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Home , Boris Zhitkov, Dovzhenko Film Studios, Estonian animation, Ladislas Starevich, Mikhail Tsekhanovsky, Samuil Marshak

BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE Article On the Topics and Style of Soviet Animated

ÜLO PIKKOV, Estonian Academy of Arts; email: [email protected]

16 DOI: 10.1515/bsmr-2017-0002 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE ABSTRACT This article provides a survey of Soviet and analyses the thematic and stylistic course of its develop- ment. Soviet animated emerged and materialised in synch with the fluctuations of the region’s political climate and was directly shaped by it. A number of trends and currents of Soviet animation also pertain to other Eastern European countries. After all, Eastern constituted an integrated cultural space that functioned as a single market for the films produced across it by filmmakers who interacted in a professional regional network of film , events, festivals, publications etc.

Initially experimental, post-revolutionary Russian ani- mation soon fell under the sway of the Socialist Realist discourse, along with the rest of , and quickly crystallised as a didactic genre for children. Disney’s para- digm became its major source of inspiration both in terms of visual style and thematic scope, despite the fact that was regarded as the ideological opposite of the Western way of life and mindset. The Soviet animation industry was spread across different studios and republics that adopted slightly varied production practices and tolerated different degrees of artistic freedom. Studios in the smaller republics, such as , Latvia and in particular, stood out for making films that were more ideologically complicated than those produced in .

17 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE INTRODUCTION When speaking about censorship in Soviet animated film took shape alongside, the Soviet Union, it is important to avoid the and was directly affected by, the specific simplified confrontation between the artist political developments of the region. While and the state – the filmmaking community the focus of this article is on animated film included both loyal servants of the Party in after the of and rebels against the regime. 1917, and in Soviet Union as it gradually So far, studies on Eastern European, broadened its geographical span, the same and especially Soviet, animated film have trajectories and trends can be observed in focused mainly on history and anima- other Eastern European (i.e. Eastern Bloc) tion techniques (Bendazzi 2015; Pontieri countries. For, as Dina Iordanova has said, 2012; MacFadyen 2005; Асенин 1986); on renowned authors (Hames 2008; Капков Between 1945 and 1989 ... the 2007; Kitson 2005); and, to a much lesser development of these countries degree, on critiques of ideology and totali- was ... dictated by Soviet policies tarianism (Moritz 1997) or feminist dis- in the spheres of economics and courses (Fadina 2016; Пироженко 2004a, culture. [---] Whatever happened 2004b; Kononenko 2011). In addition, in the Soviet Union, directly influ- several prominent Soviet animation art- enced the cultural climate in the ists have published autobiographical texts countries of the Eastern Bloc, explaining their methods and practices and often events in the USSR (Ходатаев 1936; Брумберг 1979; Иванов-Вано were replicated in the Eastern 1950, 1962; Норштейн 1988; Хржановский Bloc (such as the ‘Thaw’ that fol- 1983). lowed the demystification of the This article attempts to map the cult of Stalin’s personality in the development of Soviet animated film, late 1950s or the stagnation of highlighting some of its characteristic the Brezhnev period). (Iordanova features, especially in terms of topics and 2003: 20–21) visual style. Since the Soviet art scene was strongly impacted by the political climate, At the same time it is also true that the the political shifts provide a basis for this cultural elite of the satellite states often analysis. The discussion is structured into enjoyed a higher degree of artistic freedom, sections based on historical periods and compared to their peers in the Soviet Union. the developments in the field of animation This becomes especially evident in the are considered in juxtaposition with trans- choice of subject matter and topics, as well formations in the socio-political sphere. as the extent to which the animation artists Obviously the scope of the article is rather abided (or rejected) the tenets of Socialist ambitious, especially when it comes its . In addition, the entire Soviet Union temporal and geographical dimension, cannot be measured with the same yard- which is why the following pages are only stick, because animated films were pro- able to scratch the surface of this broad duced in a number of different studios and and multifaceted set of issues; and I fully in various Soviet Socialist Republics, where acknowledge the pressing need for fur- the local circumstances affected both ther in-depth studies. Nevertheless, I hope the industrial practices and regulated the that this survey will not only contribute proverbial length of the leash. The smaller to a fuller understanding of how the top- republics in particular, such as the Baltics, ics and style of Soviet animated film were stood out for work that was sometimes constructed and developed, but will also much more ideologically complicated than improve our understanding of the past and the films produced in Moscow, reflecting the people of this era. either intentional political digression or the recklessness of their authors.

18 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY THE STALINIST ERA PERIOD After Lenin’s death in 1924, Lucanus Cervus, arguably the earliest sur- rose to the leadership of the Soviet Union viving Russian animated short, was made and his lasted until his death by Ladislas Starevich in 1910. Born in Mos- in 1953. cow to a family with Polish roots, Starevich Senka the African (Сенька-африканец, produced several animated films in Tsarist Russia, 1927), the first Soviet animated Russian until he emigrated to after film for children, was a collaborative effort the October Revolution in 1917 and contin- including Yuri Merkulov, Danil Cherkes and ued his career as animation artist in emi- Ivan Ivanov-Vano. The film is based on a gration. story by , one of the most After the Revolution, the Russian cul- popular Soviet children’s poets. A vivid tural and art scene was exceptionally inno- depiction of a child’s fantasy world, Senka vative and extremely receptive to new ideas. the African became an immediate success The Russian animated films of the day were and was instantly followed by two other first and foremost inspired by modernist screen adaptations of Chukovsky’s poems thought, propaganda posters and carica- – Big Cockroach (Тараканище, Russia) and tures. Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin, Moidodir (Мойдодыр, Russia; both in 1927). and 1929 saw the release of Mikhail were the filmmakers whose practices, as Tsekhanovsky’s Mail (Почта, Russia), an well as political and artistic visions, shaped animated adaptation of ’s the early years of Soviet filmmaking. Vertov Soviet poem, which tells the story of a let- was also the author of the earliest surviving ter addressed to the writer Soviet animated film, Soviet Toys (Советские (Figure 2 and 3). The letter follows the игрушки, Russia, 1924). (Figure 1) Laura writer around the world and finally reaches Pontieri has aptly pointed out that ‘most of him when he returns to Leningrad. Mail the early Soviet animated films came out of sports a highly modern visual and musi- political manifestos and satirical vignettes; cal form shaped by the post-revolutionary they were primarily caricatures and propa- avant-garde mode of expression. Originally ganda works addressed to an adult audi- made as a silent short, Mail became one of ence’ (Pontieri 2012: 6). Ivan Ivanov-Vano, the first Soviet sound when a one of the great figures of early Soviet soundtrack was added in 1930. animation, also confirms that , politi- In the late 1920s the Soviet anima- cal posters and pamphlets were of utmost tion filmmakers began to invent characters importance for nascent Soviet animation that would continue to appear in a number (Иванов-Вано 1950: 18). of films, thus producing the first animated The post-revolutionary period was also ‘series’, featuring, among many others, such characterised by the implementation of legendary characters as Tip-Top, Bratishkin state control and domination over film pro- and Buzilka. duction. State censorship has a long history The Soviet animated films of the in the Soviet Union and can be traced back 1920s were mostly entertaining but to the pre-revolutionary . always included a ‘political or social mes- However, in 1922 the Soviet authorities set sage’ (Pontieri 2012: 18). In Soviet Russia, up Glavlit (Главное управление по охране animated film functioned primarily as an государственных тайн в печати; Главлит), a ideological tool for shaping the mentality new body for censorship and the protection and behaviour of the masses. For instance, of state secrets, which, together with its Samoyed Boy (Самоедский мальчик, Rus- sub-institutions, operated until the collapse sia, 1928, directed by Nikolai Khodatayev, of the Soviet Union. Olga Khodatayeva, Valentina Brumberg and Zinaida Brumberg) is a good illustration of how this ideological education through

