TOP 55 Soviet/Russian Animated Films
In 1906 Alexander Shiryaev produced Russia's and world's first stop motion animated films. He was followed by Vladislav Starevich in 1910 and a whole generation of Soviet animators during the 1920s. The industry survived three deep crises: revolution, World War II and the 1990s when it was almost extinct. Still thousands of films have been produced and every big director developed a distinctive style. Despite what you've been told, propaganda cartoons were rare and unpopular. Most common are Russian and European fairy tale adaptations.
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- DirectorAleksandra Snezhko-BlotskayaViktor GromovIvan Ivanov-VanoStarsGeorgi ChernovolenkoAlik KachanovAnatoliy KubatskiyAdventures of Ivan the Fool and humpbacked horse in the world of kind magical creatures and cruel people.Traditional animation. Based on the classic satirical poem The Hunchedback Horse about Ivan and his magic horse who run errands for a Tsar. Highly regarded by Walt Disney, it was later redrawn from scratch, with 15 minutes added.
- DirectorRoman KachanovGlenn StantonStarsOlga GromovaVsevolod LarionovYuriy VolyntsevZoologist professor Steel, his small daughter Christine and captain Green leave Earth in search for rare space animals. The journey turns into adventurous and dangerous mission involving space pirates and a missing captain of a ship.Traditional animation. Breathtaking space adventure of a Soviet schoolgirl Alice in the 22nd century based on a series of sci-fi novels for teens The Mystery of the Third Planet. The soundtrack is especially beautiful (replaced in the US release).
- DirectorBoris StepantsevStarsKlara RumyanovaVasiliy LivanovValentina LeontyevaA Soviet cartoon adaptation of a classic Swedish tale by Astrid Lindgren about Karlsson-on-the-Roof.Traditional animation. Karlsson-on-the-Roof is a popular Swedish fairy tale about a little fat guy with a propeller behind his back turned into one of the funniest toons.
+ Karlsson Flies Again (1970) - DirectorRoman DavydovStarsLyusena OvchinnikovaAleksandr NazarovAnatoliy PapanovA boy raised by animals learns to live by the laws of the jungle. Full-length version of the Soviet animated series.Traditional animation. A faithful adaptation of the two Jungle Books. Careful translation of Kipling's philosophies, distinctive art style and a truly epic battle with red dogs!
- DirectorDmitriy BabichenkoIvan Ivanov-VanoMikhail BotovStarsNina GulyaevaEvgeniy VesnikGeorgiy VitsinA colorful fairy tale about a little wooden boy Buratino and his quest for the Golden Key that opens a secret door.Traditional animation. Based on the best-selling Soviet fairy tale The Adventures of Buratino (which is also, eh, based on The Adventures of Pinocchio). It's easily among the best-looking Russian toons ever, very colorful and detailed.
- DirectorAida ZyablikovaStarsGeorgiy VitsinTatyana PelttserFeliks IvanovPrequel to Kuzya's story tells about his adventures in the woods, and how he got into Natasha's apartment.Stop motion animation. Adventures of Little Domovoi is a very funny mini-series about an underage house spirit and other folk creatures adapting to the Soviet realm. And yes, the countdown usually starts from the second chapter that serves as a prequel.
+ A House for Kuzka (1984)
+ Fairy Tale for Natasha (1986)
+ Return of Domovoi (1987) - CreatorAleksandr KurlyandskiyArkadiy KhaytFeliks KamovStarsAnatoliy PapanovKlara RumyanovaIgor KhristenkoA long-years odyssey of Wolf to catch Hare. Comprehensive changes in the Soviet Union pass in the background.Traditional animation. A wolf hooligan is chasing a hipster hare through various Soviet locations in Well, Just You Wait! Most popular cartoon series of its time (and place).
- DirectorEduard NazarovStarsEduard NazarovThe story about a injured ant who travel by a hitch-hiking.Traditional animation. Highly educational and simply hilarious short The Journey of the Ant. Based on the story by the Russian scientist and writer Vitaly Bianki known for his books on nature. Welcome to the crazy world of insects!
- DirectorGennadiy SokolskiyAnimation story about a little mouse, who was so tiny, that everybody could offend him.Traditional animation. A Mouse Called Pik is another one of Bianki's stories about a baby mouse and his travels through wildness. The film is stunning visually and full of green colour, enchanting music and sounds of nature.
- DirectorFyodor KhitrukStarsEvgeniy LeonovIya SavvinaVladimir OsenevA Soviet version of Winnie-the-Pooh. His first adventure is a desperate attempt to get to honey in a bee hollow. He is ready to take decisive action.Traditional animation. Three chapters from Winnie-the-Pooh drawn in an unorthodox manner. A lot of humour was added on the way, making it very quotable.
+ Winnie-the-Pooh Goes Visiting (1971)
+ Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day (1972) - DirectorMikhail TsekhanovskiyStarsBoris ChirkovVladimir GribkovAleksey GribovA prince discovers an enchanted beauty turned into a frog by Koschei the Immortal. After Koschei steals her again, the prince goes on a dangerous quest to free the land of the evil.Traditional animation. One of the most gorgeous animations based on one of the weirdest Russian fairy tales about a prince who once married a Frog Princess.
- DirectorDavid CherkasskiyStarsValeriy BessarabArmen DzhigarkhanyanViktor AndrienkoCartoon adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous adventure novel.Traditional animation/live action. How to make a laugh-out-load comedy out of Treasure Island? Take the original text, add goofy characters, parodies, slapstick and songs.
