и это по качеству и исполнению не хуже Диснея. На скромном бюджете и скудной матчасти такую работу не потянуть.
US cartoons are about lust, money greed, food greed, violence, so nothing constructive or educational.
I'm from Croatia, but I watched the Snow Queen as a kid because we had it taped on a VHS from a TV program. It was actually dubbed in German so I had no idea it was Soviet until I stumbled upon it a few years ago while on a nostalgia spree. The Ghost of Canterville was an extra in some DVD and it was dubbed in English. I loved the rotoscoping style and I would rewatch them all the time.
Celteovil casting is not rotoscoping.
You should definitely watch the Soviet cartoon "Mowgli" to understand the greatness of Soviet animation. The movement of the characters in this work is great.
Especially Bagheera. Russian translation changed his gender and tough warrior cat became female, but it worked great for animation.
@@nadezhdaversh Oh yes, Bagheera is simply incomparable there! This is as much a female character as it could be portrayed, given that they were drawing an animal. Her movements are very graceful and even sexy to some extent.
how original Copycat of Jungle book
film film film is awesome. Vinni-pukh is masterpiece. Gena and Cheburashka as well. Mystery of the third planet is also really good one. Zhil-byl pyos is nice but a bit sad. Also, there's a couple of good cartoons- - Padal Proshlogodny sneg- a hilarious tale about a dreamer who went into the woods to get a Christmas tree. - Cossacks (cartoon series) - it's about bizarre adventures of 3 ukrainian cossaks. - Karlsson- Soviet version of story of karlsson who lives on the roof. - Wow! The talking fish! (ukh-ty! govoryashya ryba!) - it's an old tale about mythic creatures. Also is a comedy. - Flying ship. - If you like slavic folklore or lore of the Witcher, this might be interesting for you(but keep in mind its for kids) - Vovka v trydevyatom tsarstve - Comedy about lazy boy. - Sledstvie vedut kolobki - Funny detective by animator of Rugrats, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys Movie - Adventures of Captain Wrongel - it's a naval detective musical with good songs and jokes. - Home for Kuz'ka- its about a little cute brownie. Don't ask me why brownie can be cute, watch it by yourself. There are also interview on Conan o Brian show with Mila Cunis where them talks about Soviet cartoons. Its kinda fun. And yes our Vinnie the Poo sounds like old smoker, he's a funky bear, he's roar.
Man you’ve just mentioned all my favorite childhood cartoons, mad respect 🫡
ухты говорящая рыба это просто гениально. у меня ощущение что я его однажды наизусть выучу. так уж нравятся реплики что иногда и в быту проговариваю. песни из олетучего корабля хороши
Yea, I too wan't to see this picture of Ashton Kutcher watching Vinnie Pukh with his son
"Очень синяя борода" is also a good one, really expected to see it mentioned in the video.
Dr dolittle, treasure island, Funtiks adventures
"Golden Antelope" and "Scarlet Flower" were my favorites as a kid, the latter one is mentioned in this video, but it deserves way more time - its incredibly beautiful Also speaking about Armenian films, "Wow, a talking fish!" is an absolute masterpiece with really cool animation
Lev Atamanov, creator of Golden Antelope, Snow Queen and Scarlet Flower (also Kitten Gav, Ballerina on a Ship, etc.) was also Armenian. His real name was Levon Adamian.
“wow, a talking fish” is my favourite, it’s so psychedelic🫥
The monster intro scene from Scarlet Flower used to scare the cr*p out of me as a pre-school kid. I just couldn't make myself watch it, so I literally used to hide. I liked the rest of the cartoon very much - smooth animation, colors, etc. But this one scene..
А ещё "Ишь ты масленица" 😂😂😂
Thank you for this. Always a pleasure to see an example of overcoming the so called "Soviet fobia". Too easy to throw the child away while spilling the water. While in fact it has a rich heritage, unique and inspiring works of art to learn from. Some of them are my very favourites.
I always seem to only stick with American and Japanese animation, but this gave me a great list of animations to check out beyond those two. Great stuff!
_Nu, Pogodi!_ is very iconic. Part of many people's childhoods.
I recommend looking into French animation too! Lots of classics. Like Asterix and Obelix.