19 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE animation worked. In the film, a Samoyed Visual form and style boy comes to Leningrad to go to school Both the content and the form of Stalinist and as a result of his studies realises how animation were strongly impacted by the backward the mindset and worldview of his change of course that took place in Soviet native Nenets people are. The film openly culture after Andrei Zhdanov, the Secretary ridicules the beliefs of this group of indige- of the Central Committee of the Communist nous people. Birgit Beumers aptly observes Party, prescribed as the that ‘[t]he boy is a model Soviet citizen: official canon of the Soviet art at the 1934 He gives up his family to become part of a Soviet Writers’ Congress. The decision left larger Soviet family’ (Beumers 2007: 156). no room for modernist experiments with Samoyed Boy provides the first animated form and designated children as the pri- appearance of the ‘Soviet man’, a comrade mary target audience for animation. This who has rejected his background and past. is also evident in the name given to the The film is perhaps especially significant state animated film studio established in because in the late 1920s the creation of June 1936 – Soyuzdetfilm (‘det’ refers to the ‘New Soviet Citizen’ typically involved дети – ‘children’). Even if the particle ‘det’ images of children. In fact, ‘[t]he Soviet was dropped when the studio became Soy- state placed children’s affairs at the heart uzmultfilm in August 1937, the target audi- of its political legitimacy, emphasising that ence remained the same, and until the early children were treated with greater care than 1960s, Soviet animation focused exclusively they were anywhere else in the world’ on children (Bendazzi 2015: 175). (Kelly 2007: 1). The centralisation of the Soviet ani- The first Soviet film, Alek- mation industry under sandr Ptushko’s The New Gulliver (Новый put an abrupt end to the previous era of Гулливер, Russia), was released in 1935. experimentation and stylistic exploration. More precisely, it is a full-length An important figure to consider in this turn combined with puppet animation. The New of events is , who also aimed Gulliver is a re-telling of Jonathan Swift’s most of his films at children. Starting in the famous Gulliver’s Travels (1726). The Soviet mid-1930s, several Soviet animation film- version features Petya, a young Pioneer, a makers and high officials made no secret of Soviet ‘Gulliver’ who has landed on Lilliput their admiration of Disney, who had by then Island that is suffering under capitalist established himself as one of the major ani- inequality and exploitation. mation producers in the world. The Soviets Importantly, the fairy-tale films, which strove to emulate both the style and the would later garner extreme popularity and quality of his works on their home turf.1 In even become the ‘trademark’ of the Soviet 1933, the delegates to the first All-Union animation industry, did not emerge until Conference of Soviet Comedy demanded: the mid-1930s when Fairytale about Tsar ‘Give us a Soviet Mickey Mouse!’ (Pontieri Durandai (Сказка о царе Дурандае, Russia, 2012: 38) The First International Film Fes- 1934), the first Soviet animated film based tival in Moscow screened some of Disney’s on a classical fairytale, was made by Valen- animated films in 1935 that were warmly tina Brumberg, Zinaida Brumberg and Ivan received by the public. From then on, Ameri- Ivanov-Vano. During the early Soviet period, can productions had a great impact on the fairy tales and folklore were generally con- themes and style of Soviet animated films sidered as atavistic remnants of feudal- (Pontieri 2012: 38). ism. For instance, Maxim Gorki vehemently According to Giannalberto Bendazzi, called for the purification of the literary lan- Stalin also took great pleasure in the Dis- guage and ‘expunging [of] all regionalism, ney films sent to the Moscow International earthiness, and folkisms from Soviet prose’ (Fadina 2016: 65). 1 Author’s interview with Andrei Khrzhanovsky (17 April 2015).

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FIGURE 1. The earliest surviving Soviet animated filmSoviet Toys (Советские игрушки, Russia, 1924) was made by the famous film innovator Dziga Vertov.

FIGURE 2 and 3. One of the first Soviet animated films with sound wasMail (Почта, Russia, 1929) by . It also became the first Soviet animated film to be widely exhibited in cinemas (Fadina 2016: 72).