- DirectorBoris StepantsevStarsRina ZelyonayaElena PonsovaKlara RumyanovaA schoolboy gets into a fairy tale with the help of a librarian and DIY book. But life in the magical land is not as easy as it seems.Traditional animation. Vovka in the Far Far Away Kingdom is a very very funny look on Russian folklore. A lazy Soviet boy finds a way into the book of fairy tales.
- DirectorVladimir PolkovnikovAleksandra Snezhko-BlotskayaStarsValentina SperantovaAnatoliy KubatskiyErast GarinA naughty boy named Nils is shrunken to a small size after offending a tomte. He has to go on a voyage with geese across Lapland to fulfill the prophecy and turn back to normal.Traditional animation. An adorable, atmospheric adaptation of the popular Swedish fairy tale The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. An Enchanted Boy has to travel with geese across Sweden after offending a vindictive tomte.
- DirectorValeriy UgarovStarsInnokentiy SmoktunovskiyNatalya SeleznyovaInna ChurikovaA rich caliph is leading a careless life. One day an evil wizard sells him a magic potion that can turn human into any animal he wants. The only condition: one mustn't laugh.Traditional animation. Based on Caliph Stork by the German classic Wilhelm Hauff, it used to scare kids all over the country. There's just something very unhealthy, yet very amusing about a stupid calif and his encounter with an evil wizard.
- DirectorVladimir PopovStarsOleg TabakovValentina TalyzinaMariya VinogradovaLittle Fedor brings a cat to home despite his mother's distaste for cats. He runs away with his talking cat, to make more friends on the way.Traditional animation. Three from Prostokvashino is a fun, charming film series about a town boy who immigrated to a village house, together with a talking cat and a dog.
+ Vacation in Prostokvashino (1980)
+ Winter in Prostokvashino (1984) - DirectorAleksandr PetrovStarsGordon PinsentKevin DuhaneyYôji MatsudaAn old fisherman goes out on his fishing trip and makes a huge catch, the biggest of his life.Paint-on-glass animation. This movie based on the famous novel by Hemingway perfected Petrov's style, turning him into one of the world's most respected animators.
- DirectorAleksandra Snezhko-BlotskayaIvan Ivanov-VanoStarsVeronika BorisenkoLeonid KtitorovIrina MaslennikovaThe tale about a girl with a cold heart who is dying in agony because of joy and love.Traditional animation. The Snow Maiden is a beautiful winter tale based on Rimsky-Korsakov's opera based on Ostrovsky's play. It takes place during pre-Christian days, with pagan symbols, folk creatures, Slavic songs and dances.
- DirectorAleksandr TatarskiyStarsLiya AkhedzhakovaStanislav SadalskiySurreal misadventures of a lazy drunkard with speech impediment trying to get a New Year tree on a short notice. Loosely based on folk fairy tales.Claymation. Last Year's Snow Was Falling, the second - and arguably the best - Soviet clay animation (the first was Plasticine Crow in 1981). Absolutely hilarious mix of Russian fairy tales and morphing abilities of plasticine.
- DirectorInessa KovalevskayaStarsElmira ZherzdevaOleg AnofrievAnatoliy GorokhovA story loosely based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale 'Town Musicians of Bremen', about a donkey, a dog, a cat, a rooster and their master Troubadour.Traditional animation. How Troubadour and several animals started a musical band. The Bremen Town Musicians and its sequel are full of songs and hippies (back in the USSR!).
+ On the Trail of Bremen Town Musicians (1971) - DirectorAleksandr PtushkoStarsVladimir KonstantinovIvan YudinIvan BobrovWhile hearing the story of "Gulliver's Travels", a young Russian boy dreams that he is the title character on the island of Lilliput.Stop motion animation + live actor. Ptushko was the first to properly combine stop motion cartoon and a live actor in The New Gulliver - a Soviet Jonathan Swift adaptation. 3000 dolls, hundreds of animations per frame and various camera tricks.
- DirectorLeonid NosyrevStarsEvgeniy LeonovAleksey PtitsynAleksandr BaranovIn cold and snowy taiga, the Tiger cub had no home. So he was looking for a warm and safe place to hide.Traditional animation. A Tiger on a Sunflower is a touching story about a cute Amur baby tiger who warmed a seed that grew into a giant sunflower, home for everyone!
- DirectorLev AtamanovStarsVladimir GribkovYanina ZheymoAnna KomolovaA young girl embarks on a perilous journey to rescue her friend, who has been taken captive by the Snow Queen and turned cruel by enchanted ice splinters.Traditional animation. The Snow Queen is a gorgeous feature based on the epic fairy tale by H.C. Andersen. US versions are not so gorgeous, lacking original score/songs.
- DirectorEduard NazarovStarsGeorgiy BurkovArmen DzhigarkhanyanEduard NazarovTwo lonely souls met: a dog outcast by his owners, and a poor wolf living in the woods.Traditional animation. Despite a simple story (an old wolf helps an old dog to get his "job" back) and few spoken lines, There Once Was a Dog is universally beloved.
- DirectorAnatoliy PetrovStarsAleksandr BelyavskiyAnatoliy KuznetsovSergey MartynovA military scientist creates a mind-reading weapon for his generals on a remote island. After the demonstration, the generals are pleased. Little do they realize, both the weapon, and the creator of the weapon have a mind of their own.Traditional animation. Firing Range is not only technically impressive (Petrov developed a very complex, realistic art style long before CGI). It is also a deep antiwar story.