''Once Upon, a Dog'' (''Once Upon a Time, There Lived a Dog'', russian: "Жил-был пёс" (''Zhil-byl Pyos'')) is a Soviet

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

adapted from a

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 ...

folk tale. The cartoon won the first place at the 1983 International Film Festival in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

and a special prize at the 1983 festival in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...

Plot

The day comes when an old watchdog becomes useless but the masters, being kind, decide not to drive him away. However, they become exasperated when the Dog is indifferent during a burglary. The Dog is kicked out and goes to the forest, where he meets the Wolf, his old enemy. The Dog and the Wolf are both old, so they understand they can't be just enemies forever. The Wolf stages a kidnapping to help his mate and the Dog "rescues" the child. The Dog is welcomed back to the

khutor A khutor ( rus, хутор, p=ˈxutər) or khutir ( uk, хутiр, pl. , ''khutory'') is a type of rural locality in some countries of Eastern Europe; in the past the term mostly referred to a single-homestead settlement.

(the farmstead) and continues with his old duty. The winter comes and one evening the Dog hears the

howl Howl most often refers to: *Howling, an animal vocalization in many canine species *Howl (poem), a 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg Howl may also refer to: Film * ''The Howl'', a 1970 Italian film * ''Howl'' (2010 film), a 2010 American arthouse b ...

of the Wolf. The Dog remembers to repay the Wolf's kindness. He helps the Wolf to enter the house where there is a wedding in progress and takes him different kinds of food from the table. Becoming tipsy from the effects of a large meal, alcohol and a warm house, the Wolf starts to howl his "song". The wolf howls and is discovered, but the quick-thinking dog saves him by 'chasing' him from the house. The Wolf thanks the Dog and the best friends bid farewell. The story reveals the problem of becoming old and useless. It appeals to everyone's ability for mutual readiness to help, despite past history.

Credits

The cartoon repeatedly features the Ukrainian folk songs "Oy tam na hori" ("Oh, there at the mountain") and "Ta kosyv batko, kosyv ya" ("My father and I were mowing") performed by "Drevo" folk choir from Kriachkivka

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Pyriatyn Pyriatyn (, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Pyriatyn Raion. Population: History At the end of 1941 or beginning 1942, a ghetto guarded by policemen was established and numbered over 1,500 Jews by late ...

District,

Poltava Region Poltava Oblast ( uk, Полта́вська о́бласть, translit=Poltavska oblast; also referred to as Poltavshchyna – uk, Полта́вщина, literally 'Poltava Country') is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The administrative ...

. The Dog was voiced by

Georgi Burkov Georgi Ivanovich Burkov (russian: Гео́ргий Ива́нович Бурко́в; 31 May 1933 – 19 July 1990) was a Soviet and Russian film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1967 and 1988. He died on 19 July 1990 at the age of 57 ...

and the Wolf by

Armen Dzhigarkhanyan Armen Borisovich Dzhigarkhanyan (russian: Армен Борисович Джигарханян; hy, Արմեն Բորիսի Ջիգարխանյան, Armen Borisi Jigarkhanyan; ; 3 October 1935 – 14 November 2020) was a Soviet, Armenian, and Rus ...

. Animators – Anatoly Abarenov, Natalia Bogomolova, Sergey Dezhkin, operator – Mikhail Druyan, sound producer – Andrey Filchikov. A steel monument to the Wolf was placed in 2005 in

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...

and a copy was made in 2007 in

Angarsk Angarsk ( rus, Ангарск, p=ɐnˈgarsk) is a city and the administrative center of Angarsky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kitoy River, from Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It was ...

.About the monument to the Wolf in Angarsk
/ref> The monument is unofficially called "Monument to Happiness".

Notes

External links

{{wikiquote
YouTube video with English subtitlesIMDb entry
Soyuzmultfilm 1982 films 1982 animated films Soviet animated films Animated films about dogs Animated films about wolves Animated films about friendship Films about old age