21 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE Film Festival, enjoying them in the privacy a considerable darkening of the drawing of his own cinema in Kremlin. After watch- when more than three layers were used at ing them, Stalin even announced that this the same time’ (quoted in Pontieri 2012: is what Soviet animation should look like 30–40). Thus, the limited number of layers (Bendazzi 2015: 175). The film critic Anatoly in animation clearly set limits on the Volkov suggests that, while Stalin’s approval complexity of Soviet animation. Moreover, was not the only force behind the wide the practice and development of the Soviet appreciation and emulation of Disney’s style animation industry came to a halt during in Soviet animation, the cinema directors World War II, while the production of Ameri- were well aware of the Leader’s sympathy, can animation continued to thrive. especially for Snow White and the Seven However, some distinctly Disney-esque Dwarfs (USA, 1937) and Bambi (USA, 1942) features, such as round shapes and plastic (cited in Pontieri 2012: 47). movement, became part of the toolbox of Sergei Eisenstein, one of the most the Soviet . In addition to form, prominent Soviet filmmakers of the time, Soviet animation also imitated Disney’s fairy is also known to have been an enthusias- tale narratives and cheerful stories, and tic supporter of Disney. Having met him in following Disney’s example, began to draw person in Hollywood in 1930, Eisenstein on Russian national folklore and classical became one of Disney’s most important literature (, , advocates in Soviet Union. While Ariel Dorf- Ivan Krylov): ‘Animators turned to national man and Armand Mattelart in their book, cultures, adapting classical texts, producing How to Read Donald Duck (Dorfman, Mat- fairy tales, and utilising the figurative and telart 1992), observe that after World War plastic suggestions of popular traditions’ II Disney became the tool and emblem of (Bendazzi 2015: 175). American imperialism, Eisenstein consid- With the emergence of the Disney ered his early work to be profoundly com- style, fairy tales regained their popularity munist in nature. In Eisenstein’s words, ‘Dis- (as well as a positive image) and became an ney’s films are a revolt against partitioning increasingly important narrative source for and legislating, against spiritual stagnation Soviet animation. But generally, the aims of and greyness. But the revolt is lyrical. The the pre-World War II Soviet animation can revolt is a daydream’ (quoted in Roberts be summarised in Laura Pontieri’s words – 2007: 48). ‘the mythification of the past, exaltation of Although a certain striving for realism the present, and apotheosis of a brilliant in the narrative structure, which character- future’ (Pontieri 2012: 42). ises Disney’s productions, strikes at some In contrast to the 1920s and the bet- of the central cores of the Socialist Realist ter part of the 1930s, when the authorities paradigm, the attempts of the Soviet ani- strove to forget the past almost completely mation industry to emulate Disney’s style (with some exceptions, few and far between, and quality were largely unsuccessful for such as the aforementioned Fairytale about several reasons. For example, cel animation Tsar Durandai), the 1940s saw a signifi- (celluloid sheets system), which became the cant return of parts of the past, namely in industry norm in the 1930s (Bendazzi 2015: the form of traditional Russian tales and 40; Furniss 2007: 19–20), was invented, national fairy tales, which resulted in ani- developed and patented in the USA and the mated films likeLittle Tower (Теремок, Rus- Soviet analogue was technically of much sia, 1945, directed by Pyotr Nosov and Olga poorer quality. In Ivanov-Vano’s words, Khodatayeva), about a Soldier ‘[t]he American cel sheets used at the end (Сказка о солдате, Russia, 1948, Valentina of the 1930s were of a good transparent and Zinaida Brumberg) and Geese-Swans quality that could allow for the juxtaposition (Гуси-лебеди, Russia, 1949, Ivan Ivanov-Vano of a few layers, while the Soviet had a and Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya) slight grey or yellow tinge that would cause (Fadina 2016: 78).

22 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE In addition to the animated versions J. Liehm has noted, ‘[i]t was much harder for of fairy tales, byliny songs and children’s the watchdogs to penetrate the land of fairy stories, the Soviet animation industry also tales, folk stories and poetic visions’ produced didactic films with ‘stock’ char- (quoted in Hames 2008: 24). acters from fairy tales, such as the cunning Trnka’s contribution to the develop- fox, the big bad wolf, the strong yet simple ment of Eastern European animated film bear etc. Examples of these films include cannot be overestimated, as his mastery of The Fox and the Wolf (Лиса и волк, Russia, puppet animation raised the profile of this 1937, directed by Sarra Mokil), Cockerel – technique considerably, making it visible as Golden Comb (Петушок – Золотой гребешок, a solid alternative to cel animation and the Russia, 1955, Pyotr Nosov and Dmitri Disney style. Anpilov) and Kolobok (Колобок, Russia, In addition to his native Czechoslo- 1956, Roman Davydov). vakia, Trnka also managed to establish a During World War II, the Soviet film school of puppet animation in the German industry saw a severe decline as ‘[c]inema Democratic Republic (Bendazzi 2015: 236). in general was not a priority for the state, Established in 1955, the DEFA Studio für and the evacuated studios were not produc- Trickfilme was the largest ing many films’ (Fadina 2016: 74). in the GDR, producing about 2,000 films After the end of the war, the anima- between 1955 and 1989. Despite this aston- tion industry recovered and continued to ishing volume the DEFA productions were find inspiration in the world of fairy tales typically conservative and primarily aimed and folklore, spicing the traditional narra- at children. According to Ulrich Wegenast, tives with ideological or didactic messages. a diligent adherence to the conventions of For instance, Ivanov-Vano’s Stranger’s Voice Socialist Realism meant that the ‘[p]uppets (Чужой голос, Russia, 1949) was produced as and cartoon characters in DEFA’s films a part of a campaign against jazz music (and could not be too aloof. They had to be as Western lifestyles in general).2 In the film, a natural as possible so as not to be associ- Soviet bird returns home from its trip abroad ated with the negative “Formenhascherei” and performs a concert. When it starts to (meaning, straining after formal effects)’ sing a jazzy tune that it learned overseas, (quoted in Bendazzi 2015: 236). the Soviet birds whistle in derision and expel As already suggested, post-war Soviet the jazz singer from the forest. animation followed in the steps of the Dis- Folklore and fairy tales provided nar- ney universe. For instance, Leonid Amalrik rative material not only in Soviet Union but and Vladimir Polkovnikov’s The Little Grey across the entire Eastern Bloc, including in Neck (Серая Шейка, Russia, 1948), with its post-war where Jiří Trnka plastic movements and round shapes, produced a series of animated films based emulates the Disney canon with great pre- on folkloric sources, such as The Czech cision. By comparison, Ivanov-Vano’s The Years (Špalíček, Czechoslovakia, 1947), Humpbacked Horse (Конёк-Горбунок, Russia, The Emperor’s Nightingale (Císařův slavík, 1947; remake 1975), while clearly influ- Czechoslovakia, 1949) and Prince Bayaya enced by Disney, attempts to combine the (Bajaja, Czechoslovakia, 1950). Adaptation features of this style with folkloric forms of fairy tales and folklore provided film- and pieces of vernacular art (woodcuts, makers with a safety net, while anything pottery, handicraft). In terms of content, too personal could easily have caused the film also draws on folklore tradition – problems in the tense political atmosphere it is based on Pyotr Yershov’s poem of the of the post-war era. Indeed, as Antonín same name that, in turn, makes use of vari- ous classical fairy tales. It is interesting to 2 It is important to note that Disney has of course been note that many Soviet animated films also admired and copied all over the world, not only in had to struggle with censorship, just like the Soviet Union, because the Disney Studio has been so productive and successful for so many decades. Yershov’s poem had been censored upon

