Igor Adolfovich Kovalyov (russian: Игорь Адольфович Ковалёв; born 17 January 1954) is a Ukrainian-born Russian

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

and educator, co-founder of

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

— the first private animation studio in the Soviet Union. From 1991 to 2005 he worked at

Klasky Csupo Klasky-Csupo, Inc. (stylized as KLaSKY CSUPO INC., doing business as Klasky Csupo, ) is an American animation studio located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó (he ...

where he co-created ''

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on three young monsters—Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm—who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn to ...

'' and co-directed ''

The Rugrats Movie ''The Rugrats Movie'' is a 1998 American animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''Rugrats''. It was directed by Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien and was written by David N. Weiss & J. David Stem. The film introd ...

''. He currently serves as a creative producer at

Soyuzmultfilm Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Union Cartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, Formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm) is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched in ...

. Kovalyov is also known for his auteur films for which received multiple international awards, including three Grand Prizes at the

Ottawa International Animation Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...

.''

Giannalberto Bendazzi Giannalberto Bendazzi (17 July 1946 – 13 December 2021) was an Italian animation historian, author, and professor. Life and career Born in Ravenna, Italy, and raised in Milan, Bendazzi started his career as a journalist and at the same time a ...

(2016)''
Animation: A World History: Volume III: Contemporary Times
— Boca Raton: CRC Press, pp. 51-54 ''Sergei Kapkov (2006)''.

Encyclopedia of Domestic Animation The ''Encyclopedia of Domestic Animation'' (russian: Энциклопедия отечественной мультипликации; transliterated ''Entsiklopediya otechestvennoy multiplikatsiyi'') is a collection of biographies and filmographie ...

, pp. 328-329

Soviet period

Igor Kovalyov was born in Kyiv,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

(modern-day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). When asked in 2002 whether he feels himself as an American, Russian or Ukrainian artist, he answered "I feel myself Russian, because I am Russian. I have 50% of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, three litres of

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

and three litres of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

blood... But I will never become an American". He finished animation courses at

Goskino Goskino USSR (russian: link=Yes, Госкино СССР) is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It w ...

where his teachers were

Yevgeny Sivokon Yevgeny Yakovlevich Sivokon ( uk, Євген Якович Сивокінь; born May 7, 1937, Kyiv) is a Soviet and Ukrainian director of animated films. Winner of numerous Soviet, Ukrainian and international festivals. Almost all of the current ...

and

David Cherkassky David Yanovich Cherkassky ( uk, Давид Янович Черкаський, translit=Davyd Yanovych Cherkas'kyi; 23 August 1932 – 30 October 2018) was a Soviet and Ukrainian animated film director and screenwriter. He made several animation pict ...

. He also met

Alexander Tatarsky Alexander Mikhailovich Tatarsky (russian: Александр Михайлович Татарский; December 11, 1950 – July 22, 2007) was a Soviet and Russian animation director, screenwriter, animator, producer, artist, co-founder and a ...

during the studies, his closest friend since. In 1972 he joined the animation department at

Kievnauchfilm Kievnauchfilm (russian: Киевнаучфильм), also Kyivnaukfilm ( uk, Київнаукфільм, translit=Kyïvnaukfil′m), translated as Kyiv Science Film, was a film studio in the former Soviet Union located in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR. Alt ...

to work in

clean-up Cleanup, clean up or clean-up may refer to: * Cleanup (animation), a stage of animation workflow * Clean-up (environment), environmental action to remove litter from a place * Cleanup hitter, a baseball position * Clean-up Records, a record label ...

inbetweening Inbetweening, also known as tweening, is a process in animation that involves creating intermediate Film frame, frames, called inbetweens, between two key frame, keyframes. The intended result is to create the illusion of movement by smoothly trans ...

and animation. Simultaneously Kovalyov and Tatarsky started an "underground" home studio and created the ''Speaking of Birds'' comedy shorts using a handmade

animation stand An animation stand is a device assembled for the filming of any kind of animation that is placed on a flat surface, including cel animation, graphic animation, clay animation, and silhouette animation. Traditionally, the flat surface that the a ...

. They brought it to the

High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors 200px The High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors (HCFDS) (russian: Высшие курсы сценаристов и режиссёров (ВКСР)) comprises a variety of optional post-graduate film school courses in Moscow, Russia. ...

and were invited to join the animation faculty. Kievnauchfilm refused to let them go, and only in 1979 Kovalyov was allowed to leave, while Tatarsky fled to Moscow on his own. Igor studied under

Fyodor Khitruk Fyodor Savelyevich Khitruk (russian: Фёдор Савельевич Хитрук; 1 May 1917 – 3 December 2012) was a Soviet and Russian animator and animation director. Biography Khitruk was born in Tver (Russian Empire), into a Jewish ...