@@acanimatics906 based
You should understand that Soviet cartoons were produced just for kids. American/Western animation was not just for kids, and Japanese anime has literally nothing for kids and had no kids shows since it's very beginning, and will never have. Soviet cartoons are also all like Teletubbies and have basically zero inappropriate content.
@@s71402san Damn I fr took the bait well done
Oh my god, I used to watch the snow queens English dub on tape when I was little. I was so scared of her I would fast forward past her anytime she appeared on screen
Treasure Island was a great film in my opinion. I wish it was included in this list just because of how truly good it is. And it is also well known now because of the meme.
I'm russian and i saw in my childhood at least half of all mentioned cartoons. And i love them very much. Just recently i rewatched the "musicians from Bremen", it's such a great movie. I'm really sorry that non-russian speakers can't fully enjoy the lyrics of their music
you dirty orc
I'm fascinated by art made in URSS. It's so original and intriguing. Thank you a lot for give me the opportunity to know more about it.
Couldn't agree more! Thank you for watching.
Yea propaganda pieces sure are original and creative
@@zxt5148 Because anything made in the USSR is automatically commie propaganda and exists for nefarious purposes. Right
@@zxt5148 have you ever watched a movie named "they live" it's a American movie (i think) which the main theme is how ever price of art is a propaganda for who made it
@@zxt5148 Propaganda isn't inherently bad. It all depends on how well the message is conveyed. If done well, propaganda movies can seem less like a heavy handed attempt to promote an ideology and more like an engaging analogy or call to action. Many of the best American movies were also kind of propagandistic. The issue was only allowing the production of pro government propaganda movies, not the fact that propaganda existed at all.
Hello from Russia! Thank you for awesome video. I was surprised and pleased to see so much respect. Just history and love, no propaganda or hate about anything outside the theme. Great work! A lot of fantastic movies mentioned, a lot is yet waiting for curious viewer.
Hello! Glad you liked it.
Главное не забывать, что СССР - не только Россия
@@frfrfr338 да, СССР это все те страны, которые входили в состав, когда речь заходит о достижениях. Но если говорить о претензиях, то...
Делали с любовью для людей которые потом строили советский союз
The Snow Queen was truly an amazing film
And having read Andersen's story and seen this cartoon, i could not for the life of me understand why Disney announced that their 'Frozen' was made after "Snow queen"? What was there from the original "Snow Queen". Only that some woman lived in a palace made of ice?
I was lucky enough to see The Snow Queen as a little girl in New York. It’s wonderful, and you can see the influence of that folk tale on CS Lewis’ Narnia. Another animated film of that era that was actually shown on US TV in that late 50s/early 60s era was called The Golden Antelope. Very beautiful, another folk tale, and I never forgot it. I recently found both films online, and it was a joy to see them again.
The creator of both cartoons you mentioned was an ethnic Armenian Lev Atamanov, his real name was Levon Adamian. Had to conceal his identify an pass for a Russian to be allowed to work at Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow.
This was such an interesting video. My sister and I used to watch the snow queen when we were kids and we were obsessed with this movie. I always wondered where it came from and why it felt so intense and now I know! thank you!
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Great video. Really a shame that western countries, for propaganda purposes, ignore the fact that the Soviets had a vast and productive cinema and art industry
You cannot imagine how sick was russian censore system. They were banning a lot of movies, artists, authors, books. Mostly western, and they did undeniable damage to their own, just to list the names af all soviet poets, actors, artists, creators who were sentenced to deportation to camps, and died consequently. Like they banned ABBA after the group released song "super-trooper". Soviets translated is as a song to praise a solder=trooper. And here are listed the best and mostly neutral cartoons, there were more than enough propaganda in animation too, like in all other types of Soviet media.
@@emokter8577 the red scare really melted your brain didn’t it
@@emokter8577 Take a step back and consider that the U.S. also did the same and that's why you feel so strongly when another country does it.
@@humanbean7884 You're describing Murica? Sounds like them.
@@emokter8577 Yes, the USSR had its own censorship. But she did not stoop to such things as the American censorship permitted. For example, the Soviet film "Planet of storms" was released under the American title "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet" in a re-edited and heavily modified version and without any mention of the original! This did not happen in the USSR, American films were shown en masse in cinemas and no one hid the fact that they were made in the USA, the names of directors and actors were not removed. A similar story happened with the cartoon "Return to Treasure Island", where in the credits there is no hint of its country of origin. I repeat, Soviet censorship did not allow such totalitarianism and rudeness.