23 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE its publishing in 1834, and even banned for led to the establishment of new animation over two decades due to the mortal sin of studios in Estonia (), (Kiev), making the Tsar appear foolish. Ivanov- Armenia (Yerevan) and Georgia () Vano continued to mix folkloric and histori- (Bendazzi 2015: 140). Despite setting up cal elements in his subsequent films, such new production centres, Soyuzmultfilm in as The Lefthander (Левша, Russia, 1964), Moscow retained its significance as the How One Man Fed Two Generals (Как один largest and most important animation мужик двух генералов прокормил, Russia, studio in Soviet Union. 1965) and Go There, Don’t Know Where The rapid proliferation of television (Поди туда, не знаю куда, Russia, 1966). after World War II was accompanied by Mikhail Tsekhanovsky and Vera an increasing demand for animation Tsekhanovskaya’s The Wild Swans (Дикие production. And this in turn gave rise to a лебеди, Russia, 1962) is interesting for its certain shift towards a simplified, ‘limited’ synthesis of the classical ‘spatial’ Disney- style of animation. or style animation and flat backgrounds that the ‘modernist style’ (Amidi 2006: 18) is imitate the illustrations in old books. While characterised by the reduced movement of a certain sense of disharmony arises from characters, as well as by an emphasis on this mixing of styles, the result comes uncomplicated forms and colour schemes; across as modern and innovative for its it prioritises design, colour, line and compo- time. The Wild Swans, with its combination sition. The United Productions of America of the three-dimensional world of film (UPA, established in 1944) was the first and two-dimensional prints, showcases studio to apply limited animation exten- fascinating stylistic explorations. sively, but the filmmakers of the Zagreb Although a conventional post-war school, such as Dušan Vukotič, Vatroslav Soviet animation in several respects, Mimica, Vlado Kristl and many others, Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg’s Big are also known for preferring this style. Troubles (Большие неприятности, Russia, (Figure 5) In contrast to the UPA and the 1961) rejects the Disney style decisively Zagreb school, which utilised limited ani- (Figure 4). While the design of the film mation in order to introduce a sense of attempts to imitate children’s drawings and modernity and the flair of the times to their evoke a ‘child-like’ style, it was not aimed at works, the Soviet Union was mainly drawn children – it was the first post-war Soviet to the functionality of this technology. animated film that primarily targeted adult Round shapes and the plastic movement audiences. Thus, Big Troubles marks the of the previously dominant Disney approach waning of Disney’s influence on Soviet were replaced by simpler and more car- animation, which on the stylistic-aesthetic toonish designs that, in a certain sense, level had not wavered until the Thaw of the signalled a return to the roots of Soviet ani- 1960s (Fadina 2016: 77). mation – to the post-revolutionary cartoons and propaganda posters. Limited animation THE was considerably easier to create than the After Stalin’s death in 1953 Nikita Khrush- Disney style and it significantly reduced the chev took office as the head of the Soviet need for resources in the animation indus- Union. His tenure resulted in the so-called try, thereby leading to increased produc- ‘Khruschev Thaw’ that ‘from a cultural tion volumes. In addition, the rejection of viewpoint ... was characterised by a certain Disney’s naturalistic style has in part been degree of liberation in all spheres of Soviet ascribed to the escalation of the life and culture’ (Fadina 2016: 83). For the (Fadina 2016: 82). animated film industry, one of the most sig- More similar to caricature and poster nificant consequences of this shift in power art than to the Disney approach, the lim- was the emerging ‘policy of decentralisation ited animation often highlighted the con- and balanced ethnic representation’, which temporary living environment and social

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FIGURE 4. Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg’s Big Troubles (Большие неприятности, Russia, 1961) was the first post-war Soviet animated film that moved away from the much-admired and copied Disney approach.

FIGURE 5. Dušan Vukotić’s Ersatz (Surogat, Yugoslavia, 1961) is a classic example of the ‘limited’ style of animation. Produced at Zagreb Film, it became the first non-US animated film to win an Oscar in 1962.

25 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE relations. In addition to fairy tale universes The animation industry and nature, Soviet animation began to in the Baltic republics represent contemporary cityscapes and While all three Baltic countries had taken typical characters of the period, e.g. Fyo- their first steps in animation before World II dor Khitruk’s The Story of a Crime (История when they were independent, the post-war одного преступления, Russia, 1962) that is (re-)emergence of the animation industry clearly set in modern-day Moscow. Limited had almost no connection with the earlier animation also attracted adult audiences decades since the war had severed all con- who had been virtually excluded as a tar- tinuities. The first Soviet Estonian animated get group for quite a while. Since the rise film was Elbert Tuganov’sLittle Peter’s of limited animation in Dream (Peetrikese unenägu, Estonia, 1958), coincided with the Thaw, several films of based on Palle alene i Verden, a 1942 story the period (and beyond) stand out for their by Danish writer Jens Sigsgaard. In 1957, cautious critiques of Soviet society and Tuganov became the founder of the puppet especially its bureaucratic apparatus. For at the Tallinn Film instance, Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg’s Studio (later ). Subsequently, the Big Troubles tackles social issues such as department became the Nukufilm studio. alcoholism, scorn of work and the Soviet In 1971, Rein Raamat, who had assisted youth movement known as Tuganov in the production of Little Peter’s (стиляги). Khrituk’s The Man in the Dream, set up Tallinnfilm’s hand-drawn ani- Frame (Человек в рамке, Russia, 1966) sub- mation department, which in time became tly denounces bureaucracy and implicitly the Eesti Joonisfilm studio. Nukufilm and the Soviet nomenklatura as well. Khrzh- Eesti Joonisfilm were Soviet Estonia’s lead- anovsky’s Glass Harmonica (Стеклянная ing animation studios, and both continue гармоника, Russia, 1968) introduces an to define the field of Estonian animation entirely new theme of philosophical exis- today. tentialism to Soviet animated film, ques- Joonisfilm and Nukufilm were con- tioning Soviet social ethics by means of trolled by Goskino (Государственный комитет both content and form (Figure 6). The object по кинематографии СССР; Госкино), which of Khrzhanovsky’s critique is no longer the approved their production plans as well as narrow-minded bureaucrat, but the society signed off on the completed films. Silvia that represses artists and their freedom Kiik, a long-time employee of Tallinnfilm, of thought – here, the parallel with Soviet has described the peculiarities of the stu- society is especially explicit. The content dios’ struggles with Moscow on several and form of Glass Harmonica are strikingly occasions. According to her, ‘the censor- unique and this created a whole new set ship (Goskino) officials could sometimes of problems, including for its author – the be incredibly paranoid: back in 1975, the film became a victim of censorship and was sight of a mechanic using a wrench that had ‘shelved’, while the author was unexpectedly been randomly coloured red in Avo Paistik’s enlisted and spent the following two years filmTrifle caused a scandal at the film’s serving in the Soviet Army.3 approval screening’ (Kiik 2006 I: 104–105). And, ‘in 1978, a red vacuum cleaner in Pais- 3 As the Cold War gained momentum, animated film tik’s film Vacuum Cleaner resulted in the became one of its battlefields, highlighting the opposition between capitalist and communist ideology. film being shelved for nine years’ (Kiik 2006 An interesting example of the differences in Western II: 92) (Figure 7). Mari Laaniste adds that in and Soviet approaches in terms of ideology can be observed in the screen adaptations of Rudyard the case of Priit Pärn’s Time Out (Aeg maha, Kipling’s (1894). While Disney’s Estonia, 1984), Goskino officials demanded feature-length adaptation of The Jungle Book from 1967 is a rather jolly enterprise, featuring the merry that ‘two of the characters who were inhabitants of the jungle singing and dancing to jazzy originally dressed as stereotypical Russian tunes, Soyuzmultfilm’s 1973 version, also a feature- construction workers be redrawn as circus length animation, but titled Adventures of Mowgli (Маугли, Russia), concentrated mainly on the class struggle. clowns’ (Laaniste 2008: 54). Ironically,

