Soyuzmultfilm
Encyclopedia
Soyuzmultfilm is a Russia
n animation studio based in Moscow
. Over the years it has gained international attention and respect, garnering numerous awards both at home and abroad. Noted for a great variety of style, it is regarded as the most influential animation studio of the former Soviet Union
. The studio has produced 1530 films during its existencehttp://animator.ru/db/?ver=eng&p=show_studia&sid=16&sp=2.
It is currently divided into two studios: "Creative union of the "Film studio "Soyuzmultfilm" («Творческо-производственное объединение «Киностудия «Союзмультфильм») and the Soyuzmultfilm Film Fund («Фильмофонд Киностудии «Союзмультфильм»).
The Studio was founded in 10 June 1936 under the name Soyuzdetmultfilm (Союздетмультфильм - abbr. from Union Children's Animations). The name was changed to Soyuzmultfilm on 20 August 1937. Initially comprising only a few scattered workshops, Soyuzmultfilm grew quickly, soon becoming the Soviet Union's premier animation studio. The studio produced exclusively traditional animation
until 1954, when a "puppet division" was founded and the first stop motion
-animated film released. The puppet division would later also make cutout-animated
films.
During the Soviet era, the studio employed a maximum of over 700 skilled labourers and released an average of 20 films each year (the highest number was 47, in 1973).
The 60s, 70s and 80s saw the release of many films whose characters became an integral part of Soviet culture: Winnie-the-Pooh
, Crocodile Gena
, Film, Film, Film
, Karlsson-on-the-Roof
, The Musicians of Bremen , Three from Buttermilk Village
, Nu, pogodi!
, Hedgehog in the Fog
, The Mystery of the Third Planet
etc.
The variety of animation styles and the unprecedented degree of artistic freedom given to its many animators made Soyuzmultfilm perhaps the most diverse of the world's major animation studios.
Soyuzmultfilm's creativity was fueled in part by the unique conditions of the Soviet Union which made it possible for the studio to disregard the commercial appeal of its films. Because animators were paid by the Academy of Film regardless of how well or how poorly their products sold (though they were not, in fact, "sold"), they were free to pursue their artistic vision without giving a thought to finances.
The collapse of the Soviet Union brought to a close the golden era of Soyuzmultfilm. New economic realities made it impossible for the government to support the studio any longer.
In 1989, Soyuzmultfilm was made into a lease
d enterprise (expiring after 10 years) and forced into the capitalist marketplace.
Although the studio survived, it shrank dramatically, losing nearly 90% of its staff and releasing only a few films. One early misfortune happened when the Russian courts transferred the studio's puppet division building (in a legal decision involving many other buildings) to the Russian Orthodox Church
. Before the animators could react to this turn of events, an Orthodox
Cossack
squadron, accompanied by religious locals, broke into the building with swords unsheathed for the purpose of exorcism
and began throwing out the "satanic puppets animated with the blood of Christian babies". No studio employees were allowed to come in and salvage any item, despite the presence of much expensive equipment and a whole library of puppets. http://www.utro.ru/articles/2005/06/29/453479.shtml
The main reason for the collapse, however, was the studio's deliberate dismantling by the new top management and the illegal selling off of its assets for personal gain (see: http://animator.ru/articles/article.phtml?id=28 - in Russian). In 1992-1993, Sergei Skulyabin was elected president.
and Joan Borsten. It was the first international offer that the studio had received. The deal stipulated that Films by Jove would be granted the rights to 547 of the most popular classic studio films for a period of 10 years in all territories except the CIS
; as part of the return, Soyuzmultfilm would receive 37% of the net profits. Films by Jove restored many of the films and released many of them on television, video and DVD in the United States and Europe, albeit usually with dubbed voices and changed music.
According to current director Akop Kirakosyan, the original deal seemed promising at the time but turned out to be "deadly" for the studio. The expected payouts never materialized because Films by Jove never posted any net profits; all of the money officially went to things like new soundtracks, lawsuits and anti-pirating measures.
