Animated Propaganda: The Millionaire 1963

Some cartoons despite the limited artistic merit could serve as a perfect case study for the zeitgeist of a certain era. The Millionaire produced in 1963 is one of those rather crude propaganda pieces that involves the main subjects of the Soviet official satire of the 1960s: the American politics and society, capitalism, contemporary Western art, and pop-culture.

The Millionaire, 1963 Soyuzmultfilm

Aesthetically, the 1960s in the Soviet Union began soon after the death of Stalin, and Khrushchev’s rise to power. In a few years, totalitarian Soviet baroque was replaced by the modern minimalist style in the architecture and visual arts. In the Soviet animation, this style was pioneered by Fyodor Khitruk. The Millionaire by Vitold Bordzilovsky is one of the examples of the new approach of the early 1960s. This cell animated film is executed in the sharp contrast with the Disney-like Soviet animation of the 1940-1950s. While the Stalinist aesthetics was replaced with more Western-like, Soviet art continued to be highly ideological. The Millionaire is a perfect example of the Soviet political animation of the 1960s.

Example of the Soviet rotoscope technique from the 1950s – Kashtanka, 1952

The minimalist aesthetics of the 1960s – Story of a Crime, 1962

The base of this animation short is ideologically correct doggerel by one of the most cynical Soviet authors, Sergey Mikhalkov. When it was necessary Mikhalkov condemned enemies of the people, Nazis, American imperialists, Zionists and cosmopolitans (a euphemism for Soviet Jews), Soviet intelligentsia “kowtowing to the rotten West”, and so on depending on the demands of the Communist Party. The Millionaire was part of the satirical newsreel Fitil’ (Fuse), an important element of the Soviet visual agitation machine. The cartoon’s plot tells a story that must have seemed hilarious to the Soviet audience: a rich lady bequeaths all her money to her beloved bulldog. The Bulldog is transformed into a rich and powerful capitalist who attends lavish parties and becomes a Member of Congress thanks to his riches.

The Millionaire book cover

This animation should be discussed according to not only its technical and artistic qualities. In the totalitarian state, visual media played an essential role as a social engineer shaping public opinion. The Millionaire conveys a certain social and cultural message presented by means of animation. Obviously, it’s not a purely entertaining piece. It criticizes the American elite, the “dollar cult”, and contemporary Western culture. Every small detail of the cartoon is used to enforce the message. Take for example interior backgrounds with abstract paintings and sculptures. Similarly to Nazi Germany where modern art was labeled “degenerate”, in the USSR it was called “formalist art” and was sharply criticized by the Communist Party. Any work of art that did not fit into the rigid ideological system of Social Realism was condemned, and independent artists were often persecuted.

A Soviet cartoon satirizing abstract art titled “Pure art”

Khrushchev condemned abstract artists in 1962

The cartoon shows a combination of stereotypical images, such as big cars, skyscrapers, logos, and forbidden entertainment. Logotypes that frame the nightclub sequence at the beginning and the end play an especially important role in both cinema and animation. Logos play the same role as geographical landmarks helping viewers understand that this cartoon is about the US.

The nightclub sequence is of particular interest as it sarcastically portrays the American entertainment and popular culture. The Bulldog, as a stereotypical American nouveau riche, enjoys his status and indulges with good food, night bars, a personal limo, and a luxurious household with a butler. The comical effect is achieved by the fact that such luxury, unthinkable in Soviet Russia for anybody except the highest rank leaders, is inherited by the dog. In the 1950s, a significant part of the Soviet citizens lived in wretched conditions of communal apartments, dormitories, and temporary houses. The dancing scene was used not only to satirically depict the soulless American style of entertainment but also was aimed at the youth subculture of stilyagi, (the stylish ones) often considered a pro-Western “fifth column” within the Soviet society. Stilyagi were Soviet youngsters fascinated with American music, dance, and art. They listened to jazz and adopted Western fashion trends.

Stilyagi were often ridiculed by the official Soviet media

The attitude towards jazz changed radically in Soviet Russia since the 1920s when it was positively viewed a folk music of the oppressed African-Americans. As jazz became a part of the mainstream American culture, the Soviet propaganda labeled it “music for the rich”. During the anti-Semitic anti-Western campaign of the 1940-1950s anyone listening jazz was proclaimed a potential traitor:

“Today he plays jazz, tomorrow he will betray his Motherland!”

In The Millionaire, jazz is treated according to this trend of the Soviet propaganda. The saxophone depicted in the first shot of the nightclub impersonates the evil of jazz for the Soviet leaders and the most wonderful music instrument for the Western-oriented youth of the 60s. Jazz is shown as an extremely vulgar type of music.

Patrons of the nightclub continue a long line of the evil capitalists portrayed by the Soviet propaganda. The cigar-smoking men are dressed in the black tuxedos with bow ties that looked extremely comical and outdated in the USSR. The frivolous women in bright, open dresses are eager to dance with anyone who is rich and famous, even if it’s a dog.

