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I've been busy for the past few months and haven't had the time to post about the latest translations of Russian animation here (though I remind my readers, you can always go here; the wiki article gets updated first).
So here is a long list of films that have been translated since then, as well as a few that I had not written about before. They are organized by date of upload, with the name of the translator written next to it.
Oct. 29, 2009 - StopFear
"Music Box with a Secret" (1976) by Valeriy Ugarov at Soyuzmultfilm. Now this is an interesting one. The visual style is heavily inspired by the 1968 English "Yellow Submarine" film (trailer here), which was based on the music of The Beatles. But I think that the animation moves better in this short film than in that feature; no jerky movements and low frame rates here. And it has great music and direction - I think it's a masterpiece, frankly. I have never seen another Soviet cartoon with this style, so this must have been a one-time thing. It is based on a story by Vladimir Odoyevskiy.
The point of this cartoon is that it shows the magic of what engineers do - it's about the love of taking things apart to find out how they work and maybe to improve them. Take away all the fancy graphics and music, and that's the core idea of the film. There are many people who see no attraction in that at all, and they're probably the ones who won't like this film.
Oct. 30, 2009 - StopFear
"Masha's Concert" (1949) directed by Mstislav Pashchenko at Soyuzmultfilm
Jan. 24, 2010 - julia2night
"Who Is Grazing on the Meadow" (1973), directed by Galina Barinova at Soyuzmultfilm. This is the same Galina Barinova who later directed When the Sand Will Rise and A Long Time Ago. Note how different her early style is from her later films.
Jan. 25, 2010 - julia2night, helped by me
"Fable" (2007), directed by Daniil Kharms. I think that this film is rather primitive, to be honest.
Feb. 28, 2010 - para111111
"So Adsent-Minded" (1975), directed by Marianna Novogrudskaya at Ecran. The translation is not the best (no attempt to translate the rhymes is made), but this is a good film that has some very nice art direction.
Mar. 6, 2010 - para111111
"Tourist" (1972), directed by Anatoliy Reznikov at Ecran.
Mar. 7, 2010 - para111111
"Fighter" (1985), directed by Boris Akulinichev at Ecran. I like this one. Simple, but it has a good point. :)
Mar. 10, 2010 - UCSantaCruzRussian
"Masha's Not a Lazybones Anymore" (1978), directed by Lev Milchin at Soyuzmultfilm. This one is for small children.
Mar. 10, 2010 - UCSantaCruz
"What Is Good and What Is Bad" (1969), directed by Yefim Gamburg at Soyuzmultfilm. Another one for small children.
Mar. 10, 2010 - UCSantaCruzRussian
"Zoo Closed for Repairs" (1987), directed by Natan Lerner at Ecran. Another one for small children.
Mar. 10, 2010 - para111111
"Neznaika Is Studying" (1961), directed by Pyotr Nosov at Soyuzmultfilm. Again, another one specifically for very small children. I'm not very fond of these myself (with some exceptions); something about them rubs me the wrong way, perhaps because I agree with what Aleksandr Tatarskiy wrote in the "Lyrical Advance" section of his 1986 essay. But I guess a case can be made that this category of Russian animation has been under-represented by translators a bit in the past. Neznaika is a well-known Soviet literary children's character whose name can be translated to "Know-Nothing" or "Dunno". He lives in a communist utopia and some of the stories specifically parody capitalist society, though you don't realize such things when you read it as a kid. There are lots of cartoons with him by different directors, and this is not the best one.
Mar. 13, 2010 - UCSantaCruzRussian
"Confusion" (1985), directed by Irina Gurvich at Kievnauchfilm. Another one for small children.
March 14, 2010 - pavlovich74 (translator unknown)
"Sarah's Tale" (2006), directed by Svetlana Filippova at December Studio. A film based on the "Musings of a 6 year old girl. Narrated by Sarah Magambetov (The daughter of the writer I presume)." There are some good things here - the music, the inspiration behind it, some clever concepts, but on the whole it was too minimalist for my tastes, and it seemed a bit too unfocused. I also wasn't a fan of the way the characters moved.
