"June 1st" Children's Day is a festival for children all over the world, and in Russia, which pays attention to cultivating the next generation, this festival is even more lively. In addition to many entertainment activities, TV stations also broadcast domestic cartoons that are loved by children.
Among them, there are both "Hedgehog in the Mist" and "Rabbit, Wait and See!" Soviet cartoons, as well as Happy Ball and Martha and the Bear, which were created in the new era. The protagonists in these cartoons have become part of Russian culture.
Hedgehog in the Mist
The Hedgehog in the Mist is a poetic animated film
Hedgehog in the Mist is one of the most classic animated films, which is internationally recognized.
In 2003, 140 animators from all over the world were invited to nominate the 20 most outstanding animated films in history, and the first place was "Hedgehog in the Mist". This is a very "artistic" animated film, full of suspense and emotion rare in children's animation. The film has almost no plot, except that the hedgehog gets lost in the thick fog while heading to his friend's bear cub house. Much of the film shows the hedgehog's journey: gripping background music, virtual reality blending in the fog.
China International Animation Network reported that the animation "Hedgehog in the Mist" is mainly about the night, the little hedgehog with jam out to find a good friend who lives on the other side of the forest, the little hedgehog walked while curiously looking here, touching there, even the owl was amused by the behavior of this little hedgehog, so he followed the little hedgehog.
As the little hedgehog walked, he suddenly noticed a large fog in front of him, which made the little hedgehog's journey to find a friend begin to become mysterious and strange. In the end, after experiencing a series of events in the fog, the little hedgehog finally came out of the fog and met his good friend Bear, who shared his experience in the fog with the bear.
The animated image in "Hedgehog in the Mist" is very cute and full of childlike fun. For example, the little hedgehog shouted curiously twice when passing through an empty tree hole just to hear the echo, and this move made the owl following the little hedgehog also learn to shout like a little hedgehog. When the hedgehog passes through the pond and takes the pond as a mirror, the owl also comes to join in the fun.
The film expresses the beauty and elusiveness of nature in a gray-brown tone. As with all great works of art, the ideas conveyed by the creator can be interpreted differently. One thing is for sure, though, is that Hedgehog in the Mist impressed all audiences, both adults and children.
At the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Hedgehog in the Mist was included in Russia's major achievements along with Sputnik, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.
Rabbit, wait and see! 》
Rabbit, wait and see! " is more thoughtful than Tom and Jerry
Since the Soviet period, Russians have loved the cartoon "Rabbit, Wait and See".
"Rabbit, Wait and See" tells the story of a troubled wolf who chases a rabbit. The rabbit was the embodiment of the Soviet ideal – an athlete, a technologist, actively engaged, leading a healthy lifestyle, and following the rules.
Alexander Kuryandsky, one of the creators of the cartoon, recalls its birth history this way: "We decided to make a film that chased the subject matter. We were all young and had a great sense of humor, and we needed scenes with a lot of stunts, which allowed us to make a chase movie. There was no heated discussion about who chased whom, and the traditional Russian image of the rabbit and the wolf was quickly established. The cartoon takes its name from a threatening line that the wolf repeats to the rabbit: "Rabbit, wait and see!" ”（Ну， заяц， погоди！ ）。
The cartoon was produced by the Soviet Animated Film Studio between 1969 and 1993. A total of 18 episodes were filmed before and after, and a sequel began to be created after 2000. The person in charge of filming the main part was the general director Vyacheslav Vladimirov Vladimirovich. KochoNochkin, who was later directed by his son Alexei.
Rabbit, Wait and See! " is a true depiction of the social reality of the time. The same cars, phone booths, soda vending machines, and the same summer getaways. Even some of the scenes played music that was popular at the time, such as Vladimir Vysotsky's "Friends" or Ala Pugachova's songs that were very popular at the time. In addition, the songs sung by rabbits and wolves in the film are still popular to this day. Some of the plots in the cartoon are well known to audiences in real life, such as one episode that takes place during the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Now, people often refer to "Rabbit, Wait and See!" compared to Tom and Jerry. According to Alexei, his father, Vyacheslav Kochonochkin, had only seen Tom and Jerry after 1987, when the classic Soviet cartoon had aired 16 episodes. Alexei proudly said: "American animation is just an action comedy, and our animation is 'more thoughtful than special effects.'" "Our team is making a 3D version of the animation. We wanted to get rid of the old format and add more dialogue and characters to the film, including second-class characters. ”
Big-eared monkey Chebrashka.
