Category: Animation

Soviet Film Wednesday: Tale of Tales

Tales of Tales (Сказка сказок), also titled The Little Grey Wolf Will Come, was the first Soviet animation that I ever remember seeing, and for years I would return to this mysterious film, intermittently, in awe and wonder, taking in the magic and trying to piece together the different parts. Then I watched more Yuri …

Continue reading

Soviet Film Wednesday: Fox and Rabbit

The 1973 animation Fox and Rabbit (Лиса и заяц) was Yuri Norstein’s debut as an exclusive director. In keeping with Norstein’s most beloved animation techniques, it is made with wonderful cut-outs and has that signature Norstein earthy feel, brimming with folksy forest animals and seasonal motifs. Based on a Russian folk tale, it is the …

Continue reading

Soviet Film Wednesday: The Battle of Kerzhenets

Made in 1971, The Battle of Kerzhenets is based on the mythical underwater city of Kitezh. According to legend, the Russian town “Little Kitezh” was built on the Volga River in the early 13th century. The Mongols had been invading nearby territories during this time, and when they reached Kitezh they started to attack the citizens, but …

Continue reading

Soviet Film Wednesday: Bashō

“Bashō” was animated by Soviet-born artist Yuri Norstein (revered director of Seasons, Hedgehog in the Fog, and Tale of Tales) using cut-out animation. It is a segment of the film Winter Days (originally 冬の日 Fuyu no Hi), which is a collage of animated short films comprised of mostly Japanese pieces, directed by Kihachirō Kawamoto. Winter Days is based …

Continue reading

Second star to the right and straight on ’til morning

“There it is, Wendy! Second star to the right and straight on ’til morning.” Peter Pan Today is the birthday of the Disney classic, Peter Pan, released February 5th, 1953. The movie was based on the work Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. Barrie’s Peter Pan was first released …

Continue reading

Hayao Miyazaki Brought Manga to the Masses

One-of-a-kind animator, artist, and masterful storyteller, Hayao Miyazaki brought delightful “manga” (Japanese comic books) and “anime” (Japanese animation) films to venerating audiences via Studio Ghibli, which Miyazaki co-founded with director Isao Takahata in 1985. Some of the first Studio Ghibli films made were Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), and Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), receiving recognition and …

Continue reading

Soviet Film Wednesday: The Mitten

While Rankin & Bass were celebrating wintertime with their cute 1960’s stop-motion animations for Americans, including the beloved Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Soviet animator Roman Kachanov was making his own very cute stop-motion films, including the Cheburashka children’s series. Kachanov has worked on many films, and was an animator for our recent feature, The Night …

Continue reading

Soviet Film Wednesday: The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas (1951) was directed by the prolific Soviet animation duo of Valentina Brumberg and Zinaida Brumberg, who were also known as the “Brumberg sisters” as well as the “grandmothers of Russian animation.” Some of their most well known films are Little Red Riding Hood and Ivashka and Baba-Yaga. Not your typical Christmas story, it begins …

Continue reading

Soviet Film Wednesday: Alexandr Petrov’s Coca Cola Sundblom Santa

To celebrate the season, here’s a vintage style Christmas Coca Cola ad by the Academy Award-winning, Soviet born animator Aleksandr Petrov. The commercial was created in 2001, and was based on Haddon Sundblom’s jolly Santa illustrations, which first debuted in 1931 Coke ads.

Soviet Film Wednesday: “Singing Cat” from Tale of the Fox

Here is a charming excerpt, “Singing Cat,” from Ladislas Starevich’s first animated feature, and often regarded as his finest work, The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard), made with his daughter Irene in 1941. Ladislas Starevich was born in Moscow on August 8, 1882 and moved to France following the Russian Revolution. He …

Continue reading