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FIGURE 6. Andrei Khrzhanovsky’s Glass Harmonica (Стеклянная гармоника, Russia, 1968) is a characteristic example of how diminished political constraints and aesthetic diversification influenced Soviet animation. Its distinctly surrealist content and form (Ülo Sooster [1924–1970], an Estonian surrealist artist, participated in its production) features hybrid humans and animals, as well as elongated metaphorical perspectives. At the time of its release the pictorial language of Glass Harmonica came across as extremely innovative and modern, and such a film could not have been made either before or after the liberating breezes of Khrushchev’s Thaw.

FIGURE 7. Avo Paistik’s Vacuum Cleaner (Tolmuimeja, Estonia, 1978) was banned and ‘shelved’ for nine years, most probably because the censor thought that the red vacuum cleaner was a criticism of ‘red’ ideology.

27 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE in doing so, the censor herself passed lacks any traditions of puppet animation. judgment on the Soviet work ethic. Lithuanian animation tended to be drawn Estonian animated films, especially and the majority of Lithuanian animators those made under Raamat at Joonisfilm, had backgrounds in caricature, architecture stood out for being, to a great extent, ‘artis- or design. tic’ productions targeted at adult audiences Within the context of Soviet Union, (see, e.g., Trossek 2008: 34). the Baltic republics enjoyed a special sta- The first Soviet Latvian animated films, tus – they were collectively known as the the puppet animations Ki-ke-ri-gū! (Latvia, ‘Soviet West’ – and, despite censorship, this 1965) and Pygmalions (Latvia, 1967), were offered to Baltic animation artists a slightly made by Arnolds Burovs. In Bendazzi’s greater degree of creative autonomy. As words, Andreas Trossek has observed, Goskino also acknowledged this privileged state of Pygmalions explored themes such as affairs, which was called the ‘Special Baltic creation, the artist’s relations to his Order4’ (Trossek 2008: 35). work and difference between abstract It appears that the Soviet cinema beauty and life. Pygmalions provoked nomenklatura accepted the concept of the an ambiguous reaction – it was criti- Baltic republics as the ‘Soviet West’. Indeed, cised in Latvia for not following the many of the animated films produced there, conventions of Socialist Realism, but especially by Joonisfilm, flaunt relatively Moscow officials showed it to non- bold experiments that corresponded to Soviet guests to prove that modernism contemporary Western art movements and existed in the USSR. (Bendazzi 2015: music. Furthermore, the thematic horizon 315) was also broader compared to the anima- tion production in the rest of the Soviet Puppet animation, as well as cut-out Union. In Richard Mole’s words, ‘[w]riters, animation, became Latvia’s ‘trademark’ – artists, filmmakers and scholars in all Burovs, who also worked in a puppet thea- three republics were given greater free- tre, alone used this technique in forty films. dom to assert national values and express The films typically drew on folkloric sources. national sentiment, although they were still Soviet Lithuania produced its first ani- restricted by the outer limits of the Soviet mated film in 1966 –The Wolf and the Tailor nationality policy’ (Mole 2012: 63–64). (Vilkas ir siuvėjas, Lithuania) by Zenonas Tarakevičius. Tarakevičius was later BREZHNEV employed by Soyuzmultfilm, which shows AND STAGNATION that, in addition to ideas, people also moved When Khrushchev was removed between different studios. However, Lithua- from office, Leonid Brezhnev, a nian animated film never quite took off and much more conservative leader in comparison to their live-action narrative took over. During his long term in and documentary films, the production of office, which became known as animated films remained marginal. Despite the Stagnation Era, the screws of this, the Lithuanian studio managed to censorship were tightened again. complete some politically intriguing works, However, aside from the fact that for example, Initiative (Iniciatyva, Lithu- people were no longer shot for ania, 1970), a film by Antanas Janauskas, not painting or writing about the that has been seen as a commentary on supreme leader as he wanted, the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia (Bendazzi 2015: 317) 4 More correctly, the Baltic Landesstaat. This alludes to In contrast to Estonia and Latvia, the historical arrangements in the territories of today’s where puppet animation dominated ani- Estonia and Latvia where the Baltic German nobility retained its political power and Protestantism mated film production, Lithuania almost (German cultural domination) was allowed.

