Chuzhoy golos

I'd previously only been familiar with animator Ivan Ivanov-Vano through this collaborations with Yuriy Norshteyn, but he was quite a prominent figure in the field of Soviet animation, active for nearly sixty years from the 1920s. In fact, he is often affectionately termed the "Patriarch of Soviet animation." 'A Strange Voice (1949)' is a breathtakingly beautiful example of the master's craft, despite serving propagandistic purposes. By the 1940s, Soviet artists at Soyuzmultfilm studio had been influenced considerably by the American work of Walt Disney, and thus their animation has a quiet, realistic style that is far removed from the more unique (and, by then, obsolete) cartoon designs that had originated in the Soviet Union {see 'Bazaar (1934),' and you'll know what I mean}. Given the degree to which Soyuzmultfilm owed its new style to American animators, it's rather ironic that this particular cartoon condemns the work of foreign artists, albeit in the guise of a pleasant and amusing cartoon made to appeal to Russian youngsters.

'A Strange Voice' opens in the pristine Russian wilderness, where a nightingale regales the other birds with his beautiful whistling song. Then a stranger arrives in the midst. A black-and-white crow awkwardly alights on a branch and denounces the nightingale's performance as being outdated. She proposes to give a concert of her own singing voice, and the Russian birds politely accept the offer. But when the crow opens her mouth, there is no beautiful singing voice, but only the grating honk of a trumpet. Apparently, this cartoon has American jazz in its sights, and the Russians are to have no part in this grotesque new brand of music. The crow is unceremoniously whistled and then pecked off the stage, and the humble nightingale is able to continue its pleasant song. Providing you look past the propaganda, this ten-minute short is beautifully animated, with a nice musical soundtrack. And, for the record, I happen to like jazz.

Have for a while now gotten a lot of pleasure out of the work of Soyuzmultfilm, when it comes to Russian animation it doesn't get much better than Soyuzmultfilm. Have yet to see a misfire from them, have seen a vast majority of them just to say, and consider a lot of their work classic ('Hedgehog in the Fog', 'The Humpbacked Horse', 'Tale of Tales', 'The Snow Queen', 'The Wild Swans', 'The Nutcracker', 'Thumbelina', 'Mowgli' being notable ones).

'A Strange Voice' is not quite one of my favourites of theirs, but it really is a must for anybody that loves animation and all things Russian. Am a lifelong fan of animation and have always gotten a lot out of singing in Russian, it's a beautiful language once you get your head around the phonetic symbols/alphabet and hard and soft signs (still haven't completely just to say), so it was a perfect combination really. If you love Soyuzmultfilm's work, there is a very strong likelihood that 'A Strange Voice' will be up your street as well.

My favourite thing about 'A Strange Voice' is the animation, it really is a beauty to watch. Cannot get enough of those rich colours or the meticulous attention to detail in the backgrounds. Music is very important to me to talk about watching film, television, short films and cartoons, it also plays a huge part in 'Another's Voice' so it was essential that it worked. It works splendidly, though there is a personal preference over the understated beauty of the Russian sound than the deliberately strange and deliberate mix of rousing and grating American jazz. Some may think that the two styles jar too much with each other, but that was the point.

It's not just the animation and music that work. 'A Strange Voice' is gently amusing and has a lot of charm. Maybe a touch heavy-handed in parts particularly towards the end, but was able to overlook that somewhat with everything else being so good. The story is slight but that doesn't come at the expense of lustre.

Characters are engaging, with my favourite being the nightingale who was the easiest to like and root for. The magpie avoids being overly irritating which is good.

Overall, another winner from Soyuzmultfilm. 9/10