My favourite was the Adventures of Captain Vrungel (free translation) probably from the late 70s or early 80s. Quite surreal, but funny :))) But I loved You Just Wait (Nu pogodi) too. We watched a lot of these in the communist Hungary back then. A lot of Czechoslovakian stuff as well. Great video!
Спасибо за видео Увидел много мультфильмов, про которые даже не слышал
Те, что были созданы до 50х-60х годов, да? Мне тоже в первые 5 минут этого видео все было незнакомо.
There is another great Ray Bradbury's adaptation: Here there be tigers (1989) made by Vladimir Samsonov. It made me fall in love with Bradbury's short stories and I love it dearly ^^
Oh yeah, I remember this cartoon. Powerful and subtle. It was an environmental message that current Era creators can only dream about
I absolutely love Soviet animation. I grew up in Cuba and grew up with a lot of old russian cartoons including these Soviet animations. While I was getting propaganda as a toddler, I still have a special place in my heart for these.
Hello. Where can I find Cuban translations of Soviet cartoons? My Latin American and Spanish friends can't find translations of Soviet films and cartoons.
Don't worry we all got propaganda. You got Soviet propaganda, we got american defense department propaganda. And they too get their scripts changed, like in marvel movies.
You got the right propaganda then
What you was getting in childhood is art, propaganda is what you getting now everyday, every single hour when you staring into your foocking smartphone and become into pragrammed gedonistic zombie and part of stupid sheople, that love capitalist society because of their egoistic animal desire to get comfort and it is looks like you can get comfort infinitely, and even when you becoming a part of it society and drops to the bottom, while some people getting comfort in reality, you still believe in it, because they give fake freedom to you, and you already have "democracy" instead of brain, your brain was trashed so hard at this point so only thing you can do is lick your owner's balls.
@@desotaku5202yeah totally the same thing you dunce.
Made me super happy to see "Well Just You Wait" at the very end. My mom's from Russia, but I grew up in California watching those VHS tapes on repeat! This is super cool and I'm definitely going to have to watch some of these films, thanks so much for an awesome video
My favorite soviet animated film is an adaptation of Treasure Island from 1988. Give it a go, it's great.
soviet*
I suggest, everybody knows about Treasure Island in 2023, thanks to the meme
@@G0RSHK0V I grew up watching it. It is surreal to see it become well known as a meme.
Try to watch the other two iconic cartoons made in the same style before Treasure Island: 1. Captain Vrungel (Kapitan Vrungel') 2. Doctor Aibolit. Same style, same way of humor. One of the best Soviet cartoons of all time.
and that? kzhead.info/sun/g6p_fryPm6SIjYk/bejne.html
I have a soft spot for Soviet animation. There is such a wide variety of multi-talents throughout its history (and many, many films I still need to watch)! They have a very different style and approach from American animation, so it's always exciting to find some gems from both Soviet and other international animation studios! I hope to see a history for animation from the Eastern Bloc which includes iconic animation such as Hungarian Folk Tales and the French-Czech collab Fantastic Planet!
I was actually thinking about doing videos on Hungarian and Czech animation specifically.
@@kubricklynch Can't wait to see it!
Growing up with this films, I’m very glad to see them being appreciated by a wider international audience
God I wish we had more 2D animation representation. The style, the colors, the personality displayed with each piece is breathtaking. Modern 3D either can’t or refuses to have such bold choices. Everything either looks like spider-verse or Pixar now
Soviet cinema wasn't so much focused on profit, so they had more freedom to experiment.
@@gustavsantos6225 ...except for the strict censorship laws and their requirement to push Soviet/Communist ideals
kung fu panda and the recent puss in boots would disagree with your claims.
This statement is just so clearly biased and traditionalist. 3D animation has breathtaking and bold elements that 2D just can't replicate and vice-versa. They're just different animation styles, neither is objectively better or worse.
In North Korea, China and Japan, other cartoons are made in 3d.