Whether either deal was legal was debated in court, with the Soyuzmultfilm Film Fund (see section below) claiming that because the company's lease on its possessions would have expired in 1999 (at which time ownership would have automatically reverted back to the government if no new lease were signed), Soyuzmultfilm had no authority to issue rights that lasted beyond that timeframe. http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article.shtml?2007/04/11/123914 Joan Borsten presented a different story. http://judiciary.house.gov/legacy/vidov031303.htm In the end, the Russian courts sided with Soyuzmultfilm and the American courts sided with Films by Jove.
On 11 April 2007, Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov
announced that he was in the final stages of negotiating a price with Films by Jove to buy back the collection. A source close to Usmanov said that Films by Jove's initial price was $10 million, while Usmanov is willing to pay "several times less", as he considers that the rights already belong to Soyuzmultfilm and that he himself is only buying the physical film prints. http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article.shtml?2007/04/11/123914 In September 2007, the deal was finalized, and Usmanov handed everything over to Russian state children's TV channel "Bibigon". http://top.rbc.ru/economics/05/09/2007/117322.shtml
The rights of all Soyuzmultfilm films before March 1, 2004 belong to the "Soyuzmultfilm Film Fund", headed by Ernest Rakhimov, and its official mission is restoring and marketing them. The mission of the "Creative union of the "Film studio "Soyuzmultfilm", headed by Akop Kirakosyan, is to create new films (anywhere from 3-7 short films a year) and to eventually privatize itself (currently, 100% of its stock is owned by the Russian Ministry of Culture).
The next year, Soyuzmultfilm created an animated opening title for the children's TV show Ulitsa Sezam
.
Today the studio's major project is the upcoming feature film Gofmaniada
, backed by Mikhail Shemyakin and directed by Stanislav Sokolov
. It will be based on the tales of E.T.A. Hoffman. The film will use stop motion
animation exclusively and will avoid using computer animation for special effects. The first 20 minutes of the film were screened on November 20, 2006, in St. Petersburg, and the full film is expected to be completed in 2008.http://news.ntv.ru/98119
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n animation studio based in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Over the years it has gained international attention and respect, garnering numerous awards both at home and abroad. Noted for a great variety of style, it is regarded as the most influential animation studio of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The studio has produced 1530 films during its existencehttp://animator.ru/db/?ver=eng&p=show_studia&sid=16&sp=2.
It is currently divided into two studios: "Creative union of the "Film studio "Soyuzmultfilm" («Творческо-производственное объединение «Киностудия «Союзмультфильм») and the Soyuzmultfilm Film Fund («Фильмофонд Киностудии «Союзмультфильм»).
History during the Soviet era
Traditional animation
Traditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
until 1954, when a "puppet division" was founded and the first stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
-animated film released. The puppet division would later also make cutout-animated
Cutout animation
Cutout animation is a technique for producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs...
films.
During the Soviet era, the studio employed a maximum of over 700 skilled labourers and released an average of 20 films each year (the highest number was 47, in 1973).
The 60s, 70s and 80s saw the release of many films whose characters became an integral part of Soviet culture: Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
, Crocodile Gena
Crocodile Gena
Crocodile Gena is a fictional, friendly crocodile in the series of animation films “Gena the Crocodile”, “Cheburashka” and “Shapoklyak” by Roman Kachanov ....
, Film, Film, Film
Film, Film, Film
Film, Film, Film is a satirical animated short film made in 1968 in the Soviet Union by Fyodor Khitruk.It is a parody of the filmmaking process in the USSR...
, Karlsson-on-the-Roof
Karlsson-on-the-Roof
Karlsson-on-the-Roof is a fictional character in a series of children's books created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The cartoon adaptation became popularised in the USSR with its release in the 1970s...
, The Musicians of Bremen , Three from Buttermilk Village
Three from Buttermilk Village
Three from Prostokvashino is a 1978 Soviet iconic animated film based on the children's book Uncle Fyodor, His Dog and His Cat by Eduard Uspensky...
, Nu, pogodi!
Nu, pogodi!
Nu, pogodi! is a Soviet/Russian animated series produced by Soyuzmultfilm. The series was created in 1969 and became a popular cartoon of the Soviet Union. Additional episodes have been produced in Russia since 2006...
, Hedgehog in the Fog
Hedgehog in the Fog
Hedgehog in the Fog is a 1975 Soviet/Russian animated film directed by Yuriy Norshteyn, produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow. The Russian script was written by Sergei Grigoryevich Kozlov, who also published a book under the same name...
