Russian animation: Cheburashka

This is not the first time we mention Cheburashka* and his friend Gena the crocodile or Russian animation for that matter. You can read "all" about the little critter, including what he is or was in my home country Sweden, in Wikipedias article - the important thing right now is that Bibi posted some Cheburashka films on Videos with Bibi. Yes, I know, they are neither subtitled nor dubbed, but they are beautifully animated. So I suggest you at least have a look to see what Cheburashka is all about.

* "Cheburashka.../... is a character of children's literature from a story by the Russian writer Eduard Uspensky. He is also the hero .../... of the animated film series by Soyuzmultfilm studio." ... "Cheburashka is a funny little animal, unknown to science, who lived in the tropical forest. He accidentally got into a crate of oranges, ate his fill and fell asleep. Cheburashka is not a personal name; it is a species name invented by the puzzled director of the shop, where he was found."
According to Wikipedia only four Cheburashka films were made (1969, 1971, 1974, 1983).
In my home country - Sweden - we never got to see the films, we only had a Cheburashka puppet show as the children's segment of the TV-show "Sveriges Magasin". Here they were called "Drutten och Krokodilen (Jena)" and lived in a bookshelf; they were immensely popular.

Quotes from Wikipedia

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Animation: Winnie the Pooh in the Soviet Union

A year ago I uploaded a few snippets of the Soviet made Winnie the Pooh which I thought were truly delightful. And now I'm happy to say that YouTube signature kuba0000 has done the good deed of uploading full episodes in 4 parts. They were made in 1969-1972 by the acclaimed film company Soyuzmultfilm, known for a number of celebrated animations like the series about Cheburashka and short films like Hedgehog In The Fog and The Heron and the Crane (Watch them at Videos With Bibi!).

For your convenience I have collected the Soviet-made Winnie-the-Pooh-episodes into one playlist. (see below). I found them through this article in the blog Think In Pictures where the image of Pooh is discussed. For me Pooh has many faces; I love the originals from the book made by Englishman E H Shepherd, however one can't deny that the Disney version exists in one's conscience but now they have both been joined by the fresh images of the Soviet Pooh. I hope you too will enjoy him, although there are no subtitles. You probably know the stories well-enough to follow. Follow?



PS. You'd better hurry watching it. You never know for how long it'll be available!

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Animation: Soviet Winnie the Pooh

Did you know there was a Soviet Winnie the Pooh?

"In the Soviet Union, three Winnie the Pooh stories were made into celebrated cartoons by Soyuzmultfilm.

Quotes and songs from the films are still a staple of Russian society, and, together with the characters, are often parodied, while still loved." says Wikipedia

I'm really fond of the original illustrations by E. H. Shepard and the Disney version is quite lovable too but the Soviet version comes a bit like a breath of fresh air. Have a look at some short clips I've uploaded to YouTube.

And here is a Russian site dedicated to Pooh fans.


Thanks to Justine who got me on track for this post.