The New Yorker published an article about an Oscar-nominated animated short “We Can’t Live Without Cosmos” by Konstantin Bronzit, a critically acclaimed animator based in Russia.
In 2009, Bronzit was nominated for his elegant and heartwarming “Lavatory – Lovestory”
Another great animated film by Leonid Shmelkov, My Own Personal Moose (Special Prize at the Berlin Film Festival) – a story about a timid boy named Misha, his childhood dream, and his relationship with his gloomy, short-spoken, but caring father. It’s a film about love, growing up, and a moose Misha hopes to find one day.
My Own Personal Moose (Мой личный лось) 2013
Hopfrog (2012) is a beautifully bizarre animated short by Leonid Shmelkov, with remarkable rhythm, plasticity, and wonderful hopping creatures.
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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
Chinti (2011) by Natalia Mirzoyan
The film is made with various tea leaves creating a gentle, subtle environment. A small ant (chinti means “ant” in Hindi) appears to be a big visionary.
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The Primaeval Father (sic) (Первобытный папа)
A short film by Vladimir Danilov (school-studio Shar). Rough force often prevails over reason.
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E.T.A. Hoffmann was always one of the most beloved German writers in Russia. We already wrote about the animated version of Nutcracker (1973). Tatyana Ilyina produced her full featured version of Nutcracker in 2004. Hoffmaniad (Гофманиада), the most recent stop-motion animated film with elements of computer animation, has been in the works since 2001. It will combine elements of several novels, including Little Zaches, The Golden Pot, and The Sandman. It features art and design of a prominent Russian-born artist, Mikhail Shemyakin. As of now, a 20-minute version is available (based on The Golden Pot). The quality of puppets and design is amazing. Fantasy and reality blend together, and the world of the protagonist, Hoffmann, who serves as a low-rank official, is more tragic and surreal than magical adventures he writes about. Unfortunately, no exact release date is given.
Directed by Stanislav Sokolov
Russian, no English subtitles
My Mother is an Airplane (Моя мама самолет) by Yulya Aronova
A delightful cartoon about different careers mothers have.
Russian
Aldar and the Grey Wolf by Rim Sharafutdinov
classical action-style animation about misfortunes of Aldar and his unlikely friend, Grey Wolf
Russian
HISTORY OF RUSSIAN AND EASTERN EUROPEAN ANIMATION 