There was even a Soviet anime like The Adventures of Lolo the Penguin or Twelve Months, which were made jointly by Japan and the USSR. By the way, the usual Japanese anime was also shown in the Soviet Union. I've heard a lot of stories from the older generation about how they couldn't sleep at night for a long time when they were kids when some idiot decided to run the Barefoot Gan in prime time. In the Soviet Union, they were still poorly aware of what age ratings were.
Hey kids! Here's a film about a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing! What could go wrong?
They weren't unaware you dummy. It was a concious choice. It's called propoganda for a reason. What do you think the soviet union was exactly?
This is not an anime. Don't misinform people.
I remember seeing this anime on TV when I was a very young child (I was 6 years old or even younger). I didn’t understand what this cartoon was about and what was going on there. I didn't know what a nuclear explosion was. And at that moment when people were dying from a nuclear explosion, I did not understand what happened and thought that they simply turned into monsters and skeletons.
Спасибо большое за интерес к советской культуре
Fellow Canadian. I love the Soviet era aesthetic.
Wow, that was comprehensive! Growing up in Russia, I've never seen the first propaganda films or, basically, any older films/ For me it all started at the end of 1940s with beautiful adaptations of fairytales. By the way, have you seen Varezhka (The Mitten) by Roman Kachanov, 1967? It's absolutely iconic here.
Fun fact, Hedgehog in fog inspired belowed pub chain in Latvia(well Riga to be exact, haven't seen them anywhere else). Their logo is taken straight from the movie albeit given a martini glass and turned into a silhouette
ir daudzi ārpus Rīgas, ja pareizi atceros Ogrē ir viens
While not soviet, I wanna recommend the work of Cuban animator Juan Padrón and his 1985 film Vampiros en La Habana (Vampires in Havana). It's a crazy story with cartoonish characters, however, it does not shy away from dark humor, violence and sexual content.
Interesting! I'll have to check it out sometime. I'd love to do a video on Cuban cinema.
I can also recommend a Hungarian-BRD-Canadian animation from 1986, called Macskafogó (aka 'Ловушка для кошек' or 'Cat City'). This was my first ever watched adult animation and it was so bizarre that I peremptory fell in love with it back when I was a kid.
that film looks terrible
@@DeadGuye1995 if you only like childish Disney aestethics and don't understand proper art - go watch Disney channel and stop spamming in comments
@@yanikkunitsin1466 Let him. The more activity in the comments section, the better!
The Humback horse was on Finnish TV (in 20 minute parts) when I was a child. We managed to tape all 3 parts on VHS which I recently digitised. So happy to have it, it's still one of my favourite films ❤️
I really missed Krteček - the mole on this list, it's an animated series by the zcech cartoonist Zdenek Miller and was published from 1957 to 2002. It also was very popular in East Germany (Iron Curtain times) but also gained popularity in the west.
I will probably do a video on Czech animation in the future.
Would be great to watch a video about Eastern Block
The late 70's were notable for simplistic artstyle and often parable-like plots, cynical, but not vile. My 2 most favourite cartoons of that time was Icarus and the Wisemen (1976) and A Very Blue Beard (1979). Both retell the classical plots from the different points of view, and I seriously recommend finding both with subtitles and watch them. A Very Blue Beard is also a jazz musical that is told entirely in songs.
YESSS finally someone's talking about A Very Blue Beard! It can come across as sexist at times but I enjoy it so much. I think even if you grew up with Soviet cartoons like I and many of Russian (and post-soviet at large, I suppose) gen z did, chances are you wouldn't know about this cartoon
Thank you for showing soviet animation and I feel very sorry you had to pronounce all those names. I am extremely happy Mosfilm has uploaded a huge archive of soviet films on youtube with updated quality and resolution, there are a lot of cult classics but even more hidden gem films.
I still can't believe I remember that Snow Queen cartoon from the thumbnail. I still remember watching it with my grandmother many many years ago.
It's amazing how certain memories can stick with us for so long, especially ones that are tied to special moments with loved ones. Watching a movie or show with a grandparent can create lasting memories and nostalgia. It's nice to be able to look back on those moments and remember the joy they brought us.
I had caught Petrov's "The Cow" as a part of an animation festival and it opened my eyes to how wildly different the animation language had developed in Russia. Just sublime and so different from other things I had seen. I was smitten. Thanks for pointing the way to other works to discover!
