'Proud Little Ship' is not my favourite type of animated short film and it is a type where the execution has been variable. Despite loving Soviet animation, propaganda has varied in animation and it was not Soyuzmultfilm's forte either (only because they were so good at fantasy, adapting fairytales and folktales, revolving a story around pre-existing classical music, which played to their strengths more). Saw it anyway for completest sake and because of being a fan of Soyuzmultfilm.
My thoughts were that 'Proud Little Ship' is nowhere near being one of Soyuzmultfilm's best, there are other types of animation (mentioned above) that the studio do much better. It was also so much better than expected, being somebody who didn't care for most of the Soviet animated political short films (especially those from the 70s, which were so heavy handed, one sided and like they had been stuck in time for 30 years) seen in the past few weeks for so while as part of seeing more Soviet animation recently. Of the ones watched in this period, only three struck me as above average. 'Proud Little Ship' while not perfect by any stretch is one of them.
Will get the not so good things out of the way. The story is pretty slight and does feel a little too over-stretched later.
Actually thought that the narration wasn't really needed, it was not hard at all figuring out what was happening in the images and the narration did lay the point a little too heavily in parts (its portrayal of the revolution could have been more nuanced) which meant that the tension didn't always blister.
That sounds like 'Proud Little Ship' struck me as bad. It isn't, not to me it isn't though it won't work for some. The best thing about it is the animation, which is at its best quite gorgeous. Really liked the realism of the character animation and the way their movement is choreographed in particular and the rich detail in the backgrounds was admirable too. The music is never too much of a dirge or repetitive, while also not being too heroic sounding.
Furthermore, there was a charm to the storytelling that is not there in most of the Soviet animated political short films. Although the storytelling is a long way from perfect, it did leave me emotionally invested and in thought. Also appreciated its good intentions, as like 'It's in Our Power' the messaging is positive and still universal to this day. The attitude towards it is still relevant, more so today. It doesn't mostly feel longer than it is, despite the pacing being bumpy, and while the tension isn't consistent it is there. It's been a very long time where anything in visual media has had me rooting for a ship.
Overall, nicely done and plenty to be proud of despite not being mind blowing. 7/10.
