Browsing YT yesterday, I was amazed to discover that I’d never heard of this little classic, before. oO
It’s a 1957 movie made in Soviet-era Russia, recapitulating the classic Danish fairy-tale by Hans Christian Anderson. I watched the full movie today (it’s only an hour), read WP’s extensive entry, and am struck by… well, I guess, just how many notable points there were about this film!
https://i.imgur.com/oUxQoJB.jpeg
(right-click as needed)
The first thing that jumped out to me is that, wow-- this is once again like seeing Narnia’s Edmund Pevensie and his relationship with the “White Witch.” (so did CS Lewis borrow from HC Anderson there? seems kinda probable!)
Anyway, as for the 60min film itself? I found it quaint, and heavily dated, in a sort of ‘let’s do a Disney film like they were doing in the 30’s’ style. Yet that’s just too harsh, and in fact, this film as I understand it represents a real breakthrough for Russian animation, after Nikita Khrushchev became premiere, and tried to loosen things up from the horrors of late-stage Stalinism.
https://i.imgur.com/A2CrJjY.png
It was also one of the rare films to use rotoscoping, for the ‘queen,’ in this case. Something which we’ve touched on previously, as with Ralph Bakshi’s brilliant work.
Anyway, here’s the English-language version of the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaF6oqHZ-GM
Believe it or not, this is ALSO evidently one of Miyazaki Hayao’s primary influence upon changing careers in to film-making. (thank god, lol)
Thanks for sharing, I’ll def watch this later!
It’s hugely dated, just to be clear.
Me too
the classic Danish fairy-tale by Hans Christian Anderson.
As a Dane I'm deeply offended by this Swedish propaganda!
Danes and Norwegians write it “Andersen”, Swedes write it “Anderson”.
I have another Danish post coming down the ‘pipe-line,’ so to speak. I feel stoopid for getting to Denmark so late in this project, but… there we are, I guess. :S