Yes, Petrov's "The Cow" is a special and a little underrated film, a deep one.
I remember when I watched hedgehog in the fog as a kid i had nightmares about the owl. this whole thing was a nostalgia trip, im so glad my parents raised me on soviet animated cartoons despite living in the early 2000’s
Holy crap. Great video man. I’m a huge nerd for old animation. My copy of Feherlofia is one of my prized possessions. This video had so many films I have to see now. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Thank you and glad you enjoyed it!
There are more he didn't mention that are also very good, I'd add 10-20 titles
I remember going to the Ghibli Museum when I was in Japan and there was a room with papers all over the walls, showing things from sketches to colored images. There were a few drawings of the wolf from Tale of Tales there. I've heard about the Soviet Winnie the Pooh from someone whose parents came from the Soviet Union. I watched a few episodes of it and I sometimes bring it up to other people, who are Americans like I am and have not previously heard of it. One time I mentioned it to a Chinese student and he was surprised to hear that not many people know of it here.
Thank you very much for telling about these beautiful part of world animation. I've watched these cartoons in my childhood, and i really appreciate you work about it. I want to add that a lot of Soviet cartoons are available for free on KZhead, because they are declared world heritage and are not burdened with copyrights - the last gift from Soviet Union before its collapse
Истинный КОММУНИЗМ!!!
Thank you for your kind words! It's great to hear that you appreciate Soviet animation as much as I do. Yes, it's true that many of these classic cartoons are now available for free on KZhead, making them accessible to a whole new generation of viewers. It's wonderful to see these timeless stories continue to be enjoyed and cherished by people all around the world. Thank you for sharing this valuable information!
Core memory unlocked. My aunt gave me a vhs tape with a doll of “the snow Queen” it’s an absolutely beautiful film. I’d completely forgotten about it until this video!
I bet you didn't know that its creator, Lev Atamanov is an ethnic Armenian - Levon Adamian.
That sounds like a very special memory! The Snow Queen is a classic fairy tale and it's wonderful that you were able to rediscover it through that VHS tape. It's amazing how certain things can trigger memories from our past. Enjoy revisiting the film and reliving that connection with your aunt!
A big heartfelt thanks from a girl born and raised in Soviet Russia! 👍 Loved the vid 💖 Some of the animations looked unfamiliar though - probably 'cause they were rarely shown on TV back in the 70s and 80s. I' ll have to check them out. P.S. The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, The Wild Swans, Thumbelina, and Cinderella are still my all-time favorites 🌷
А как-же Серая Шейка, Приключения Ло-Ло и Пе-Пе, Заколдованный Мальчик про Нильса, который заставил короля снять шляпу, палочкой и девятью дырочками победил "войско" и спас друга?
Those classic fairy tales you mentioned are timeless and beloved by many. I hope you have fun checking out some of the lesser-known animations from that time period as well. Stay tuned for more videos showcasing Soviet animations! 🌟🇷🇺
I prefer the Russian Jungle book adaptation much more than the American one. The Russian one managed to illustrate the cruelty of the wild, and it's more mature in it's themes, depictions. Also, it's much more faithful to the source material, to the book, which I loved as a child.
Wonderful video. Very nice structure. I think it is important though to also show the Armenfilm studio cartoons as one of the most prominent features of Soviet animation created by Robert Saakyants. His "Wow, a talking fish" and "In the blue sea, white foam" are true masterpieces that influenced the last young generation of the USSR.
The first ever Russian animation was created as early as 1906 by the choreographer Alexander Shiryaev. His works were lost in private archives and rediscovered only in 1995. Shiryaev worked with puppet animation, his creations could be seen here (start at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1543">25:43</a>): kzhead.info/sun/frasl9OFb5aXqKs/bejne.html
Thanks for the retrospective, you've mentioned some animation milestones even I was unfamiliar with. People deserve to know that there was more to USSR animation than a crude trippy arthouse projects and propaganda pieces.
Россия всегда будет для американцев мрачным местом, такова пропаганда.
Вот только не надо наезжать на триповые артхаусные проекты. Я люблю советскую анимацию в первую очередь за артхаус.
Propaganda pieces? What? Which ones?