Mar. 15, 2010 - para111111
"Little Coin" (1977), directed by Yuriy Prytkov at Soyuzmultfilm. Also for small children. About the importance of doing the right thing even in small matters.
Mar. 15, 2010 - julia2night
"Masyanya: Here's a Fine How-Do-You-Do" (2010), directed by Oleg Kuvayev. You notice the lack of a link to animator.ru on Kuvayev's name, unlike all the other directors here? Here's why: In 2001, Kuvayev created a Flash-animated series about "Masyanya", a typical young Russian teen/young woman. It was a hit on the internet because despite its primitive art style and very basic animation, its content was something that people related to, and it gave them a laugh. But many of the more established figures in Russian animation couldn't stand it. Kuvayev was invited to the 2003 Open Russian Festival of Animated Film, and came not even suspecting that he was invited mainly to be the punching bag of all the critics and venerated masters. Yet Masyanya is still here in 2010. This episode is unusually long, at over 5 minutes. And I think that it's a good one, too, though I'm not normally a fan of the series. Warning: the content is not child-friendly.
Mar. 29, 2010 - julia2night
"Masyanya: Get High on Weekends" (2008?), directed by Oleg Kuvayev. An earlier, more typical episode.
Mar. 30, 2010 - para111111
"Hare, Squeak and Violin" (1976), directed by Aleksandr Polushkin at Kuybyshevtelefilm (a Samara-based studio that made animated films from 1973-1990).
So here is a long list of films that have been translated since then, as well as a few that I had not written about before. They are organized by date of upload, with the name of the translator written next to it.
Oct. 29, 2009 - StopFear
"Music Box with a Secret" (1976) by Valeriy Ugarov at Soyuzmultfilm. Now this is an interesting one. The visual style is heavily inspired by the 1968 English "Yellow Submarine" film (trailer here), which was based on the music of The Beatles. But I think that the animation moves better in this short film than in that feature; no jerky movements and low frame rates here. And it has great music and direction - I think it's a masterpiece, frankly. I have never seen another Soviet cartoon with this style, so this must have been a one-time thing. It is based on a story by Vladimir Odoyevskiy.
The point of this cartoon is that it shows the magic of what engineers do - it's about the love of taking things apart to find out how they work and maybe to improve them. Take away all the fancy graphics and music, and that's the core idea of the film. There are many people who see no attraction in that at all, and they're probably the ones who won't like this film.
Oct. 30, 2009 - StopFear
"Masha's Concert" (1949) directed by Mstislav Pashchenko at Soyuzmultfilm
Jan. 24, 2010 - julia2night
"Who Is Grazing on the Meadow" (1973), directed by Galina Barinova at Soyuzmultfilm. This is the same Galina Barinova who later directed When the Sand Will Rise and A Long Time Ago. Note how different her early style is from her later films.
Jan. 25, 2010 - julia2night, helped by me
"Fable" (2007), directed by Daniil Kharms. I think that this film is rather primitive, to be honest.
Feb. 28, 2010 - para111111
"So Adsent-Minded" (1975), directed by Marianna Novogrudskaya at Ecran. The translation is not the best (no attempt to translate the rhymes is made), but this is a good film that has some very nice art direction.
Mar. 6, 2010 - para111111
"Tourist" (1972), directed by Anatoliy Reznikov at Ecran.
Mar. 7, 2010 - para111111
"Fighter" (1985), directed by Boris Akulinichev at Ecran. I like this one. Simple, but it has a good point. :)
Mar. 10, 2010 - UCSantaCruzRussian
"Masha's Not a Lazybones Anymore" (1978), directed by Lev Milchin at Soyuzmultfilm. This one is for small children.
Mar. 10, 2010 - UCSantaCruz
"What Is Good and What Is Bad" (1969), directed by Yefim Gamburg at Soyuzmultfilm. Another one for small children.