28 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE this censorship was concerned the households in the Eastern Bloc owned with the text more than with the TV sets (Stites 1992: 189). Animated films aesthetics. This allowed artists, became a staple of everyday programming, animation artists included, con- which increased their popularity as well as siderably more freedom than they production volumes. For instance, in Rus- had had for the last two decades. sia, ‘a prime showcase for animations was (Bendazzi 2015: 77) a children’s programme called Spokoinoi nochi, malyshi (Good Night, Little Ones), After Brezhnev’s ascent to power in 1964, which immediately preceded the even- the Soviet animation industry continued ing news’ (Kononenko 2011: 275). This was to produce films for children, as well as proof of the high prestige and importance to keep a safe distance from politically accorded the animated medium in the uncomfortable and/or contemporary sub- televisual context. As to the production vol- jects. The field was dominated by poetical- umes, children had the privilege of enjoying lyrical fairy tales. A number of long-running as many as 30 to 40 hours of new animation emerged, skyrocketing in each year (Bendazzi 2016: 194). popularity on TV screens across the entire In addition to quantitative upsurge, Eastern Bloc. Characters like , Eastern European animation also experi- Gena the Crocodile, Winnie the Pooh, enced artistic growth starting in the 1960s Karlsson-on-the Roof, and, of course, the (Bendazzi 2015: 236). In addition to Disney, Rabbit and the Wolf became the greatest Soviet animation filmmakers also received animated stars of the small screen. Just significant impulses from various contem- You Wait! (Ну, погоди!, Russia, 1969–1993), porary Western art movements, such as Pop an animated series by Vyacheslav Kotyono- Art, and in particular ’s 1968 chkin, was particularly well-received, not animated filmYellow Submarine (UK/USA). least because it featured well-known pop According to Trossek, a number of Soviet songs that ensured the continued popular- pop-psychedelic animations emerged as a ity of the series and made it Soyuzmultfilm’s result of the latter – Puzzle Box (Шкатулка longest-running animation. с секретом, Russia, 1976) by Valeri Ugarov, In Czechoslovakia, the Mole (Krtek), Contact (Контакт, Russia, 1978) by Vladimir Pat & Mat, and Maxipes Fík earned compa- Tarasov and, definitely most famously, The rable fame in local animated series, while in Mystery of the Third Planet (Тайна третьей GDR, the legendary Little Sandman (Unser планеты, Russia, 1981) by Roman Kachanov Sandmännchen) began his screen adven- (Trossek 2011: 118). tures. The poetical lyricism of Eastern Euro- Since most of these characters were pean animated films from the Stagnation introduced to their audiences and earned Era adopted strangely pessimistic under- their enduring affection on the small tones, suggested by a certain sense of des- screen, it is also important to note the olation and lack of happy endings. In fact, a increasing role played by television in the number of commentators (Wells 1998; Ben- era’s audiovisual culture in general and dazzi 2015; Ajanović 2004) have argued that animation in particular. Starting in the pessimism is one of the defining features late 1970s, the development of television of Eastern European animation. According brought about a significant change in the to Midhat Ajanović, ‘humoristic pessimism’, patterns of media (including animation) with the ‘plain man’ as its central character, consumption. Audiences were now able is an important – and transnational – tradi- to watch animated films in the privacy of tion of Central European culture in general, their homes as well as in the cinemas. As and animation in particular, defining many in the West, television became the prevail- successful films made in the various ‘Mid- ing, and an incredibly influential, media dle European’ countries between 1950 and outlet. By the mid-1980s more than 90% of 1980 (Ajanović 2004).

29 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE This approach is perhaps especially ing with a wide range of different ideas and evident in the caricaturised animated films techniques. Even though censorship and of the Zagreb school that often feature pes- ideological control over the film industry simistic protagonist(s), various deadlocks certainly remained significant, the financial and oppressive environments (labyrinths, freedom facilitated invention and the use of dead ends). Pessimism also dominated innovative auteur techniques. The multitude in the authorial stance, as proven by the of the latter undoubtedly became another downcast choice of topics (and music) prominent feature of Eastern European ani- and lack of happy endings. Bendazzi has mation. Since the system established by the characterised the entire Polish animated state in a way promoted formal diversity, no cinema of the 1960s as ‘a poetry of pessi- single animation technique or style became mism’ (Bendazzi 2015: 242), while Priit Pärn dominant. The Soviet system of film educa- confessed in an interview, ‘I’m a practicing tion also supported auteur animation and pessimist’ (Kirt 1984). technical heterogeneity, since the central This overtly pessimistic attitude can All-Union State Institute of Cinematogra- be seen as a reaction to the official opti- phy (Всесоюзный государственный институт mism of the Soviet society, which lived in кинематографии, VGIK) was a truly vibrant the constant hope of a soon-to-arrive bright hotbed of talents from all over the Soviet communist future: ‘This pessimism reflects Union and the Eastern Bloc. The VGIK’s ani- a unique historical-political situation. In mation curriculum was designed to train the mid-1960s, the artists and intellectu- unique directors well-versed in both nar- als reacted to the bureaucratic state, and rative and (audio)visual form: ‘The teaching emphasized a hopeless individual and practices soon drifted toward auteur cin- social reality’ (Bendazzi 2015: 242). ema, because the graduates were also sup- posed to acquire the tools of the ’s The positive effects and designer’s profession’ (Bendazzi 2015: of a planned economy 306). The planned economy of the communist Eastern European animation artists era, along with the state-funded film worked in traditional (hand-drawn, puppet industry, liberated filmmakers from the and cut-out animation) as well as in various problems related to raising money for their lesser-known techniques (sand and clay productions. This allowed them to concen- animation, direct or drawn-on-film anima- trate on the actual creative act, no matter tion etc.). It was also common to mix and how complicated or expensive its formal combine several different techniques. expression. As already indicated, censor- ship during the Stagnation Era tended to Animation, the collective target the text (meaning the screenplay of consciousness and identity: an animated film) and the audiovisual form Between the past and present was largely under the control of the studio Film is ‘a social document’ (Haynes 2003: and the author. According to Bendazzi, 181). In a sense, Eastern European ani- ‘[w]hen political customs relaxed and stylis- mated film can be regarded as a self- tic research was allowed, the state-funding portrait of the society, a reflection of the system revealed unexpected good qualities. collective consciousness. The more intense In different ways from nation to nation, the ideological pressure on the culture, the State became a patron of auteur animation’ more relevant animated film becomes as a (Bendazzi 2015: 236). document of the age. Soviet censorship was Hence, starting in Brezhnev’s era, set up to guarantee the ‘correct’ content of Eastern European animated film para- cultural production and its brutal nature doxically became a safe haven for auteur was frequently manifested most vividly in techniques, as the state funding provided the form of authorial comments and refer- the means for trying out and experiment- ences. Animated films can be considered to