I suggest you get acquainted with the Russian cartoon "Dunno on the Moon" (1997). It's a children's story about adult life. The film is based on the adventure fairy tale novel of the same name written in 1960 by Nikolay Nosov, which satirizes the Western American society. The book was published during the height of the Cold War, at a time of arms and space technology race between the Soviet Union and the United States. The animated movie tells us about a fictional world of dwarfs who live on our planet. Among them are scientists, doctors, writers, engineers, artists, chefs, and the main character Neznaika, who cannot find his place in this world. The dwarfs live according to the principles of socialism. Social equality is paramount - they work together, rest together, and even share the harvest equally. In this world, they do not know what money, injustice, and labor exploitation are. One day, Neznaika finds a lunar stone, the scientist discovers the concept of weightlessness, and the dwarfs embark on a space journey, building a rocket. But something goes wrong, and only Neznaika and his partner Ponchik fly to the Moon. There, friends encounter a different world - a world of money and power.
@FemonicZI yep. It's on KZhead but without english subtitles though. kzhead.info/sun/dcysmZuRnoqidnk/bejne.html
too bad none of this is reflective of what being soviet citizen was actually like. appreciating the animation is one thing but the message is based on a philosophy of despair and bullshit. nice story telling for a complete farce of a country.
Dunno😅
@@antondashchenko807 Yes, I was surprised as well)) and still it definitely is Dunno: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunno_on_the_Moon
@@jameszaccardo1520 and you know what it's like to be a soviet citizen? Were you alive at the time? What part of the Soviet union were you from?
А как же: "Карлсон, который живёт на крыше", "Алиса в стране чудес" и "Алиса в Зазеркалье", "Домовёнок кузя", "Дядюшка АУ", "Осторожно обезьянки", " Щелкунчик ", " Следствие ведут колобки", "Чиполлино", "Путешествие муравья" Ну и много ещё чего))
This video unlocked so many childhood memories for me. I grew up in a post-soviet country and my mom had a bunch of CDs with dozens of these short cartoons I would regularly watch. Still remember Leopold the Cat being sort of a "childhood role model" for me 😄. I haven't seen at that time many of the creations featured here though, as they're aimed at older audiences, but now is a perfect opportunity to watch them. Great video!
I love the Golden Antilope, shows strong bond of USSR and India back then
Considering you brought up Ivano-Vano, I'm surprised you didn't mention Moydodyr, both the 1939 short and its remake in 1954 which he directed. Not to mention, he also directed the remake of Humpback Horse in 1976 cause Russia at the time didn't have the restoration tools to fix up the original Humpback Horse to re-release in theaters.
Coming from Russia I am very happy to see people from other countries discovering Soviet animation! It was indeed very artistic and creative, something that is missing at the moment unfortunately. I've watched so many Soviet cartoons as a kid and I absolutely love them. I also love the fact that there were some films about Greek mythology and folk tales from other countries and nations made. They are very beautiful and epic!
I personally love Kievnauchfilm's works more than everything from soviet period. I grew up on their cartoons. Most popular of their works are Cossak series (1969-1995), The Adventure of Captain Wrongel (1975-1979), Alice in the wonderland (1982), Dr Aibolit (1985) and Treasure Island (1986-1988) I think the main reason why i like em so much is watching their works is an whole adventure (cap. Wrongel literally about traveling around the world) and a lot of soviet films are missing that feeling, since usually based on fairy tales. Also David Cherkassky's and Radna Sakhaltuev's art style is worth mentioning, looks cartoony and realistic at the same time somehow. Also worth mentioning Armenfilm's works such as "Kto rasskazhet nebylitsu?", "Wow! A talking fish!" and "In the blue sea, in the white foam"
Greetings from Russia🖐 The video is great. It's nice to know that our animation is being watched abroad)
Glad you liked it!
Thank you for covering Soviet animation 👏🏾👏🏾
Another series of animated films to mention are from Romania called “The Son of Stars” (1988) and “Delta Space Mission” (1984) by directors Călin Cazan and Mircea Toia. They’re rad cosmic little adventures.
god, these films shaped my childhood! this video brought many memories to the surface. one of my favourites that wasn't mentioned is an adaptation of "Alice in wonderland" by Efrem Pruzhansky, I highly recommend it. there's even "Alice in mirrorland" in that same style if I remember correctly.