Mar. 10, 2010 - UCSantaCruzRussian
"Zoo Closed for Repairs" (1987), directed by Natan Lerner at Ecran. Another one for small children.
Mar. 10, 2010 - para111111
"Neznaika Is Studying" (1961), directed by Pyotr Nosov at Soyuzmultfilm. Again, another one specifically for very small children. I'm not very fond of these myself (with some exceptions); something about them rubs me the wrong way, perhaps because I agree with what Aleksandr Tatarskiy wrote in the "Lyrical Advance" section of his 1986 essay. But I guess a case can be made that this category of Russian animation has been under-represented by translators a bit in the past. Neznaika is a well-known Soviet literary children's character whose name can be translated to "Know-Nothing" or "Dunno". He lives in a communist utopia and some of the stories specifically parody capitalist society, though you don't realize such things when you read it as a kid. There are lots of cartoons with him by different directors, and this is not the best one.
Mar. 13, 2010 - UCSantaCruzRussian
"Confusion" (1985), directed by Irina Gurvich at Kievnauchfilm. Another one for small children.
March 14, 2010 - pavlovich74 (translator unknown)
"Sarah's Tale" (2006), directed by Svetlana Filippova at December Studio. A film based on the "Musings of a 6 year old girl. Narrated by Sarah Magambetov (The daughter of the writer I presume)." There are some good things here - the music, the inspiration behind it, some clever concepts, but on the whole it was too minimalist for my tastes, and it seemed a bit too unfocused. I also wasn't a fan of the way the characters moved.
Mar. 15, 2010 - para111111
"Little Coin" (1977), directed by Yuriy Prytkov at Soyuzmultfilm. Also for small children. About the importance of doing the right thing even in small matters.
Mar. 15, 2010 - julia2night
"Masyanya: Here's a Fine How-Do-You-Do" (2010), directed by Oleg Kuvayev. You notice the lack of a link to animator.ru on Kuvayev's name, unlike all the other directors here? Here's why: In 2001, Kuvayev created a Flash-animated series about "Masyanya", a typical young Russian teen/young woman. It was a hit on the internet because despite its primitive art style and very basic animation, its content was something that people related to, and it gave them a laugh. But many of the more established figures in Russian animation couldn't stand it. Kuvayev was invited to the 2003 Open Russian Festival of Animated Film, and came not even suspecting that he was invited mainly to be the punching bag of all the critics and venerated masters. Yet Masyanya is still here in 2010. This episode is unusually long, at over 5 minutes. And I think that it's a good one, too, though I'm not normally a fan of the series. Warning: the content is not child-friendly.
Mar. 29, 2010 - julia2night
"Masyanya: Get High on Weekends" (2008?), directed by Oleg Kuvayev. An earlier, more typical episode.
Mar. 30, 2010 - para111111
"Hare, Squeak and Violin" (1976), directed by Aleksandr Polushkin at Kuybyshevtelefilm (a Samara-based studio that made animated films from 1973-1990).
This brings of couple of questions to mind, however. Does this mean that someone in the UK saw a screening of Music Box with a Secret, with it's all-sung dialogue and take on 18th century fashion, and thought Ugarov appropriate for interpreting Mozart? Less excitingly, I suspect it was someone on the Russian end that delegated him direction of the project for the same reasons. But it's still exciting to think of a UK producer involved in the creation of something that to me is so eastern-looking, wether it's Ugarov or JANKOVICS Marcell, at that time and not in something tightly controlled by the financiers that is outsourced for purely economic reasons. The other is: what about a page on the wiki listing licensed DVD (and Blu-ray Disc, if any ever happen) releases of English-subtitled or otherwise completely foreigner-friendly films? Including ones such as Ugarov's Magic Flute and the other S4C productions, which are thoroughly Russian in their visuals but for which English is the original language. There aren't that many, at least that are still in print, I think but it would require some kind of anchor-linked dual table arrangement to list the films and their creators and the discs, which there have often been several of for the same film and differing in what they package it with, what country they're distributed in wether they were in print as of last checking. I might be able to help set one up if you think that sounds like a worthwhile idea, though, sometime in the summer. I'd need to read up more on MediaWiki mark-up first…
It's actually a bit frustrating, because some of these "foreign" projects are very difficult to find. At least the obscure festival cartoons made in Russia eventually find their way online - not so for foreign releases. Many I've only been able to find with a Russian dub over the original English (or Italian) soundtrack, which is really annoying. For example, Natalya Orlova's paint-on-glass-animated Moby Dick.