Yuri Norstein Yuri Borisovich Norstein, People's Artist of Russia, PAR (russian: link=no, Ю́рий Бори́сович Норште́йн; born 15 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts ''Hedgehog in the Fog'' an ...

, Vladimir Pekar and

Violetta Kolesnikova Violetta Pavlovna Kolesnikova (Russian: Виолетта Павловна Колесникова; 24 August 1938 – 26 March 2022) was a Russian animator and Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1989). She is known for her work on ''The Bremen Town Musi ...

. He also got into

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

s by

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, and s ...

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional aus ...

and experimental animation by

Borivoj Dovniković Borivoj Dovniković (12 December 1930 – 8 February 2022) was a Croatian film director, animator, and caricaturist. He was a prominent member of the Zagreb school of animated films style. Biography Dovniković was born in Osijek, Yugoslavia, ...

Walerian Borowczyk Walerian Borowczyk (21 October 1923 – 3 February 2006) was an internationally known Polish film director described by film critics as a 'genius who also happened to be a pornographer'. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. Borowczyk sett ...

and

Priit Pärn Priit Pärn (born 26 August 1946 in Tallinn) is an Estonian cartoonist and animation director whose films have enjoyed success among critics as well as the public at various film festivals. Pärn formerly worked as a plant ecologist; his car ...

in particular.Larisa Malyukova.
A Hen and a Bird. Portrait of Igor Kovalyov
' article from

Iskusstvo Kino ''Iskusstvo Kino'' (Russian: Искусство кино, ''Film Art'') is a film magazine published in Moscow, Russia. It has been published since 1931 and is one of the earliest magazines in Europe which specialize on film theory and review al ...

№ 11, November 2012 (in Russian) Upon graduation in 1981 he joined Tatarsky at the Multtelefilm division of

Studio Ekran Studio Ekran (russian: Творческое объединение «Экран», or simply, “творческое «ЭКРАН» объединение, Artistical Joint "Ekran") was a Russian (Soviet Union's until 1991) TV film studio. It was ...

as an

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

. Their debut work ''

Plasticine Crow ''Plasticine Crow'' (russian: Пластилиновая ворона, translit. ''Plastilinovaya vorona'') is a 1981 Soviet clay animation by Alexander Tatarsky ('' T/O Ekran'' studio). Animation divided into three independent parts (''Pictu ...

'' consisted of two shorts based on "kids drawings" (in fact all of them were drawn by Kovalyov using his left hand) and one made of

plasticine Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. Though originally a brand name for the British version of the product, it is now applied generically in English as a product categor ...

, becoming the first Soviet

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

film. Due to his father's sudden death Igor left for Kiev in the middle of production and stayed there for the next several years working at Kievnauchfilm again. He then returned to Moscow and started directing films alongside Tatarsky. Their most famous work was '' Investigation Held by Kolobki''.Larisa Malyukova.
Igor Kovalyov: "Tatarsky grew up among clowns"
' article from

№ 12, December 2012 (in Russian) The friends also launched animation courses under Multtelefilm and prepared a number of prominent animators. In 1988 they founded

, the first private animation studio in the USSR where they relocated along with their students. In 1989 Igor directed his first auteur film ''Hen His Wife'' which became an international success and gained him his first Grand Prize at the 1990

. During that time he was invited to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to meet with students at the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

studio. He was noticed by

Gábor Csupó Gábor Csupó ( , ; born September 29, 1952) is a Hungarian-American animator, writer, director, producer and graphic designer. He is co-founder of the animation studio Klasky Csupo, which has produced shows like ''Rugrats'', ''Duckman'', ''St ...

who immediately offered him a place at

. Kovalyov turned down the offer and returned to Moscow to finish '' Andrei Svislotskiy''. Csupó continued to contact him and guaranteed that he would be able to produce auteur films, and under a pressure from his first wife and the overall crisis in animation Igor finally agreed.

American period

In the summer of 1991, just 20 days before the

August Coup August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

, Kovalyov and his family left for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He started working as an animator on ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', then moved to work on ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, ...

'' as a director and character designer. The series eventually turned into one of the most popular children's TV shows.

Soviet period

American period

Back to Russia

Selected filmography

Preservation

See also

References

Sources