''Winnie-the-Pooh'' (russian: Винни-Пух, Vinni-Pukh, ) is a 1969 Soviet animated film by
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 ...
directed by
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 ...
. The film is based on chapter one in the book series by
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
. It is the first part of a trilogy, along with two sequels: ''
Winnie-the-Pooh Pays a Visit
''Winnie-the-Pooh Pays a Visit'' (russian: Винни-Пух идёт в гости, Vinni-Pukh idyot v gosti ) is a 1971 animated film by Soyuzmultfilm directed by Fyodor Khitruk. The film is based on chapter two in the book series by A. A. Milne ...
'' (, 1971) and ''
Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day
''Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day'' (russian: Винни-Пух и день забот, Vinni-Pukh i den zabot , or ''Winnie the Pooh and a Day of Troubles'' in the English dub title) is a 1972 animated film by Soyuzmultfilm, directed by Fyodor Khi ...
'' (, 1972).
Storyline
Khitruk studied the original book by Milne first in English and only later in Russian, translated by
Boris Zakhoder
Boris Vladimirovich Zakhoder (russian: Бори́с Влади́мирович Заходе́р; 9 September 1918, Kagul, Bessarabia — 7 November 2000, Moscow, Russia) was a Russian poet, translator and children's writer. He is best known fo ...
who became a co-writer of the first two parts of the trilogy. Khitruk had not seen the Disney adaptations while working on his own. He created the prototype drawings of the characters together with Vladimir Zuikov, a fellow animator from '' Film, Film, Film''.
Khitruk followed the original book by
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
and based his first two parts of the trilogy on the Pooh's love for honey. However, while Milne accentuated the relationships between a boy (
Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney ...
) and his favorite toy Pooh, Khitruk removed Christopher Robin and made Pooh the leading character; his narrator is a "true" narrator who has no relation to the story whatsoever. Pooh is balanced by the Piglet; they are best friends and are present in all parts of the story. While Pooh always takes the initiative, he often seeks advice and help from the Piglet. The main reason to remove Robin was to exclude a vastly superior character (a human), and put all others at an equal level.
Khitruk followed his style and drew all scenes in two dimensions. His animation was relatively simple and slowly paced compared to other Milne adaptations. Instead, Khitruk put much emphasis on the dialogues and timing – every move of his characters and every character line are intended to bring hidden details and irony to viewers of all ages.
Cast
* Vladimir Osenev as the narrator. Osenev was a serious stage actor, who first despised the "childish" text and softened only after seeing the final result. Khitruk cast him because of his
timbre
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musica ...
and sarcasm.
*
Yevgeny Leonov
Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (russian: link=no, Евгений Павлович Леонов; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films, such as '' Gentlemen ...
as
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard.
The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Win ...
. Khitruk tried several prominent actors without success – he favored Leonov, yet thought that his voice was too low. The sound engineer Georgy Martynyuk found a solution in speeding up his voice records. The same technique was used for Savvina who played the Piglet.
*
Iya Savvina
Iya Sergeyevna Savvina (russian: Ия Серге́евна Саввина; 2 March 1936 – 27 August 2011) was a Soviet film actress who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1990.Piglet. Knowing that Savvina is a big fan of the Winnie-the-Pooh story, Khitruk invited her to review his first draft, and in the process cast her as the Piglet. Savvina based her intonation on
Bella Akhmadulina
Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina ( rus, Бе́лла (Изабе́лла) Аха́товна Ахмаду́лина, tt-Cyrl, Белла Әхәт кызы Әхмәдуллина; 10 April 1937 – 29 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian poet, ...
.
Legacy and awards
In 1976, Khitruk was awarded the
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
for the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' trilogy. The animation characters, as designed by Khitruk's team, are featured on the 1988 Soviet and 2012 Russian postal stamps; they are permanently painted on a public streetcar running through the
Sokolniki Park
Sokolniki Park, named for the falcon hunt of the Grand Dukes of Muscovy formerly conducted there, is located in the eponymous Sokolniki District of Moscow. Sokolniki Park is not far from the center of the city, near Sokolnicheskaya Gate. Th ...
, and their sculptures are installed in
Ramenki District
Ramenki District (russian: район Раменки) is a district in Western Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. The area of the district is . Population: 126,000 (2017 est.)
History
The modern district was formed in ...
in Moscow.
When Khitruk visited the Disney Studios,
Wolfgang Reitherman
Wolfgang Reitherman (June 26, 1909 – May 22, 1985), also known and sometimes credited as Woolie Reitherman, was a German–American animator, director and producer and one of the " Nine Old Men" of core animators at Walt Disney Productions. H ...
, the director of ''
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' is a 1968 American animated featurette based on the third, fifth, ninth, and tenth chapters of ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and the second, eighth, and ninth chapters from ''The House at Pooh Corner'' by A. A. Milne ...
'' that won the 1968
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...
, told him that he liked the Soviet version better than his own.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard.
The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Win ...
*
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
*
History of Russian animation The history of Russian animation is the visual art form produced by Russian animation makers. As most of Russia's production of animation for cinema and television were created during Soviet times, it may also be referred to some extent as the histo ...
References
Further reading
Kevin Scott Collier. ''Fyodor Khitruk's Vinni-Pukh: Russia's Animated Winnie-the-Pooh''. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