, The Mystery of the Third Planet
The Mystery of the Third Planet
The Mystery of the Third Planet , aka The Secret of the Third Planet is a 1981 Soviet traditionally-animated feature film directed by Roman Kachanov and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow...
etc.
The variety of animation styles and the unprecedented degree of artistic freedom given to its many animators made Soyuzmultfilm perhaps the most diverse of the world's major animation studios.
Soyuzmultfilm's creativity was fueled in part by the unique conditions of the Soviet Union which made it possible for the studio to disregard the commercial appeal of its films. Because animators were paid by the Academy of Film regardless of how well or how poorly their products sold (though they were not, in fact, "sold"), they were free to pursue their artistic vision without giving a thought to finances.
Soyuzmultfilm's decline
In 1989, Soyuzmultfilm was made into a lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
d enterprise (expiring after 10 years) and forced into the capitalist marketplace.
Although the studio survived, it shrank dramatically, losing nearly 90% of its staff and releasing only a few films. One early misfortune happened when the Russian courts transferred the studio's puppet division building (in a legal decision involving many other buildings) to the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. Before the animators could react to this turn of events, an Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
squadron, accompanied by religious locals, broke into the building with swords unsheathed for the purpose of exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
and began throwing out the "satanic puppets animated with the blood of Christian babies". No studio employees were allowed to come in and salvage any item, despite the presence of much expensive equipment and a whole library of puppets. http://www.utro.ru/articles/2005/06/29/453479.shtml
The main reason for the collapse, however, was the studio's deliberate dismantling by the new top management and the illegal selling off of its assets for personal gain (see: http://animator.ru/articles/article.phtml?id=28 - in Russian). In 1992-1993, Sergei Skulyabin was elected president.
Films by Jove controversy
In 1992, the studio signed a deal with the American company Films by Jove, owned by Russian emigrants Oleg VidovOleg Vidov
Oleg Borisovich Vidov is a Russian actor. He appeared in 50 films since 1961. He was a sex symbol of his generation in Russia, and many of his films are still played on Russian television today....
and Joan Borsten. It was the first international offer that the studio had received. The deal stipulated that Films by Jove would be granted the rights to 547 of the most popular classic studio films for a period of 10 years in all territories except the CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
; as part of the return, Soyuzmultfilm would receive 37% of the net profits. Films by Jove restored many of the films and released many of them on television, video and DVD in the United States and Europe, albeit usually with dubbed voices and changed music.
According to current director Akop Kirakosyan, the original deal seemed promising at the time but turned out to be "deadly" for the studio. The expected payouts never materialized because Films by Jove never posted any net profits; all of the money officially went to things like new soundtracks, lawsuits and anti-pirating measures.
Whether either deal was legal was debated in court, with the Soyuzmultfilm Film Fund (see section below) claiming that because the company's lease on its possessions would have expired in 1999 (at which time ownership would have automatically reverted back to the government if no new lease were signed), Soyuzmultfilm had no authority to issue rights that lasted beyond that timeframe. http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article.shtml?2007/04/11/123914 Joan Borsten presented a different story. http://judiciary.house.gov/legacy/vidov031303.htm In the end, the Russian courts sided with Soyuzmultfilm and the American courts sided with Films by Jove.
On 11 April 2007, Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov
Alisher Usmanov
Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman.According to the 2011 edition of Forbes magazine, the oligarch is one of Russia's richest men, with a fortune estimated at US$17.7 billion, and the world's 35th richest person.Usmanov is married and is a graduate of Moscow State...
announced that he was in the final stages of negotiating a price with Films by Jove to buy back the collection. A source close to Usmanov said that Films by Jove's initial price was $10 million, while Usmanov is willing to pay "several times less", as he considers that the rights already belong to Soyuzmultfilm and that he himself is only buying the physical film prints. http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article.shtml?2007/04/11/123914 In September 2007, the deal was finalized, and Usmanov handed everything over to Russian state children's TV channel "Bibigon". http://top.rbc.ru/economics/05/09/2007/117322.shtml
Soyuzmultfilm today
In 1999, Soyuzmultfilm came back under the control of the government. A government edict on 10 January 2003 (http://pravo.roskultura.ru/law/order/08/12/2003/1/image/598.html) divided the company into two separate companies. The separation was finalised on March 1, 2004.The rights of all Soyuzmultfilm films before March 1, 2004 belong to the "Soyuzmultfilm Film Fund", headed by Ernest Rakhimov, and its official mission is restoring and marketing them. The mission of the "Creative union of the "Film studio "Soyuzmultfilm", headed by Akop Kirakosyan, is to create new films (anywhere from 3-7 short films a year) and to eventually privatize itself (currently, 100% of its stock is owned by the Russian Ministry of Culture).
