Today is the birthday of Aleksandr Petrov, the Russian animator born July 17, 1957, in the village of Prechistoye. He is known for his unique technique of creating animations from pastel oil paintings on glass, using his fingertips to paint for added texture. Petrov’s first animation was made in 1988, Marathon, and was a tribute …
Category: Animation
Jun 29 2022
Soviet Film Wednesday: A Rainy Story
Inspired after seeing this at Soviet Visuals and Folklore Film Fest‘s #SovietFilmWednesday, this was the first Soviet film I shared a little over two years ago, and it is still one of my favorites. What can I say, I love rain and cats, and the illustrations are beautiful. A Rainy Story is about a cat who wanders …
Jun 22 2022
Soviet Film Wednesday: The Scarlet Flower
The Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy tsvetochek) is a popular Russian folktale based on Sergey Aksakov’s rendition of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Similar to the traditional tale, it begins when a merchant father, Stepan Yemelyanovich, asks his three daughters what gifts they would like from his travels. The oldest daughter, Gordeya, wishes for …
May 11 2022
Soviet Film Wednesday: The Little Mermaid
This wonderfully illustrated 1968 Russian animation is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. It begins with a Copenhagen tour guide’s introduction to Andersen’s story, which is not quite the same as the Disney version. As is usually the case, the older tale is much darker. Much of the imagery in this animation is also dark, yet …
May 04 2022
Soviet Film Wednesday: Children and Matches
Apr 13 2022
Soviet Film Wednesday: Hedgehog in the Fog
Today we have another wonderful Yuri Norstein film, Hedgehog in the Fog. Norstein is best known for this animation, as well as his Tale of Tales. Hedgehog in the Fog was directed by Norstein, written by Sergei Kozlov, with music by Mikhail Meyerovich. It was produced by Soyuzmultfilm in 1975. It is the story of a hedgehog and a bear cub who …
Mar 30 2022
Soviet Film Wednesday: Thank You
Thank You (Spasibo, Спасибо) is a hand-drawn 1973 animation directed by Vladimir Tarasov, who is best known for his Soviet science fiction films Contact (1978), Contract (1985), and The Pass (1988). In Thank You, a group of polite children take a field trip to learn about airplanes. Click the “cc” icon for subtitles.
Mar 30 2022
From Aurora to Maleficent, Marc Davis Designed a Host of Disney’s Most Beloved Characters
Known as one of Disney’s “Nine Old Men” of core animators, artist and Imagineer Marc Davis was born on this day March 30, 1913 in Bakersfield, CA. With vivacious character illustrations, Davis inserted his humor in several Disney park attractions and designed many of Disney’s most beloved characters, including Snow White, Bambi, Thumper, Flower, Mr. Toad, …
Mar 02 2022
A Wintry Wednesday Ukrainian Lullaby
In solidarity with the people of the Ukraine and all of the brave Ukrainians and Russians opposing this war, may you find love and peace 🕊️ Instead of the usual Soviet Film Wednesday post, today I am sharing a Ukrainian lullaby as thoughts of the Ukraine weigh on my mind. This beautiful film was created as …
Feb 27 2022
Disney Legend Rolly Crump
Disney imagineer and animator Rolly Crump was born on February 27, 1930 in Alhambra, California. Inspired at the young age of three by the Disney Silly Symphony short, Three Little Pigs, Crump began drawing in 1933. He started working with Disney in 1952, doing “inbetweening” or “tweening” to provide the illusion of smooth movements between film frames. …