A still from The Mitten, a 1967 cartoon that will emotionally destroy you
For the past few weeks I have been using my spare time to work on a personal illustration project. I am currently deep in the extensive planning and research, and the freshness of this beginning stage is akin to the excitement of traveling to a foreign country I haven’t been to before, and anticipation of whatever adventures it’ll bring.
Since this new thing that I’m working has to do with kid’s illustration, part of the development process was me revisiting things I’ve enjoyed as a kid - books, games, laughter and joyful experiences, and, of course, my favorite cartoons.
I feel that the Soviet animation of the 70s-80s is it’s own special genre. With an excellent combination of humor (often absurd and nonsensical), the quotable language, the masterful voice over acting and animation work - some of these cartoons firmly stand the test of time.
Many are already aware of the critically acclaimed Hedgehog in the Fog (Ежик в тумане) by Yuriy Norshteyn. Here are some of my other favorites from that era:
Last Year’s Snow Was Falling (Падал прошлогодний снег, 1983) by Alexander Tatarsky - a humorous and widely beloved stop motion claymation that was on TV every New Year's Eve
Plasticine Crow (Пластилиновая ворона, 1981) - same makers, same technique, a parody of the Krylov’s fable "The Crow and The Fox" with a catchy tune
Once There Was a Dog (Жил-был пёс, 1982) by Eduard Nazarov - based on Ukrainian folk story about an old dog that befriends a wolf after being kicked out
Wings, legs and tails (Крылья, ноги и хвосты,1986) by Alexander Tatrsky and Igor Kovalyov) - a humorous (and somewhat cynical) fable about a vulture teaching an ostrich to fly
Wow, It’s a Talking Fish! (Ух ты, говорящая рыба! 1983) and In The Blue Sea, In The White Foam... (В синем море, в белой пене…1984) by Robert Sahakyants - two very trippy Armenian cartoons with some catchy tunes about the importance of being nimble
The Box of Colored Pencils (Коробка с карандашами, 1985) - an animated song by Grigoriy Gladkov about the creative possibilities within a box of colored pencils
The Mitten (Варежка, 1967) by Roman Kachanov - this one is a beautiful and touching story about a little girl that wanted a dog. It will break your heart and put it back together again. No words necessary
There are, of course, many many more amazing animated works from that time, such as a hilarious and quotable Soviet version of The Winnie the Pooh, the catchy tunes of The Musicians of Bremen and The Flying Ship, the Karlsson-on-the-Roof series, the 38 Parrot series - too many to list.
Catching one of these on TV was a celebratory occasion associated with the joys of a school break and various holiday season festivities.
And now - back to work.