Gnomy i gornyy korol

Despite being a fan of the quintessential Russian/Soviet animation studio (my opinion of course) Soyuzmultfilm for nearly a decade now, 'Gnormy i Gorny Korol' was only a quite recent discovery for me. Will admit too that more familiarity with their later output is needed, being most familiar with their late-40s-70s years that saw a lot of their best work and animated classics as an overall whole too. Having seen this and another recent Soyuzmultfilm discovery 'The Tiny Fish', there is real enthusiasm to do so.

'Gnormy i Gorny Korol' (English title being 'The Gnomes and the Mountain King') is not one of the studio's best, but it is still a charming little short that deserves to be better known. Despite featuring a character that immediately makes you think understandably think otherwise, it has nothing to do with Henrik Ibsen's 'Peer Gynt' which is a big story and doesn't lend itself particularly well to animation or a 6-7 minute short. What also makes you think otherwise is the use of Grieg's music, featuring two of his 'Peer Gynt' suites' most iconic movements "Morning" and "Hall of the Mountain King", plus the unrelated "March of the Dwarves".

There is a lot to like about 'Gnormy i Gorny Korol'. Admittedly it is very, very slight story-wise, with the second half being better than the first. The latter of which taking too long to set up.

While the animation is mostly impressive, the drawing is not always fluid. The dwarves do look odd at first.

Particularly well done though in the animation is the backgrounds. Loved how idyllic it was at the start and the atmosphere of the insides of the mountain. Of the major characters, the very sinister-looking and enigmatic mountain king is by far the best drawn and could easily pass for a character from Soyuzmultfilm's mid-period, despite how that may sound that's actually a compliment. Another big standout too is the nightmarish/surreal imagery in the climactic moments, imaginative, quite creepy and like it was influenced by the "Night on Bare Mountain" sequence in 'Fantasia'.

Also playing a major part in 'Gnormy i Gorny Korol's' appeal is Grieg's music. It is fantastic music to begin with and deservedly iconic ("Hall of the Mountain King" is a piece that most people will know, like it being when younger the theme music for the adverts for Alton Towers), some of his best. It is also used without a questionable placement or music choice and adds hugely to what's going on. "Hall of the Mountain King" is especially well used and fits the tone for that scene perfectly. "Morning" matches the idyllic, dream-like start when setting up, and the use of an orchestrated version of "March of the Dwarves" (usually played by piano and not at as fast a tempo) synchronises cleverly with the dwarves dance-like movements.

It is another Soyuzmultfilm animation to be entirely wordless, again a choice that proved to be more than appropriate and actually think it wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well with dialogue and would have been potentially distracting instead. Mostly, despite the overlong set-up, the story is engaging and has a lot of charm. The characters are well done, with the best character being the mountain king who really helps liven the second half up. The shepherd boy is appealing though and the dwarves amusing.

Overall, very well done. 8/10