I'm not super familiar with Soviet animation but I've seen the Humped Back horse several times on PBS and the Snow Queen also. Both are really fascinating. There was some neat stuff here. I've seen the "shooting Range" short you showed in the intro and the anti capitalism message of it lives rent free in my head.
It's great to hear that you've enjoyed Soviet animation! The Humpbacked Horse and The Snow Queen are both classic Soviet films that have been beloved by audiences for generations. The Soviet animation industry was known for its creativity and unique storytelling, often incorporating political and social themes into their work. The Shooting Range short film is definitely a standout example of Soviet animation with its strong anti-capitalism message. Many Soviet animated films were used as propaganda tools to promote socialist values and criticize capitalism. It's interesting to see how these themes still resonate with audiences today. If you're interested in exploring more Soviet animation, there are plenty of other great films to check out. Films like Hedgehog in the Fog and The Tale of Tales are also highly acclaimed and worth watching. Soviet animation has a rich history and continues to inspire audiences around the world.
There's an entire world of creative animation I've never heard of before. Thanks for this interesting video!
I grew up with these and I still enjoy watching them and show them to our children. The one about the 12 months is one of my absolute favorites.
Thank you so much for this! I grew up with a few of these but did not know they were Soviet. The the stories and emotions in some were un-Disney-like complex which confused me as a child but made them all the more fascinating.
Great work! The only thing I would add is David Cherkassky, creator of many iconic animations like soviet version of Treasure Island.
Most Famous Student of Soviet Cartoon Animation : Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky commonly known as *Genndy Tartakovsky* ( *Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) , Sym-Bionic Titan, and Primal* )
I'm glad that they get talked about. As someone who grew up with parents who used to live in the USSR until the 90s to pursue better jobs in Germany, I grew up with several of these animations in my early childhood that was previously stored in VHS tapes. I watched a lot of 'Treasure Island', 'The Adventures of Captain Wrongel', 'Winnie the Pooh', 'The stories of Prostokvashyno' and 'When last year's snow fell (a plasticine animation about an 'eagle man' who is experiencing a massive family issue due to his drunken behaviour in the middle of New Year's Eve)'. Of course, growing up in Germany, it was easy to consider soviet animation as highly overlooked and seldom talked about. I still haven't lost my appreciation for them and I feel happier about them being freely distributed on KZhead for all to see, added with subtitles for plenty who can't understand Russian as I can. They're all strange in style but not in their charms. What's not to like when animation takes a unique approach and does its stylisation exceptionally well? Or simply establishes a 'soviet-style animation' that's immediately recogniseable in today's standards.
Very useful for making a list, I hope I get around to watching all of them. Thanks for sharing.
Great video! 👍It's honestly really sad how underrated and overlooked the Soviet animation industry is. Whether you love or hate the Soviet Union, there's no denial that they had a rich animation history. It's a shame how the only thing that comes to most people's minds when they think of Soviet animation are those poorly made propaganda cartoons from the 20s, 30s and 40s like "Interplanetary Revolution", "Soviet Toys" etc., even though they only make up like 1% of all the cartoons produced in the Soviet Union, not to mention that just because a cartoon is Soviet, doesn't mean it's propaganda. Fun fact: The "Soyuzmultfilm" animation studio alone had produced more than 1500 cartoons.
It is underrated for a reason, a few rotten apples are more than enough tp come to conclusions about a nation like the Russians.
In the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, they made good cartoons. And the communist cartoons were done well. There were a lot of experiments. There are primitive jobs, but at the same time it is difficult work. Do not belittle the work of people.
@@kommunistkomsomolskiyfacts. Consider the limited resources people had to work with (country industrializing, post revolutionary scarcity, war etc.)
Это легко объяснить. Если люди начнут понимать, что в союзе жили тоже люди, а не какие-то страшные красные дьяволы, то может и задумаются об этих странных коими идеях. А это очень страшно. Очень не хочется висеть в верёвке на столбе. Хочется войну и денег.