The next year, Soyuzmultfilm created an animated opening title for the children's TV show Ulitsa Sezam
Ulitsa Sezam
Ulitsa Sezam is a regional version of the children's television program Sesame Street, for Russia and Bulgaria.-History:The series debuted in October 22, 1996 on TV channels NTV and ORT and was entitled in English, "Life in an open society." The Muppet characters include: a seven-foot tall...
.
Today the studio's major project is the upcoming feature film Gofmaniada
Gofmaniada
Hoffmaniada is a stop motion-animated feature film from Russian studio Soyuzmultfilm. The concept and all of the art design was done by Mikhail Shemyakin and it is being directed by Stanislav Sokolov....
, backed by Mikhail Shemyakin and directed by Stanislav Sokolov
Stanislav Sokolov
Stanislav Mihaylovich Sokolov is a Russian stop-motion animation director. He graduated from VGIK in 1971 and has since then worked with Studios Soyuzmultfilm, DEFA, Christmasfilms and S4C. He was awarded a number of prizes for his films, most notably an Emmy in 1992 for his contribution to The...
. It will be based on the tales of E.T.A. Hoffman. The film will use stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animation exclusively and will avoid using computer animation for special effects. The first 20 minutes of the film were screened on November 20, 2006, in St. Petersburg, and the full film is expected to be completed in 2008.http://news.ntv.ru/98119
Notable artists
Animators & directors
- Roman KachanovRoman Abelevich KachanovRoman Abelevich Kachanov was a Russian animator, one of the founders and leaders of Russian stop-motion animation.Kachanov was the director and screenwriter of the trilogy about Cheburashka, Gena the Crocodile and Shapoklyak.- Early years :...
- Eduard Nazarov
- Fyodor KhitrukFyodor KhitrukFyodor Savelyevich Khitruk is one of the most influential animators and animation directors in Russian animation.-Biography:Khitruk was born in Tver, Russian Empire and came to Moscow to study graphic design at the OGIS College for Applied Arts. He graduated in 1936 and started to work with...
- Garry Bardin
- Ivan Ivanov-VanoIvan Ivanov-VanoIvan Pyetrovich Ivanov-Vano was a Soviet animator and Russian animation director, sometimes called the "Patriarch of Soviet animation"....
- Leonid ShvartsmanLeonid ShvartsmanLeonid Shvartsman is a Russian animator and artist.He spent most of his creative career at the Soyuzmultfilm Studio, in Moscow, where he served as art director on Cheburashka, 38 Parrots, The Golden Antelope, The Scarlet Flower, The Snow Queen and many other cartoons.-External links:*...
- Rasa Strautmane
- Lev Atamanov
- Valeriy Ugarov
- Stanislav SokolovStanislav SokolovStanislav Mihaylovich Sokolov is a Russian stop-motion animation director. He graduated from VGIK in 1971 and has since then worked with Studios Soyuzmultfilm, DEFA, Christmasfilms and S4C. He was awarded a number of prizes for his films, most notably an Emmy in 1992 for his contribution to The...
- Vyatcheslav Kotyonochkin
- Vadim Kurchevskiy
- Yuriy NorshteynYuriy NorshteynYuriy Borisovich Norshteyn , or Yuri Norstein is an award-winning Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts, Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales...
- Nikolai Serebryakov
- Vladimir TarasovVladimir TarasovVladimir Tarasov is a Russian animator and animation director. He studied at the Moscow Polygraphic Institute from 1965 until 1970....
Actors
- Georgy VitsinGeorgy VitsinGeorgy Mikhailovich Vitsin was a Soviet and Russian actor.- Biography :Born in St. Petersburg, then Petrograd, in 1918 , Vitsin enjoyed a long acting career and continued performing until close to the end of his life...
