Szaffi

Szaffi is a full-length animated feature based on Jokai Mor's books Gypsy Baron (Cyganibaro) and Szaffi. I don't want to tell the details of story here, because it's best you see it for yourself. It has adventure, and treasure, and love, and a little black cat, and a war, and picturesque villains - a governor with a pressure release valve in his skull and a fat pig-loving baron, and of course, the good gypsies. All of us soviet children saw this cartoon when it was shown on Russian TV back in the 80's and every character is in our memory forever. Puritan Americans be warned, there is some innocent (and properly masked by 'random' objects) nudity in the cartoon.

Due to my romantic childhood memories, I rewatched this movie, and spent an afternoon with hidden jokes ans hints in my head. The story goes on when the Ottoman Empire invaded Hungary, and clearly shows it affected people's live in different ways - the baroque castle not even taking a moment on to think what happens during the invasion - the other castle falling into pieces, but holding on for a while, etc. Some events are extremely lucky- which reflects on mostly hungarian folk tales, where the youngest boy who's the smartest, tricks himself outta bad situations. I looked around for english dubbed version, but no luck so far - if you have a chance listen to the original voice, Judit Pogány's Szaffi is just marvellous.

I chanced to catch this on US television many years ago, under the title of "The Treasure of Swamp Castle", and was astounded as I watched it to realize that it was an alternate version of a live show that I'd been in in New York in 1984. It's based on the novel "A cigánybáró" (1885), by Mór Jókai, which is also the source of the operetta "Die Zigeunerbaron" ("The Gypsy Baron") by Johann Strauss, II. Although it is not an operetta, much of Strauss's music is used as underscoring, most amusingly when the famous Pig-farmer's Song ("I've no time for learning writing. / Breeding pigs is too exciting.") is adapted as a formal gavotte.

The film is in the style of animation known as "International", and a tad surreal. Some bits of the plot seemed a bit vague, but perhaps that was the English translation.