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Culture & Arts10 June 1936

Soviet animation: the Soyuzmultfilm studio

Soyuzmultfilm gave the country Cheburashka, "Nu, pogodi!" and "Hedgehog in the Fog." How the USSR's main studio made cartoons loved by several generations.

The country's main studio

Soyuzmultfilm was the largest animation studio in the history of the USSR. It was founded on 10 June 1936 in Moscow, merging several Moscow animation groups into a single studio. Over its history it produced more than 1,500 cartoons and became the main centre of Soviet animation.

The first studio was housed in a former church building — a telling detail of the era.

From imitating Disney to a style of its own

In its early years Soviet animators largely imitated Disney. But the studio fairly quickly developed its own artistic language and many technical methods. It worked in a wide range of techniques: hand-drawn, puppet (stop-motion), cutout and plasticine.

The period from the late 1950s to the 1980s is known as the "Golden Collection" — these were the years that produced the cartoons now regarded as world-class classics.

Characters everyone knows

Soyuzmultfilm produced dozens of characters on whom several generations grew up.

  • "Nu, pogodi!" ("Well, Just You Wait!", since 1969) — the endless chase of a Wolf after a Hare, a Soviet "Tom and Jerry." The Wolf was voiced by Anatoli Papanov.
  • Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena (the 1969–1983 series) — the story of a big-eared creature and his friend. Cheburashka became a genuine national symbol, and later the mascot of the Russian Olympic team.
  • "Winnie-the-Pooh" (1969–1972) by Fyodor Khitruk — a bear quite unlike any other, voiced by Yevgeny Leonov. It is one of the most-quoted Soviet cartoons.
  • "Hedgehog in the Fog" (1975) by Yuri Norshtein — a poetic tale that in 2003, in a survey of 140 critics and animators from around the world, was named the best animated film of all time.

Other classic works include "The Snow Queen," "The Adventures of Mowgli," "The Bremen Town Musicians" and "Three from Prostokvashino."

Recognition around the world

The studio's films won hundreds of awards at international festivals. Norshtein's "Hedgehog in the Fog" and "Tale of Tales" made the lists of the greatest animated films in the world; "Hedgehog" was admired by the Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. Cheburashka became especially popular in Japan, where films were made based on him.

The studio drew on the best talent: famous actors for the voices and major composers for the music.

Decline and a new life

During perestroika and the 1990s the output of cartoons dropped sharply, and the studio came to the edge of bankruptcy. Later Soyuzmultfilm resumed work, restored the "Golden Collection" and began producing sequels to its cult cartoons.

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