- Vasily LivanovVasily LivanovVasily Borisovich Livanov MBE is a Soviet and Russian film actor, and screenwriter.-Biography:His father Boris Livanov was a prominent actor of the Moscow Art Theatre...
- Evgeniy Leonov
- Maria Vinogradova
- Anatoli PapanovAnatoli PapanovAnatoli Dmitrievich Papanov was a popular Soviet film and theatre actor.Papanov starred in some of the best and well-known Soviet films, often together with his friend, Andrei Mironov. Mostly known for his great performances in comedies, he also had serious and dramatic roles, such as that of the...
- Klara RumyanovaKlara RumyanovaKlara Mikhailovna Rumyanova was a Soviet and Russian actress and singer. She was active from 1951 to 1999.Her small, adorable voice is easily recognized by several generations of Soviet people from their early childhood, because she voiced numerous Russian animated films and sang countless...
- Vsevolod LarionovVsevolod LarionovVsevolod Dmitrievich Larionov was a Russian film and television actor and a People's Artist of the USSR, an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Filmography :* The Twelve Chairs...
- Lyudmila GnilovaLyudmila GnilovaLyudmila Vladimirovna Gnilova is a Russian and Soviet actress and voice actress. She was awarded as an Meritorious Artist .- Biography :...
- Oleg TabakovOleg TabakovOleg Pavlovich Tabakov is a Soviet and Russian actor and the artistic director of the Moscow Art Theatre.-Theatre career:...
- Rina Zelyonaya
Selected films
- 1942 Fox, Hare and Cock
- 19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
The Stolen Sun - 19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
Spring Melodies - 19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
The Humpbacked Horse - 1947 To You, Moscow
- 1949 Wonderful Bell
- 1950 When Christmas trees are lighted
- 1951 The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven KnightsThe Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven KnightsThe Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights is a 1833 fairy-tale poem by Aleksandr Pushkin. The story is based on the tale Little Snow White from Grimm's Fairy Tales. Pushkin owned a copy of the Grimms' Fairy Tales in a French translation called Vieux contes...
- 1952 The Scarlet FlowerThe Scarlet Flower (1952 film)The Scarlet Flower is a 1952 Soviet animated film directed Lev Atamanov. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the story of the same name by Sergei Aksakov...
- 1952 The Snow MaidenThe Snow Maiden (1952 film)The Snow Maiden is a 1952 Soviet/Russian traditionally-animated feature film. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the play of the same name by Aleksandr Ostrovsky . Music from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Snow Maiden is used, arranged for the film by L...
- 1953 Flight to the Moon
- 1954 The Golden Antelope
- 1955 The Enchanted BoyThe Enchanted BoyThe Enchanted Boy is a 1955 Soviet/Russian traditionally-animated feature film directed by Vladimir Polkovnikov and Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya...
- 1957 One in a faraway kingdom
- 1957 The Snow QueenThe Snow Queen (1957 film)The Snow Queen is a 1957 Soviet animated film directed by Lev Atamanov. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen...
- 1958 Beloved BeautyBeloved BeautyBeloved Beauty is a 1958 feature-length stop motion-animated film from the Soviet Union. The film, which was made at the Soyuzmultfilm studio, is based on Russian folk tales.-Creators:-See also:*History of Russian animation...
- 1962 The Storyof a Crime
- 1962 The Wild SwansThe Wild Swans (film)The Wild Swans is a 1962 Soviet traditionally-animated feature film directed by the husband-and-wife team of Mikhail Tsekhanovsky and Vera Tsekhanovskaya. Unusual for Soviet films of this period, and especially for animated films, it was filmed in widescreen...
- 1964 LeftyLefty (1964 film)Lefty is a 1964 feature-length cutout-animated film from the Soviet Union. The film is based on the story of the same name by the 19th century Russian novelist Nikolai Leskov...
- 1964 ThumbelinaThumbelina"Thumbelina" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Traveling Companion" in the second installment of Fairy Tales Told for Children. "Thumbelina" is about a tiny girl and...
- 1967 Mowgli
- 1968 Little Boy and KarlssonKarlsson-on-the-RoofKarlsson-on-the-Roof is a fictional character in a series of children's books created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The cartoon adaptation became popularised in the USSR with its release in the 1970s...