The rich Bulldog is chauffeured to the “luxury bar” with a jazz band and frivolous dancers. The anthropomorphic Bulldog joins the dance circling on all four paws like an actual dog. Excited patrons of the nightclub follow the example and adopt his dance manner losing human appearance and literally transforming into beastly creatures participating in some kind of black sabbath. Even skyscrapers join the dance transforming into menacing giants with bright patches of logos and ads. The streams of bright artificial light create an atmosphere of anxiety. The idea of the “moral degradation” is visually represented by the transformation of the nightclub guests into the leaping four-legged animals. In the country where people dance like dogs, why shouldn’t dogs become rulers?

Human turning into animals in The Millionaire 

Visual and audio sequences together with crude verses ridiculed American capitalism. This animated propaganda was supposed to enforce anti-Western sentiments in the minds of the audience. However, excessive anti-Western propaganda led to the opposite results by the late 1960s, and more and more Soviets became interested in American popular culture.

Not Just Puppets: Ball of Wool 1968

Stop motion animation all but ceased to exist during the Stalin-era Disney-inspired animation with extensive use of rotoscope technique. A Cloud in Love, with its eclectic mix of puppets and hand-draw animation, became an aesthetic pivot point for Soviet animation that turned to its avant-garde roots during the Khrushchev Thaw and well the 1960s.  Stop-motion animation was usually considered subpar by children but highly valued by critics. Nikolay Serebryakov’s cartoon Ball of Wool is based on a poem by Ovsei Driz, a notable Soviet Jewish poet who wrote in Yiddish and worked primarily for children. Ball of Wool like many of his works was translated into Russian by Genrikh Sapgir, a prominent poet and author of many cartoon scripts, including such classics as Losharik.  Serebraykov literally spins this story using a magic ball of wool that an old woman finds in the midst of the winter storm. She starts to knit her small world where soft woven objects are juxtaposed with harsh, edgy features of puppets. A mix of puppet and woven animation create a unique environment of this parable.

Ball of Wool (Клубок)

Soyuzmultfilm 1968

Wordless

Cheburashka from Japan

Cheburashka is a fuzzy creature from several iconic Soviet stop-motion cartoons created by Roman Kachanov, one of the founders of the Soviet stop-motion animation and Leonid Shvartsman, a prominent Soyuzmultfilm art-director. In recent decades, Cheburashka together with his friend, Gena the crocodile gained popularity in Japan. The new Cheburashka movie, a Russian-Japanese project, featuring award-winning animation director Mikhail Aldashin, carefully recreates environment of the classic Soviet cartoons.

Original Cheburashka 1969

 Cheburashka 2014

Animated Gogol: Alexandre Alexeieff’s The Nose, 1963

Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) is one of the most influential Russian writers. Several of his short stories were adapted for animation. Particularly appealing for the Soviet animators were Gogol’s early stories influenced by the Romantic-era interest in nationhood and folklore and inspired by the Ukrainian legends and customs (Gogol was born in Poltava province, in what now is Ukraine). There are about 10 Soviet/Russian animated shorts based on Gogol. The Nose is one of the Petersburg stories (that include famous The Overcoat). The story consists of three parts; in first a barber finds a nose in his bread and tries to get rid of it. The second part is about the Major Kovalev who finds “only a flat patch on his face where the nose should have been”. Kovalev goes to a newspaper office and police trying to locate his nose. He meets the Nose, who is now a high-rank official in the Kazan cathedral. At the end a policeman returns Kovalev his nose, but if fails to stick back. In the third part, Kovalev wakes up and excitedly finds his nose in its proper place. The Nose is one of the most grotesque and unique masterpieces of the Russian literature.

This version of Gogol’s The Nose was filmed in France by Alexandre Alexeieff who was born in Russia but spent most of his life in France. Alexeieff invented pinscreen technique and pioneered in using for animation. In Le Nez he managed to create a rich grayscale palette with deep shadows reminding engravings. The smooth wordless animation shows a dream-like story.

World of police and civil service play a prominent role in many Gogol’s works, including The Overcoat, Dead Souls, and The Government Inspector.  To underline the Kafkaesque world of imperial bureaucracy, Alexeieff emphasized the disturbing presence of the ever seeing figure of an official in a bicorne hat.

Authoritarian Nicholas I, the adept of a rigidly centralized bureaucracy.

Le Nez, 1963

Wordless

Part 1

Part 2

There are at least two other animated versions of The Nose.

A Nose, 1966 by Mordi Gerstein

English adaptation

Adapting Gogol to the visual media is extremely challenging due to the role of language in his works. Beautiful mixed technique animation short by Mikhail Lisovoi preserved narration in the film.

The Major’s Nose (Нос майора), 1997 by Mikhail Lisovoi

Russian, no subtitles available

In Memoriam: Anatoly Petrov

Anatoly Petrov was an influential Russian animator who recently passed away. He worked on many famous pieces including The Musicians of Bremen and Vovka in a Far Away Land. In 1968 he started a career as a director and filmed several shots of Merry Go Round series. One of his best films is Polygon (1977) based on the story by the Soviet sci-fi writer Gansovsky about an engineer who created a manless tank that finds enemies by the sense of fear.

Polygon with English subtitles

The photographica technique employs two celluloid layers for each character and creates a 3D impression. No computers were available when this highly realistic cartoon was shot.