Konyok-Gorbunok

I had seen this film on TV when I was a very little kid. Recently, I found it online and watched it again. While watching it again, I realized that I remembered the story, characters and visuals very well from my first seeing. Seeing it again was like a magic door opening to my childhood. And yes, this film is pure magic. With its imaginative story, extremely likeable protagonist, mesmerizing visuals and poetic language, it is like something from the different realm, a truly magical realm. I loved it as a kid and I loved it as an adult. A perfect piece of cinema!

and, maybe, it is its precious virtue. because it has the gift to be the favorite of each age. for the child - the colors and the fluidity of animation and the simple , honest Ivanushka and his good friend , the little magic, loyal horse are the pillars for joy. for the adult - the Russian cultural references, the waves remembering the Japanese stamp, the costumes and buildings and feast and the new Ivanushka from the end and the Tsar and, sure, the ...horses. the music, the young daughter of the Moon, the dances and the spirit and emotions from the reading of the book by Pyotr Ershov.the last detail, across decades, remains, for me, the most precious virtue of the film.

This was my absolute favorite childhood movie which virtually disappeared from sight. Apparently the film master was in terrible shape and couldn't be restored at the time. I am talking about the Russian version which is the one I would have watched as a child so I suspect it had English dubbing as I would never have watched anything in Russian. The newer version is visually as appealing since it is made by the same folks but the character voices are jarring and all wrong. I would love to have the original but cannot locate it anywhere. The storyline and colors remain quite attractive to the average child as I managed to purchase the "American" version and showed it to some school-age children. They were quite enchanted. If you are searching for something new and different for your children, I would highly recommend this.

I watched this animated feature in the 1950's on a New York City Saturday morning show, The Children's Hour, hosted by Ed Herlihy. I had no idea what the title was, and just found it on a link to old children's tv shows.

The animation is beautiful - up to Disney's standards in Snow White, Fantasia and Bambi. I knew it was Russian film, but do not remember reading the subtitles. It was a tale of fantasy concerning a young boy who had to rescue a princess by passing through a series of "tests." Typical folk take fodder, but the great moment when he has to jump into each of three cauldron - one freezing, one boiling and I don't remember the third - kept me breathless, each and every time they aired the film. When he jumps into the third cauldron it seems to take forever before he emerges. I was sure he had died. But he emerges, no longer a slight young man, but a hearty grown man, worthy of winning the princess.

Ah, such were the tales I grew up on. A prince would rescue me and I'd never have to worry about doing anything with my life again! Sad, but when the animation is breathtaking, I can forgive the society that perpetuated such myths.

This movie is, in parts, surprisingly well animated. Not a Disney like movie at all, closer to the Fleischer style. In fact it reminded me quite a bit of 'Gulliver's Travels(1939)' especially in character design and backgrounds (though the main character's design is butt-ugly, like the artist's concept of human anatomy was taken from rumors he'd heard).

The only DVD version I was able to find was from a lesser known company. it was a badly badly badly dubbed version with no sound effects at all and the color was gone. just gone. It made this movie look liked it was filmed in sepia.

If this film were to have a real release with a subbed/dubbed version like is done with other international animated movies, it would be better, but still not great.

However, for anyone interested in the history of animation in film, this would be an interesting to watch.