- 1969–2006 Nu, pogodi!Nu, pogodi!Nu, pogodi! is a Soviet/Russian animated series produced by Soyuzmultfilm. The series was created in 1969 and became a popular cartoon of the Soviet Union. Additional episodes have been produced in Russia since 2006...
- 1969 Crocodile GenaCrocodile GenaCrocodile Gena is a fictional, friendly crocodile in the series of animation films “Gena the Crocodile”, “Cheburashka” and “Shapoklyak” by Roman Kachanov ....
- 1969, released 1986 The Glass Harmonica
- 1969 The Bremen Town Musicians
- 1969 Winnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-Pooh (film)Winnie-the-Pooh is a 1969 animated film by Soyuzmultfilm, and was directed by Fyodor Khitruk. The film is based on Chapter 1 in the book series. The film is also part of a trilogy along with 2 sequels.-Cast:* V. Osenev as the narrator...
- 1969 Film, Film, FilmFilm, Film, FilmFilm, Film, Film is a satirical animated short film made in 1968 in the Soviet Union by Fyodor Khitruk.It is a parody of the filmmaking process in the USSR...
- 1970 Karlsson ReturnsKarlsson-on-the-RoofKarlsson-on-the-Roof is a fictional character in a series of children's books created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The cartoon adaptation became popularised in the USSR with its release in the 1970s...
- 1971 CheburashkaCheburashkaCheburashka , also known as Topple in earlier English translations, is a character in children's literature, from a 1966 story by the Russian writer Eduard Uspensky. In Estonian the character is called Potsataja...
- 1971 Winnie-the-Pooh Goes on a Visit
- 1972 Winnie-the-Pooh and the Day of Concern
- 1973 On the Trail of Town Musicians of BremenPo sledam bremenskikh muzykantovOn the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians is a Soviet animation musical cartoon made as a sequel for The Bremen Town Musicians in 1973 on Soyuzmultfilm and Toei Animation. Directed by Vasili Livanov, scenario and song texts by Yuri Entin and Vasili Livanov, music by Gennadi Gladkov...
- 1973 The Heron and the CraneThe Heron and the CraneThe Heron and the Crane is a 1974 Soviet/Russian animated film directed by Yuriy Norshteyn, produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow. Runtime: 10 minutes. It is based on a folk tale.-External links:...
- 1973 The Island
- 1973 The NutcrackerThe Nutcracker (1973 film)The Nutcracker is a 1973 Soviet/Russian animated film from the Soyuzmultfilm studio directed by Boris Stepantsev and based partly on Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker, but more closely on E.T.A...
- 1974 ShapoklyakShapoklyakShapoklyak was a popular villain from a story about Cheburashka written by Russian writer Eduard Uspensky. The first appearance of Shapoklyak was in the animated film Gena the Crocodile by Roman Kachanov ....
- 1975 Hedgehog in the FogHedgehog in the FogHedgehog in the Fog is a 1975 Soviet/Russian animated film directed by Yuriy Norshteyn, produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow. The Russian script was written by Sergei Grigoryevich Kozlov, who also published a book under the same name...
- 1975 The Box with a Secret
- 1976–1991 38 Parrots38 Parrots38 Parrots is a series of ten children's cartoons produced in the Soviet Union between 1976 and 1991 by Soyuzmultfilm. Featuring animated puppets, the series portrays the amusing adventures of four friends: the talkative marmoset Martyshka, the shy young elephant Slonionok, the eccentric parrot...
- 1977-1983 The Smallest Dwarf
- 1978 Three from Buttermilk VillageThree from Buttermilk VillageThree from Prostokvashino is a 1978 Soviet iconic animated film based on the children's book Uncle Fyodor, His Dog and His Cat by Eduard Uspensky...
- 1978 ContactContact (animated short film)Contact or Kontakt is an award-winning 1978 Soviet animated short film.-Plot:A painter leaves the town and walks around countryside. While he is resting on the grass, humming the melody of "Speak Softly Love" - the Love Theme From The Godfather, a large spaceship lands near him...
- 1978-1985 At the back desk
- 1979 Tale of TalesTale of Tales-External links:* at the Animator.ru**...