30 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE be a reflection of an era, not unlike the fairy heavily on elements of Russian iconic art, tales that used to convey a sense of what is all the more noteworthy. was important and necessary to be passed In 1979, completed his down to future generations in ancient times. Tale of Tales (Сказка сказок, Russia), a film Animated films yield to both historical- that has been regarded as the best ani- political and socio-cultural analysis. Indeed, mated film of all time by film critics (Pikkov over the past few decades, animated films 2010: 191). Based on memories, it portrays have increasingly assumed a social role, some of the topics most significant for the which was previously reserved for fairy 20th-century Eastern European collective tales – as agents of cultural memory, subconscious – World War II, childhood and national consciousness and identity. Fadina coming of age, home and homesickness, suggests that animated adaptation in anonymous urbanisation etc. The Tale of particular functions ‘as a recycling of (a) Tales offers a unique insight into the inner national memory and (b) national identity world of the author and the society sur- and (c) gender identity’ (Fadina 2016: 125). rounding him. It is a highly symbolic and Animated films give us a chance to multi-layered work, linking the past with the explore and describe society in a broader present, and dreams with reality. In a sense, sense. In his Semiotics of Cinema, Yuri the Tale of Tales could represent the entire Lotman suggests that Eastern European animation tradition. Typi- cally of many Eastern European animated [a] film is part of the ideologi- films, it struggled with censorship and cal struggles, culture and art of escaped the fate of being ‘shelved’ due only its era ... related to numerous to a lucky coincidence (Bendazzi 2015: 283). aspects of life lying outside the While the aforementioned exam- text of the film, thus giving rise ples highlight the importance of memory to an entire series of meanings and past traditions, a trend moving in the which are often more important opposite temporal direction – towards the to a historian or a contemporary present – can also be traced. Namely, start- than strictly aesthetic problems ing in the late 1960s, the previous explo- might be (Lotman 1976: 42). rations of folkloric and vernacular topics were gradually replaced by investigations When animated films are analysed as social of the authorial self through reflections documents, what is excluded, as much as of contemporary society. Several Eastern what is included becomes relevant. From European animated films of the period offer this point of view, it is significant to note unique insights into the totalitarian society that Soviet animation almost never dealt and its accepted models of behaviour. For with religious topics unlike Soviet live- instance, in the 1960s, Jiří Trnka, who began action narrative cinema, as exemplified by his career with fairy tale films, became the works of , most impor- increasingly fascinated with the world sur- tantly in his Andrei Rublev (Андрей Рублёв, rounding him, then and there. One of his Russia, 1966). Even if priests are depicted boldest films of the period isThe Hand in some animated films, they function as (Ruka, Czechoslovakia, 1965), a stop-motion antiquated symbols of the reactionary past, puppet animation portraying the relation- along with tsars and queens. It could be ship between the artist and the patronising argued that religious topics and symbols – authority, with the latter terrorising the for- traditionally central and extremely visible in mer – a struggle all too familiar to many art- Slavic societies – were indeed completely ists of the time (Figure 8). Indeed, The Hand taboo in Soviet animated film. And there- turned out to be too anti-state – it became fore, Yuri Norstein and Ivan Ivanov-Vano’s Trnka’s final film and ‘threw him into official The Battle at Kerzhenets (Сеча при Керженце, disfavour’ (Moritz 1997: 38–39). Paul Wells Russia, 1971), with a design that relies has characterised it as ‘a vision of inhibited

31 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE process and misrepresentative outcomes; a fact that it offered comic entertainment as triumph of resistance’ (Wells 1998: 88). well as significant insights into the soci- The sometimes rather hazardous ety and social relations. Anna Gareeva has interest of animation artists in portraying aptly argued that ‘Nu, pogodi! reflects and their immediate realities became increas- comments on contemporary Soviet society. ingly more prominent between the late It allows one a unique insight into the way of 1970s and the collapse of the Soviet Union. life of the , from their streets, The characteristic examples of this trend dress, to popular culture. The most popular include Priit Pärn’s Exercises in Preparation cartoon series, it left the audiences with a for Independent Life (Harjutusi iseseisvaks feeling nationalism, community, the ‘Soviet eluks, Estonia, 1980) and The Triangle spirit’ (Gareeva 2013: 1). (Figure 9 and 10) (Kolmnurk, Estonia, 1982). Among other things, Pärn’s films illustrate a significant GORBACHEV’S trait of Soviet animation, which is par- AND THE DISSOLUTION OF ticularly noticeable in films dealing with THE SOVIET UNION contemporary realities – namely, the dimin- Perestroika and initiated by ishing reliance on verbal language. As David in 1985 led to thematic MacFadyen observes, Soviet cartoons diversification in animated film and lifted frequently ‘have tiny screenplays, and often the taboo from showing Soviet society and no text whatsoever. They are visually, more its flaws for what they were, at least to a than verbally, active’ (MacFadyen 2005: certain extent. Self-reflexivity and social 16). The waning of the verbal is doubtlessly critique became the dominant keywords related to the specific conditions of the and many productions of the period scruti- totalitarian society. Since a word usually nised social topics. In Trossek’s words, ‘the has a more concrete meaning than a visual cultural sphere was suddenly given a green image, the author, by excluding the former, light for moderate social criticism, which, could rely on the safety net of ambiguity in the Soviet Union, had previously been and thus minimise the risk of being confined to “dissident discourse”’ (Trossek censored. 2011: 120). As animated films became increas- One of the most famous ‘animated ingly reflective of the surrounding reali- reflections’ of the period was undoubtedly ties and environment, they also became Priit Pärn’s The Luncheon on Grass (Eine sources of citation, mostly in music, jokes murul, Estonia, 1987), a film that explores and one-liners. While still oriented towards the questions of artistic freedom, bureau- young audiences, animations, even those cracy and struggles of everyday life under featuring characters initially targeting chil- Soviet conditions. Another pertinent exam- dren, began to gain wide popularity among ple is The Door (Дверь, Russia, 1986) by Nina adults. For instance, Gena the Crocodile Shorina that similarly ponders the mundane and Cheburashka quickly rose to the status problems of the little men and women. Rob- of popular cult figures far beyond the ani- ert Sahakyants’s The Wind (Քամի, Armenia, mated medium, and their fame seems to 1988) and The Button (Սեղմակոճակ, Arme- be unfaded. For example, the figure of Gena nia, 1989) offer extremely bold critiques of the Crocodile has been reproduced on a the regime. The final film of this upsurge of postage stamp (Fadina 2016: 69) and Che- reflexive animations was Riho Unt’s House burashka’s picture graced the official uni- of Culture (Kultuurimaja, Estonia, 1988) forms of the Olympic Team of the Russian about the desire to move towards West- Federation in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010. ern ideals in the Soviet society and their Cheburashka also became the official logo utterly illusionary nature. House of Culture and mascot of Soyuzmultfilm. also introduces a completely new period of Doubtlessly, Just You Wait! owes at animation production in Eastern Europe – least part of its enduring popularity to the one based on the rules of market economy.