The English Shakespeare, Bible, opera projects indeed saved a great number of Russian animation professionals from losing their professions at a critical time. Though they do often feel like the director's a "fish out of water" - I've heard some of the directors say that they would have done things differently, but there were certain requirements that could not be changed.
It would be neat, actually, to set up a "Russian diaspora" list - of directors who fled the country after its collapse, and what they ended up doing. Some of them ended up coming back, many did not. DVD links could be included, too...
"As is the rule with the S4C/Christmas Films collaborations, the films are by their nature not great ones, limited by having a source material forced upon them that is chosen for its fame rather than its suitability as a half-hour animated film, but have some great stuff within them that is allowed to reach an audience it otherwise wouldn’t. I still fondly remember the witches at the beginning of Nikolai Serebryakov’s Macbeth as being the first animation that interested me as animation, that it was how they moved that was so strange and interesting. And that led to me staying up to watch a documentary about Faith Hubley and so on from there."
You mention Bible adaptations? Perhaps the single biggest spark of interest in animated films, and film in general, for me, later than my run-ins than with Serebryakov and Faith Hubley but at least as affecting, was a drawn or painted animation of the story of Eden, bits of which were inserted piecemeal in what I remember finding to be an utterly unremarkable stop-motion puppet treatment of Noah and the deluge. And now that I recall the look of the character designs, knowing what I know now, I recognise them as looking very Russian! Something akin to the human characters in Serebryakov’s Macbeth, Galina Barinova's films and Anatoliy Petrov's later, erotic films; somewhere between all those. But my memories of it are quite vague and may turn out to be partly wrong. I know that Faith Hubley's Cloudland is now nowhere as bittersweetly enigmatic to my more experienced mind as I fondly remembered it being, via the eyes of a child, for so many years previously; now I have to look to abstract films (which is what I've gotten into making; partly through time constraints, partly through wanting to anyway) to experience that feeling again. And, then again, there are male characters in the Rankin/Bass The Last Unicorn and Mushi Pro's Kanashimi no Belladonna before it that I remember being similar to these as well (while Amalthea herself is distinctly Japanese, quite MATSUMOTO Leiji-ish).
Most everything I follow now I've experienced such sparks of throughout my younger years (which as I'm only 22 now is still the majority of my life) but as there were no after-school clubs for it and nor was it advertised on television like the others' interests were I had no idea how to pursue it and around my early teens the sparks dried up, leaving (primarily Japanese) video games as the only arena in which I found moments of anything like this for a good number of years, them eventually getting me into Japanese animation and comics and from the creators of those (not other Western followers of it) animation in general. And here I am now knowing the names of the director and studio of those Macbeth and Twelfth Knights (their Malvolio's prancing around in his cross-gartered stockings on those surely too petite to support them feet is another sequence whose larger-than-life – and surely far larger than the tiny school TV – childhood memories continue to influence me greatly in my view of not only animation and film but live dance and theatre and painting and drawing as well) and that that old American woman was called Faith Hubley and that she and her late husband and their collaborators at UPA and Storyboard back then were the force behind what I now consider to be many of the greatest, most joyfully exhilarating things to be printed to celluloid.
Can you give a name for this series of Bible adaptations or, better yet, names of those involved in the section I've been thinking of?