The Bremen Town Musicians: Songs of Freedom and Controversy

The Bremen Town Musicians (Бременские музыканты) is one of the first animated rock operas released in the USSR. It has since become popular among all generations, first in the Soviet Union and later gained reputation internationally. One of the film’s main draws was its unforgettable soundtrack and style, which drew from the latest global fashions […]

Mystery of the Third Planet / Тайна третьей планеты

Mystery of the Third Planet (Тайна третьей планеты) is a 1981 animated Soviet feature film based on the children’s sci-fi novella Alice’s Travel by Kir Bulychov (Кир Булычёв), from the Alice (Алиса) book series. The year is 2181, and Alice Selzynova (Алиса Селезнёва), along with her father Professor Selznyov (профессор Селезнёв) and their trusty compadre Captain […]

Hedgehog in the Fog / Ёжик в тумане

Hedgehog in the Fog (Ёжик в тумане) is a 1975 Soviet short animated film. It’s rather dark and philosophical, and not exactly meant for children; but even if you can’t understand every word, it’s beautiful and fascinating enough to be worth a watch. The film was directed by Yuriy Norshtein (Юрий Норштейн), a very well-known […]

The Adventures of Captain Vrungel / Приключения капитана Врунгеля

The Adventures of Captain Vrungel (Приключения капитана Врунгеля) is a Soviet Russian-language cartoon. It aired between 1976 and 1979 and consists of 13 episodes, each about 10 minutes. It tells of the adventures of the eponymous Captain Vrungel—through song and dance as well as standard narration. The series is based on the book of the […]

Prostokvashino / Простоквашино

Prostokvashino (Простоквашино) is a series of three animated children’s cartoons from the Soviet Union. The episodes are “Three from Prostokvashino” (“Трое из Простоквашино,” 1978), “Vacations in Prostokvashino” (“Каникулы в Простоквашино,” 1980), and “Winter in Prostokvashino” (“Зима в Простоквашино,” 1984). Each is a little less than 20 minutes. They are based on the story “Uncle Fyodor, Dog, […]

Winnie-the-Pooh / Винни Пух

Winnie-the-Pooh (Винни Пух in Russian) is a Soviet/Russian animated “children’s” series, and the Russian version of the all-time American classic (well, sort of). The Russian version, although also based on the book series, is different in almost every way—from the unusual animation to the sometimes dark subject matter and Pooh’s exceptional air of melancholy. Technically, […]

The Three Bogatyrs: The Princess of Shamakhi / Три богатыря и Шамаханская царица

The Three Bogatyrs: The Princess of Shamakhi (Три богатыря и Шамаханская царица; also known as How Not to Rescue a Princess in English) is a Russian animated film from 2010, the fourth in the Bogatyr series from Melnitsa Studios. The film starts out with the princess of Shamakhi (a city in present-day Azerbaijan) trying to […]

The Three Bogatyrs: The Horse’s Course / Три богатыря. Ход конём

The Three Bogatyrs: The Horse’s Course (Три богатыря. Ход конём) is a 2014 Russian comedic animated film. It draws on myths about bogatyrs, who were similar to knights and often figure in in Russian and Slavic legends. Most stories about bogatyrs take place in Kyiv, the first early Slavic capital. The film is actually the […]

Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf / Иван Царевич и серый волк

Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf (Иван Царевич и серый волк) is a Russian animated film comedy from 2011. The film was inspired by the classical Russian fairy tale of the same name. In the fairy tale, Tsar Berendey has given his three sons the job of figuring out who keeps stealing their golden apples […]