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FIGURE 8. Jiří Trnka’s Hand (Ruka, Czechoslovakia, 1965) has been seen to be a critique of the totalitarian state.

33 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE Moreover, it is of symbolic significance that ism, but also depicted women as sexless Unt’s film was awarded the grand prix at the and self-sacrificing, and urged cooperation, First All-Union Animated Film Festival that neighbourliness, and nonviolence’ (Konon- took place in Kiev, Ukraine in 1989. enko 2011: 272). Furthermore, she adds, 1989 was a year of cataclysmic that ‘[a]lthough the Communist Party had changes throughout Eastern Europe; and originally promised to liberate women and the fall of the Wall on 9 November to make them the strong and equal part- 1989 marked the beginning of the dissolu- ners of men, by the time that most Soviet tion of the Soviet ‘empire’. This date also cartoons were created, independent women marks the end of Soviet political and cul- were no longer desired’ (ibid.). In the same tural domination over its Eastern European vein, Nadezda Fadina argues that ‘in Rus- ‘satellites’. However, the economic crisis sian academic thought feminism has been and instability of the 1990s had a devastat- almost non-existent throughout the Soviet ing effect on the animation industries of period’ (Fadina 2016: 136). the former Eastern Bloc countries. Several As observed by Giannalberto Ben- seasoned animation artists were forced dazzi (2015: 307), it was only in the wake of to end their careers or emigrate to the perestroika in the latter half of the 1980s, West; numerous studios were dismantled with Natalia Dabizha, Ekaterina Obraztsova because the governments stopped sup- and Natalia Orlova entering the stage of porting them and the rest of the industry Soviet animation, that a feminist approach became a site for Western out-sourcing started to gain some traction. Notably, Lydia instead of original film production. The Surikova’s How Ivan the Fine Young Man film industry was hit by a Was Rescuing the Tsar’s Daughter (Как Иван- (Fadina 2016: 93). Only the advent of digi- молодец царску дочку спасал, Russia, 1989) tal technologies in the second half of the introduces an atypical female character 1990s and early 2000s paved the way for to the Soviet animation – one that actively recovery and significant (global) growth for initiates events. In Fadina’s opinion, this the animation industry. was one of ‘the truly feminist animated films’ (Fadina 2016: 165). However, a com- The image of woman parison of Surikova’s film with Pärn’s 1982 in Soviet animated film The Triangle suggests that unconventional The majority of Soviet animated films rep- female characters can also be found in pre- resent a world dominated by men, with far perestroika animations. Furthermore, The fewer female characters, who were typi- Triangle once again demonstrates that the cally passive. Despite the official rhetoric of Baltic states enjoyed more artistic freedom gender equality the women in Eastern Euro- than the rest of the Soviet Union. pean animation have almost always been Similarly to female characters on the subservient to men and utterly stereotypi- screen, female animation artists were also cal, i.e., defined by male values, irrespective a minority: ‘State maintained of the sex of the director and writer of a par- elaborate policies designed to secure ticular film (Fadina 2016: 261–264). A good gender equality. However, this did not sig- example is Dziga Vertov’s 1924 Soviet Toys, nificantly change the situation of women the earliest surviving Soviet animated film, in filmmaking. They were traditionally mar- where the only female character is a bimbo ginalised and had fewer chances to become dancing to the tune of her man. Or take directors’ (Iordanova 2003: 119). Dušan Vukotić’s Ersatz (Surogat, Yugoslavia, 1961), one of the most famous films of the CONCLUSION Zagreb school, where the role of the woman For decades, the development of Soviet is limited to providing company to the man. animation was defined by the tendency to Natalie Kononenko has rightly noted that emulate Disney’s ‘round’ style, his choice Soviet animation ‘not only criticised capital- of topics and techniques, as well as by the

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FIGURE 9 and 10. The animated series Just You Wait! (Ну, погоди!, Russia, 1969–1993) provides unique insights into the socialist society and its social relations.

35 BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2016 / VOLUME 4 / ARTICLE habit of targeting the productions to young Animation has a rich tradition of audiences (Bendazzi 1994: 177). Yet equally debating, commenting and reflecting on strong was the desire to emphasise the fact the political and socio-cultural situation of that Soviet culture stood in stark opposi- society. Since animated film is also a vehicle tion to Western standards and the Western for cultural memory, collective conscious- way of life. In addition to making animation ness and identity, Soviet animations provide serve the construction and production of unique insights into a totalitarian society the Soviet identity, Soviet authorities also and its modes of behaviour, some of which used animated film as an ideological instru- this article strove to highlight. ment (e.g., the anti-jazz campaign in Stran- ger’s Voice or the class struggle in Adven- tures of Mowgli). The cultural landscape, including animated film, was one of the battlegrounds of the Cold War. Although Khrushchev’s Thaw wit- nessed numerous releases of animated films for adult audiences, Soviet animation in general remained a children’s genre, a didactic form drawing heavily on folkloric sources. Notably, the early Soviet discourse had rejected fairy tales as a legitimate the- matic pool, condemning them as vestiges of feudalism. It was not until the mid-1930s that fairy tales were ideologically rehabili- tated and became the major providers of content for the Soviet animated film industry. Initially centralised in Moscow, the Soviet animation industry began to spread to the other republics upon the onset of the Thaw, which also coincided with the gradual increase in the variety of different auteur techniques. Despite the ideological controls, Eastern European animated film became an oasis for the innovative methods that blossomed due to the strong state sup- port for filmmaking. This created favourable conditions for the emergence of a formally diverse field of animation where no single technique or style achieved a dominant position. The Soviet domination of Eastern Europe after World War II had mixed effects. On the one hand, the state-supported industry was able to produce high-level artistic animations without the pressing need to focus on their commercial success. On the other, the state also controlled and censored almost every step of filmmaking, severely curtailing the creative freedom of the animation artists.

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