The Laughing Pot (Горщик-cміхотун in Ukrainian, Горшок смехотун in Russian—though the Ukrainian cміхотун has also been translated into Russian in the name of the film as хохотун and насмешник) is a 1990 Ukrainian-made short animated film. It’s about eight minutes long. The film is wordless. The film tells the story of a very strange-looking clay pot made […]
The Mitten (Рукавичка) is a 1996 short animated film. It was produced in Ukraine but is almost wordless—though there is nice music!. It’s about eight minutes long. (It should not be confused with the 1967 Soviet puppet film Варежка, which also has the English title The Mitten. That one is about a girl who wants a puppy so […]
Kruglyachok (Круглячок; sometimes also spelled Кругляшок in Russian) is a Ukrainian short animated film. Ukrainian and Russian versions were created in 1992 and 2002, respectively. The film is under 10 minutes long and was produced by Ukranimafilm (Укранімафільм), the studio that replaced the Soviet-era Ukrainian animation studio Kyivnaukfilm (Київнаукфільм). Kruglyachok is based on an old Ukrainian fairy […]
This Is Ours and This Is Yours (Це – наше і це – твоє) is a contemporary Ukrainian cartoon series. It airs on PlusPlus (ПлюсПлюс), a children’s TV channel in Ukraine that also airs other cartoons such as Helpful Hints (Корисні підказки). The episodes are about a minute long. The show aims to imbue children with national […]
As Petrik Pyatochkin Counted Elephants (Як Петрик П’яточкін слоників рахував) is a short animated film in Ukrainian. It was created in 1984 and runs about 10 minutes. It’s one of the few films that Kyivnaukfilm (Київнаукфільм), the Ukrainian/Soviet animation studio, produced in Ukrainian rather than Russian. Petrik is one of the most beloved of Ukrainian cartoons. […]
There Once Was a Dog (Жив-був пес in Ukrainian; Жил-был пёс in Russian) is a Ukrainian/Russian short animated film from the Soviet era. It was created in 1982 and spans about 10 minutes. The original version had dialogue in Russian and songs in Ukrainian; in 2012 the film was given a Ukrainian-language voiceover. The story is based […]
Cossacks (Козаки) is a series of Ukrainian short animated films that appeared between 1967 and 1995. There are nine episodes, most about 15 minutes long. The films are about three Zaporozhian Cossacks. (Cossacks are historical ethnic Ukrainians known for their fighting prowess and are considered a major part of Ukraine’s proud cultural heritage. Zaporozhian Cossacks […]
Zlydni (Злидні) is a Ukrainian short animated film from 2005. The title translates to “poverty,” though actually it refers to a mythological Slavic creature that is thought to bring misery and poverty into the home where it settles. In Ukrainian and Belorusian mythology, zlydni are demonic creatures who settle in homes—they usually live behind the stove—or sit […]
The #9 Tram Went By (Йшов трамвай дев’ятий номер) is a Ukrainian short animated film. It is notable for the fact that its voiceover is in neither Ukrainian nor Russian but in Surzhuk, a dialect somewhere in the middle of the two languages commonly spoken in various regions of Ukraine. The film, about 10 minutes long, […]