The big-eared monkey Cebrashka spreads friendship and love
"It's a long-haired animal with a strange name and a stupid head. It's like a rabbit, a dog, a cat, and a kangaroo, but it's nothing. It has big eyes, a round head, and a short tail. It has a vague goodness, an extraordinary sincerity, that can overcome all evil..." Its symbolic meaning is that the Russians are kind, stoic, and forgive everything. This is the classic Russian animated image of the big-eared monkey Chebrashka.
According to the website of Russia's "Expert" weekly, the big-eared monkey first appeared in the classic work "Crocodile Genna and Its Friends" created by the well-known children's writer Uspis based on 1966, and after appearing in the Soviet well-known cartoon "Crocodile Genna", the big-eared monkey quickly became the most popular guest in the morning play staged for children, which can be called the longest and most prosperous animation image in the Soviet Union.
Since the 2004 Athens Olympics, the big-eared monkey has been frequently selected as the mascot of the Russian team. In Athens, it incarnates as a brown moe. At the Turin Winter Olympics, it was white with ice and snow, and in 2008 in Beijing, it surprised the audience with the auspicious big red in Chinese culture.
Martha and the Bear
Martha and the Bear makes children friends with their parents
The lyrical, romantic and beautiful style of Russian art has been vividly expressed and carried forward in animation works. Among them, the series of animation films "Martha and the Bear" has written a successful case of the animation industry to innovate and rebrand.
Beijing People's Daily reported that the film is based on an ancient Russian fairy tale, the Russian Animation Company Animacord animation company used three-dimensional technology to turn it into a series of animation films, the film's choreographer once said when talking about the motivation for creation: "Busy adults can not see the world with the eyes of children, children often can not communicate with their parents about the things they care about and are interested in, and the gap between adults and children is still widening in the process of urbanization." We want to show another world through this cartoon, where children and parents can become friends, be able to extract value from each other's lives, and work together to meet the challenges in life. ”
Because of the wonderful story, cute image, simple dialogue, beautiful music, and excellent production, "Martha and the Bear" was favored by the Russian, European and American markets as soon as it came out, and when the cartoon only aired 4 episodes, publishers and derivative product developers in Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and other countries realized its commercial value and launched more than a hundred related readings and derivative products in a short period of time.
"Happy Ball" (Image source: The pictures in this article are all infographics)
Round and fat Give your child a vivid lesson "Happy Ball"
"Happy Ball" animation is a multi-theme series of animation films produced by the Russian Happy Ball Company for teenagers with the support of the Russian government and the Russian Children's Fund. The cartoon characters in the film are round and fat, like a group of cute "happy balls".
China News Network reported that the "happy ball" is a spherical style of small animals, there are rabbit-shaped "rabbit jump", hedgehog-shaped "hedgehog brother", etc., each character has its own personality, and its childlike shape has won people's favor.
From the setting of the 9 main characters in the play, you can feel the cultural connotation and symbolism of Russian animation, such as the rabbit symbolizes the energetic, adventurous and irresponsible boy, the pig symbolizes the girl who yearns for a beautiful and handsome prince, the hedgehog represents a quiet personality, makes friends, and likes to collect, the bull represents an artist who acts in his own style, and the owl is a typical Russian grandmother with ancestral secret recipes.
Each episode of this 6-minute animation begins with contradictions and conflicts, ends with reconciliation and reunion, and involves all aspects of society, such as Internet addiction, alcoholism, and family conflicts. These stories teach children to love life, be honest and trustworthy, be helpful, be industrious and brave, and respect their teachers.
According to reports, for Russian children, the "happy ball" has become a new animation image that helps children grasp the knowledge universe with great interest, develop their own invention and creative ability, and strive to realize their dreams.
Happy Ball is also the only Russian humanitarian project that can cover various areas of the younger generation's hobbies. According to reports, the Happy Ball Social and Cultural Project is one of the most successful examples of Russian-made animation, which was awarded the "State Literary and Artistic Award of the Russian Federation" in 2009. Then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev once said that the "Happy Ball" project absorbed the fine traditions of traditional Russian domestic animation: how to learn patience in life, value friendship, understand each other, and give everyone, especially children, a vivid lesson in its extremely delicate and unimpressive tone.
In recent years, the film has achieved great success around the world, and has been broadcast on more than 300 TV stations in Russia and dozens of countries in Europe and the United States, and has received more than 5 million daily viewers worldwide. More than 3,000 toys, books and other series of products derived from the cartoon image of the film. Magazines, DVDs and spin-offs of "Happy Ball" can be found in newsstands and shops in various Russian cities.
Many European and American countries have purchased the rights to the film to be broadcast on mainstream tv stations in their countries, and China also introduced and broadcast the film in March 2011, and simultaneously released supporting books and game books.
(Editor: Zhang Kechen)