“Cheburashka will make a speech now.”
“We were building, building, and finally we have built.”
Gena the Crocodile, dir. Roman Kachanov (1969)
This blog is about old postcards, book illustration, history and culture of Russia and the Soviet Union. I'm a long time collector, and this blog is 10 years old.
Children’s books based on cartoons (USSR, 1960s)
Chunga-Changa - the paradise island where you eat coconuts, chew on bananas and live your dream life.
Song from the “Little Motorboat” cartoon, 1970
I have the weirdest dreams sometimes! Last night’s one featured this song. When I woke up it was still in my head and I couldn’t get it out for half a day. %)
The Genius Detective’s Song from “On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians” (1973)
I promised you some weird Soviet cartoons, and here you go. This one is from 1978. It’s about a man and an alien finding contact through music. The Godfather theme song to be exact.
No translation needed. Enjoy this psychedelic gem.
10 June, 1936 is the day when the first and biggest Soviet animation studio, Soyuzmultfilm, was created! Basically all of Soviet cartoons were made under its wing.
There are so so so many amazing old cartoons, some are funny, some sad, some educational, some plain weird. I should post some of the more weird ones, oh you’ll see.
Morning! How about some cartoons? I used a phrase from this cartoon earlier today and wanted to rewatch it and share it here. It’s called “The Princess and the Ogre” (1977). It’s based on swapping words прекрасный (lovely) and ужасный (aweful) to make two different stories. The phrase “Погода была ужасная, принцесса была прекрасная… А может быть, всё было наоборот?” (”The weather was aweful, the princess was lovely… But maybe it was the other way around?”) is one of those quotes that every Russian person recognizes.
(Sorry I couldn’t find it with English subtitles, only Russian ones.)
Sketches and mid-production art for the Soviet Cinderella cartoon (1979). Artist G. Shakitskaya. Velvet paper, celluloid, mixed media.
And here’s the actual still with the watering scene from the cartoon:
Mukha-Tsokotukha - vintage filmstrip illustrated by B. Stepantsev (1963). Story by Kornei Chukovsky. You can see the whole filmstrip here.
minowly:
Yuri Norstein
“The Tale of Tales”, animated movie directed by Yury Norshtein (1979)
«Ишь ты, масленица!» (Bah, Butterfeast!) — a super popular Soviet Armenian cartoon. It’s not about Maslenitsa per se, but it’s culturally iconic in its use of the word Maslenitsa. :)
Watch with English subtitles above!
Eduard Uspensky and Cheburashka
Today, December 22, is Eduard Uspensky’s birthday (the author of Cheburashka and many other beautiful books and scripts). That calls for a Cheburashka watching party!
(All 4 cartoons with English subtitles ↓)
Holiday cartoons from Soviet Union - my top 5
“The Last Year’s Snow Was Falling” (1983)
This one is a legend. Packed with phrases that every Russian person recognizes in a conversation. I watch it religiously every year on December 31. I pretty much know it by heart, but I still enjoy watching it! Voiced by the amazing Stanislav Sadalsky. Great music too!
(«Уж послала так послала!» «А вот это мой размерчик.» «Ох уж эти сказочки! Ох уж эти сказочники…»)
(Watch with English subtitles here)
“Father Frost and Summer” (1969)
It’s sooo cute! And those songs! Love love love it.
(LQ quality but with English subtitles)
“Winter in Prostokvashino” (1984)
Another classic cartoon - the third installment in the story of the little village called Prostokvashino. Check out the Christmas tree decorated in attic-found vintage. :)
(«Фиг вам называется!»)
(with English subtitles)
“The Nutcracker” (1973)
I remember watching this as a child and being mesmerized with the music. It was long before I knew who Tchaikovsky was! And the scene when Nutcracker turns into boy gave me goose bumps.
This one needs no translation.
“Father Frost and Grey Wolf” (1978)
I mostly include this one for the song - «Тревога! Тревога! Волк унёс зайчат!» - which is an old joke between me and my sister. We watched this one a lot back in the day. :)
(with English subtitles)
Making this list has put me into holiday mood! :)
“Toptyzhka the Bear”, cartoon illustration postcards (1981)
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