- 1980 Vacation in Buttermilk Village
- 1981 The Mystery of the Third PlanetThe Mystery of the Third PlanetThe Mystery of the Third Planet , aka The Secret of the Third Planet is a 1981 Soviet traditionally-animated feature film directed by Roman Kachanov and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow...
- 1981 Dog in BootsDog in BootsDog in Boots , also known as Pup in Boots is a 1981 Soyuzmultfilm's animated parody film directed by Yefim Gamburg. It is a musical adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas story of d'Artagnan and the three musketeers....
- 1982 Once Upon a DogOnce Upon a DogOnce Upon a Dog is an acclaimed Soviet cartoon, adapted from a Ukrainian folk tale....
- 1983 The Travels of an Ant
- 1983 Cheburashka Goes to SchoolCheburashka Goes to SchoolCheburashka Goes to School is a 1983 Soviet film directed by Roman Kachanov.-Plot summary:Gena figures out that Cheburashka does not know how to read.Gena tries to find Cheburashka a School, but the school is closed for maintenance....
- 1984 Winter in Buttermilk Village
- 1984 The Tale of Tsar SaltanThe Tale of Tsar Saltan (1984 film)The Tale of Tsar Saltan is a 1984 Soviet traditionally-animated feature film directed by Lev Milchin and Ivan Ivanov-Vano and produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio. It is an adaptation of the poem of the same name by Aleksandr Pushkin. There are few words in the film besides those of the poem...
- 1987 Laughter and Grief by the White SeaLaughter and Grief by the White SeaLaughter and Grief by the White Sea is a 1987 Soviet traditionally-animated feature film directed by Leonid Nosyrev made at the Soyuzmultfilm studio...
- 1988 Mountain PassMountain passA mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
See also
- History of Russian animationHistory of Russian animationThe History of Russian animation is very rich, but is so far a nearly unexplored field for Western film theory and history. As most of Russia's production of animation for film|cinema and television was created during Soviet times, it may also be referred to as the History of Soviet...
- MosfilmMosfilmMosfilm is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein , to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production and the epic Война и Мир...
- Gorky Film StudioGorky Film StudioGorky Film Studio is a film studio in Moscow, Russian Federation. By the end of the Soviet Union, Gorky Film Studio had produced more than 1,000 films...
- LenfilmLenfilmKinostudiya "Lenfilm" is a production unit of the Russian film industry, with its own film studio, located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, formerly Leningrad, R.S.F.S.R. Today OAO "Kinostudiya Lenfilm" is a corporation with its stakes shared between private owners, and several private film studios,...
- BelarusfilmBelarusfilmBelarusfilm is the main film studio of Belarus.Founded in 1928 as Soviet Belarus studio in Leningrad, the studio was moved to Minsk in 1939...
- Dovzhenko Film Studios
- Melnitsa Animation StudioMelnitsa Animation StudioMelnitsa Animation Studio is a Saint Petersburg-based Russian studio which produces animated films. There is also a section of the studio devoted to digital special effects for the use of its own projects as well as for live-action films....
- Encyclopedia of Domestic AnimationEncyclopedia of Domestic AnimationThe Encyclopedia of Domestic Animation is a collection of biographies and filmographies of the masters of Russian and Soviet animation. It was released at the 12th Open Russian Festival of Animated Film in March 2007, and its general release happened on March 11...
- covering all Soviet and Russian animation
External links
- Official website
- List of all Soyuzmultfilm films.
- Soyuzmultfilm Film Fund
- Soyuzmultfilm on Animator.ruAnimator.ruAnimator.ru is a Russian website chronicling the films, people and studios of the animation industry in Russia, the former Soviet Union and the CIS. It also includes a forum, a news block, a photo-gallery and an animators labour exchange...
- Soyuzmultfilm on the Internet Movie Database
- Soyuzmultfilm cartoons of the 1940s and the 1950s with Esperanto subtitles
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
- The Cartoon Database's entry on Soyuzmultfilm
- International distributor of Soyuzmultfilm's titles
- In-depth history of the appalling and criminal happenings at Soyuzmultfilm during the 1990s
- May, 2006 Interview with Soyuzmultfilm director
- condensed history of Soyuzmultfilm in the 1990s