Il cavallino gobbettino

Russian animation has really fascinated me as of late, and the 1947 version of The Humpbacked Horse was one of the standouts, and deserves to be seen more than historical value. The animation is really beautiful, the luscious colours, elegantly drawn backgrounds and mostly fluid character designs are like a nice mix of Golden Age Disney, very early Looney Tunes and Fleischer. The image of the horse flying in the air at the start was especially striking. The music fits really beautifully, very Russian in tone and manages to be rousing and understated when called for. I loved The Humpbacked Horse's pace, to begin with it's slow but I was never bored and nothing came across as dragged out or pointless, and the story stood out for its occasional strangeness, fresh naivety and also that it's very narratively culture-specific. The characters are engaging and all serve a point to the story, and the voice acting is expressive and dynamic enough. There is an animated film of the same story from 1975 that follows what we see here quite closely, and while it was interesting and well-done on the whole, I do much prefer the pacing here and the voices fit the characters here more too. All in all, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox