''The Stolen Princess'' () is a 2018 Ukrainian
3D animated
fantasy film
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
directed by Oleg Malamuzh and based on the fairy tale ''
Ruslan and Ludmila Ruslan may refer to:
* ''Ruslan'' (film), a 2009 film starring Steven Segal
* Ruslan (given name), male name used mainly in Slavic countries, with list of people
* Antonov An-124 ''Ruslan'', large Soviet cargo aircraft, later built in Ukraine and ...
'' by Russian poet
Aleksandr Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
. The film premiere in
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 ...
took place on March 7, 2018.
The film tells about a wandering artist Ruslan who saves princess Mila kidnapped by evil sorcerer named Chornomor.
Cast
In Ukrainian version, the roles were dubbed by:
Plot
Two sorcerers, Finn and Shernomore, have an intense magical duel in favor of saving Finn's beloved wife, Princess Nina. Finn gains the upper hand at first but is defeated by Shernomore, who deceives him by stepping on a "force field", and loses all of his magic powers and youth, which then transfers to Shernomore. Nina is transformed into a stone statue in exchange for her power of love as a source of his magic.
In the present day, Ruslan, a wandering artist who dreams of becoming a knight, is doing a small play written by an eccentric and an aspiring playwright, Lester, in which he plays the role of Finn and Shernomore. In the castle lives an adventurous and kind princess named Mila. She is bored with her life and her overprotective father, King Vladimir, is forcing her to get married, despite her longing to explore the world and have adventures. One night, she sneaks out and is almost harassed by two gangsters, until Ruslan arrives. He saves Mila from the men and they escape. When the two are alone, Ruslan, afraid of being judged by his status, claims to be a knight.
The next day, they share romantic moments as they develop their feelings for each other. Unfortunately, much to Ruslan's surprise and horror, Mila is kidnapped via a tornado by Shernomore, He tries to pursue Mila, but fails to do so and is knocked unconscious. When he regains consciousness, he is confronted by the king, who mistakenly accuses him of abducting his daughter. Ruslan tries to tell the truth, but none one believes him. Realising Shernomore is real, he consults Lester and they set off to the cave where a wise cat lives. The cat tells Ruslan that every century, Shernomore abducts a princess who is in love and uses the power of her love to replenish his magical powers. Many have set out to defeat him, but all have perished.
The two ask for help on where to find Mila so he reveals to them a magic vortex where they discover a magical place and he gives them a pea pod as a "gift". When they reached a cliff, a hamster suddenly steals the pod and they pursue it. But they realise that they are supposed to give it to him and unlock a bridge built from a dragon's skeleton.
Meanwhile, at Shernomore's castle, Mila awakens in a bed and encounters Shernomore, who informs her of his plans to turn her to stone once he has made use of her love for Ruslan. She tries to escape using the wizard's magical hat that makes the user invisible. Despite Shernomore casting a spell that makes all of the desserts in his castle come alive and attack Mila, she manages to defeat them. Whilst avoiding Shernomore, she discovers the other princesses who were kidnapped by him, and turned into stone.
When Ruslan and Lester arrive at the cave, they meet a strange old man who holds a staff similar to a wizard, and ask for help on where to find Finn. However, the old man reveals he is Finn. But due to him having no contact with the outside world for too long, he is too paranoid to communicate with. With the help of Ruslan's plan, they pretend to be "wizards" who are casting a "spell" to lure him down. Finn, believing that his powers are restored, tries to stop them. Ruslan and the gang pretend to be dead, only for them to contain Finn. When they get him, Ruslan asks where to find Shernomore and how to stop him, Finn tells them that his castle is made of spiky rocks and the source of his power is in his beard, asking him to cut it off, but no one was able to do that. And he tells Ruslan that he needs a magic sword in order to do that. After asking for the directions on where to find the sword, they locate it but it is guarded by an army of skeletons and the animated head of a decapitated giant. The giant challenges Ruslan in exchange for the armor and sword, but Ruslan manages to defeat all of them and they go to Shernomore's castle.
When they get to the castle, they split up to find Mila. Ruslan finds Mila in a different outfit and appearance and she tells him that she does not need rescuing, for she is happy at this place. This breaks Ruslan's heart. Feeling down, he slowly leaves the place. Suddenly, a giant monster attacks them. Lester tries to convince Ruslan to fight, but he's too heartbroken to do so. Their bird gets Mila's pendant and makes Ruslan realise that he is being deceived by Shernomore and he gains the courage to fight the monster.
After defeating the monster, they go to the place where Mila is kept and Ruslan and Shernomore, who transforms into a dragon, engage in an intense duel. Ruslan is defeated at first, but manages to incapacitate Shernomore by cutting his beard. Shernomore loses his powers and the stone statues and Finn turn back to normal. Ruslan tries to escape with Mila, but they are trapped in the force field the same way as Finn did before. Ruslan sacrifices himself by pushing Mila out of the trap, leaving him incapacitated. Mila and Lester tries to save him, but is interrupted by the three knights, resulting in Ruslan's soul being zapped from him and leaving him lifeless. Enraged, Mila fights the three knights and defeats them all (including Shernomore who is tied up).
Mila mourns for the apparent death of Ruslan and says that she loves him so much. A now-rejuvenated Finn appears and brings back Ruslan's life. The two reunite including Lester and Finn and Nina reunite as well. Ruslan confesses that he is not a real knight, but Mila accepts this. She tells him she still loves him no matter what and they share their first kiss. Finn conjures up a fireworks display, and they all live happily ever after.
During the credits, Ruslan and Mila are getting married and are now living a happy life.
Budget
The film is co-financed by Ukrainian State Film Agency: its share is 19.5 million UAH (total production cost of the film is 95.2 million UAH).
Production
On January 30, 2013, producer Egor Olesov informed about the development of ''Ruslan and Lyudmila'' project based on a
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
poem with the same title by Aleksandr Pushkin. In September 2013, press service of FILM.UA Group announced the start of film production, and later the protagonists and synopsis for ''Ruslan and Lyudmila'' were presented with the film itself announced as 2D animation; later, however, the concept changed, and a decision was made to create a 3D animated film.
Hollywood consultants helped with developing the characters. According to the authors of the film, ''Ruslan and Lyudmila'' was made in English and then dubbed in Ukrainian. As Olesov says, Hollywood celebrities will be involved in English dubbing, and in
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 ...
, popular local actors will lend their voices to the film. For the international market, the film was given another title, ''The Stolen Princess''.
In December 2015, the script and characters’ stories were finalized; animation of approved scenes was completed.
Release
International Distribution
''The Stolen Princess'' became the first project in the line of theatrically animated premieres from Animagrad, which also includes Mavka. The Forest Song (2018), Snow Republic (2019), and Roksolana and Suleiman (2021). According to the company director, Animagrad plans to release one animated feature per year, both for local Ukrainian and international distribution.
In February 2015 at the European film market during
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
, the rights to film distribution were sold to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
; in May 2016 at Marché du Film of
Cannes International Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, to France, French-speaking territories,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. On December 10, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter informed that the film after its presentation a month before at the American film market was sold to China, Germany,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, North Africa, and the Middle East. It was also announced that sales to some other territories were pending.
On March 13–16, 2017 in Hong Kong, FILMART took place, which is an annual film and TV content market. The FILM.UA Group stand presented projects of Animagrad studio, including ''The Stolen Princess''. On the penultimate day of the market, the scenes from the animated film were screened in Asia for the first time; the invitation to the premiere appeared on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter, and the screening itself was successful and gathered positive feedback from market participants. In early April, Cannes hosted MIPTV (Marché International des Programmes de Télévision), a major European market of audiovisual content. The stand of Ukrainian delegation presented, among others, ''The Stolen Princess'' film. On May 19 and 23, 2017 the biggest film market Marche du Film under the aegis of the 70th
Cannes International Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
held market screenings of ''The Stolen Princess'', which enjoyed considerable success: the project gathered countless positive reviews, and negotiations on rights sales for the new territories began.
Immediately after Ukrainian release, the theatrical release took place in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
(March 16) and Turkey (March 23). During the first Romanian weekend, Ukrainian animated feature film collected $165,066 in the box office and placed second after American blockbuster ''
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). It is interesting to compare the film with the main animated releases of 2017–2018 from Hollywood majors such as
Disney Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...
,
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
, and
Blue Sky Studios
Blue Sky Studios, Inc. was an American computer animation studio based in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was founded on February 22, 1987 by Chris Wedge, Michael Ferraro, Carl Ludwig, Alison Brown, David Brown, and Eugene Troubetzkoy after their e ...
, which also took place in Romania: the box office of Ukrainian Princess during the first weekend exceeded those of
''Coco'', ''
Ferdinand the Bull
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
'', and ''Baby Boss'', ceding only to the third movie of ''Cars'' franchise. The premiere box office of the Ukrainian film places it third among animated releases in Turkey in 2018.
As of April 13, ''The Stolen Princess'' is now shown in the cinemas of
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 ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
,
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
and
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
. In total, the rights to the animated film screening have been sold to more than 50 countries, including France, Germany, countries of the Middle East, Southern Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In November 2018 Ukrainian media reported that the film had been shown in more than 40 countries with more than half a million viewers.
In January 2019 the film will become the first Ukrainian film to be commercially released to cinemas in China.
["The kidnapped princess" will become the first Ukrainian film to be shown in cinemas of China]
''Life'' (29 November 2018)
Distribution in Ukraine
![2018 Ukraine Stamp 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/2018_Ukraine_Stamp_02.jpg)
In late December 2016 it was announced that the film will change its title from ''Ruslan and Lyudmila'' to ''The Stolen Princess'' for its Ukrainian release as well (before that, in February 2016 the film producers already informed that they will use ''The Stolen Princess'', not ''Ruslan and Lyudmila'' as the title for international distribution). In October 2017 it became known that film producers changed the title of the film for Ukrainian release again, to ''The Stolen Princess: Ruslan and Lyudmila''. The date of Ukrainian release, March 7, 2018, also became known.
On December 15, 2015, in the framework of winter film market of Odessa International Film Festival Novyi TV channel acquired the rights to TV broadcast of the film. According to the deal, the TV premiere of the film is scheduled in six months after the start of its theatrical release.
Soundtrack
The theme song of the film "Do zirok" ("To the Stars") was performed by
Vremya i Steklo
Vremya i Steklo (russian: Время и Стекло, lit=Time and Glass, a pun on phrase ''время истекло'' meaning 'time's up') was a Ukrainian pop duo formed in 2010 by Oleksiy Potapenko, consisting of and Nadiya Dorofeeva. They ...
band. On February 14, a music video for the song was presented. The author of the Ukrainian lyrics is Oleksandra Ruban, the arrangement to the song was made by Milos Jelic, keyboard player in
Okean Elzy
Okean Elzy ( uk, Океан Ельзи, translation: ''Elza's Ocean'') is a Ukrainian rock band. It was formed in 1994 in Lviv, Ukraine. The band's vocalist and frontman is Svyatoslav Vakarchuk. In April 2007 Okean Elzy received ''FUZZ Magazine'' ...
band, and the instrumental part was performed by the musicians of Kyiv Virtuosos orchestra.
The final song in the end credits to the feature film, "Ty Lyubov Moya" ("You're My Love"), was performed by
Jamala
Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova, ; rus, Суса́на Али́мовна Джамалади́нова, Susána Alímovna Dzhamaladínova, sʊˈsanə ɐˈlʲiməvnə dʐəməlɐˈdʲinəvə, links=yes. (born 27 August 1983), known professionally ...
.
Box office
During the first weekend in Ukraine, the film collected 21 million UAH ($0.8 million) in its box office. During five weekends, the film collected 35,857,041 UAH and hit a record among films produced in Ukraine.
Top 5 highest-earning Ukrainian films of all time.
Reviews
The film got mixed reviews. The audience noted the lack of Ukrainian flavor and blind copying of Hollywood standards, inappropriate references to current reality, and lack of charisma among certain characters. However, the reviewers have also praised high animation standards, clever jokes, and the animated feature film appealing to topics of interest to both adults and children.
References
External links
*
*
'' Stolen Princess: Ruslan and Lyudmila ''on the sit
Animagrad"The stolen princess: Ruslan and Lyudmila"on the sit
Film.ua*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stolen Princess, The
2018 films
2018 computer-animated films
Ukrainian animated films
Ukrainian animated fantasy films
Films set in Ukraine
Films based on fairy tales
2010s English-language films