Не больно-то и грустно, что кто-то упустил из виду советскую мультипликацию: им же хуже. К тому же там другие ценности, буржуйские. Конечно, любой культурный человек, где бы он не был рождён, обогащает свой внутренний мир знакомством с искусством разных стран и эпох. С мультфильмами это и проще и сложнее. Проще - потому что это анимация, которая доступна всем зрителям. А сложнее потому, что персонажи говорят по-русски, а это по достоинству могут оценить только носители языка...Нужен достойный дубляж, и только тогда советская мультипликация войдёт в мировой фонд культуры. А до тех пор иностранцы будут видеть в ней либо пропаганду, либо анимацию. И никогда они не поймут, что от улыбки станет всем теплей)))
I'm lithuanian and was born after the restoration of independence, but i remember a lot of these from my childhood
Estonian here and me too. Especially "Just you wait"
I was born in 80s in Poland (back then People's Republic of Poland) and I watched Nu, pogodi! a lot, was my favourite cartoon.
Late Soviet animation is often overlooked even by Russians in terms of its cultural significance. Growing up with all this incredible range of cartoons has surely made some impact on how we view the world. Even some of the mildest child cartoon would ofter convey a hidden philosophic dilemma in it. The ‘adult cartoons’ that exploded in late 70s and all the way through 80s is an international genre in itself, with so many stylistic experimentation and deep meaningful content, it would definitely fill a lifetime of an art historian to explore and examine. I would say that, in general, this animation era has born that certain ‘Eastern European doomer’ aesthetic that is pretty popular on the KZhead lately. Something that combines a deep fatalist agenda with a slight hope of a light in the end of the tunnel we’re in. And yeah, now it’s clear for me why my parents would accuse the Western animation back then as dumb and silly. Oh and don’t get me even started on the music part of the animation of that time. Those electronic music composers were PURE GENIUSES that we don’t deserve even now.
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO A lot of these cartoons were a big part of my childhood growing up (am born in 2003) Feels so good to relive the nostalgia
Thank you for taking the time to research, edit and publish this! It was really fascinating to see the different styles and the gradual shifts in animation styles as animation became more accessible. Really fascinating stuff. I especially liked that you highlighted the importance of certain animators as well as their shift in styles and influence on the animation world and other animators. I had no idea that soviet animation had such an influence on Japanese anime but looking at the animation styles I can see how. Very enjoyable watch. Time for me to dig deeper!
Omg, also love the variety of styles and the experimentation done! These people were soo friggen talented!
This channel is such a good way of finding movie recommendations
This video was great! I took an animation history course and we covered several of the films you mentioned in my class. Especially loved Hedgehog in the Fog. Two shorts that I remember most vividly from my class not mentioned here were Dinosaur Mountain (which as simple as it was absolutely broke my heart), and ... I think it was called The Hand. It was about a little artist being forced to only create art of the master hand. Pretty on the nose yet somehow made it through the sensors. I'm not sure if those were made for television or if they were actual films, but I never forgot those two.
Спасибо авторам за упоминание реально крутых Иванова-Вано, Хитрука, Норштейна, Цехановских и других. Но в ролике не было упоминаний главных первооткрывателей анимации таких как: Владислав Старевич, Александр Ширяев. Думаю режиссёров достойных упоминания, как профессионалы своего дела ещё больше: Давид Черкасский, Борис Степанцов, Юрий Бутырин, Валентин Караваев, Николай Воинов, Анатолий Резников, Аида Зябликова, Александра Снежко-Блоцкая, Нина Шорина и Идея Гаранина и многие другие. Авторам ролика желаю успехов в дальнейшем творчестве)
this is my favourite channel on youtube .. I realised watching this the influence of everyday modern animation ! please keep this channel alive
Wow, thank you so much for this. I did not know about a lot of these films despite being really into animation, and this has given me a great set of films to look into!
Thank you so much for this introduction to Soviet era animation. I appreciate the hard work needed to compile these titles with examples. You've broadened my "animation spectrum" and am very grateful.
Very nicely done. It's opened my eyes to a school of animation I wasn't otherwise aware of. Thanks for sharing!
These look so fascinating and beautiful! Going to have to go watch these sometime. Thank you so much for this.
I think a lot of these Soviet shorts were shown on Channel 4 in the UK, during the 80s. I definitely remember the one with the matchsticks and have been trying to find it for years.