The mice sing a song about their attitude toward cats. They issue a challenge to the placid Leopold, who is relaxing in a rocking chair by his Victrola. After much effort, the mice succeed in irritating him. Taking some pills from a passing doctor dog, Leopold is transformed into a raging animal and terrorizes the mice.
Leopold is out fishing. He catches and releases a wish-granting goldfish. The mice try to interfere and swear revenge when Leopold doesn't notice their efforts. The mice catch the same magic fish (Caution: Oglaf) and wish to be turned into elephants, then crocodiles, and, finally, large predatory birds. To teach them a lesson, Leopold asks to turn invisible, using the opportunity to frighten the mice into abandoning their wicked ways and thoroughly demolishing the flat in the process.
Leopold responds to the prank the mice play on him by sending them a fake treasure map.
Leopold has a new TV, but the mice are messing with the aerial. Leopold takes a variety of slapstick measures to stop them. The climax involves a battle with a supercharged vacuum cleaner.
Leopold is enjoying a bike ride in the countryside, but the mice have other ideas. Includes multiple (possibly grating) songs. Note the enclosed-chain bike design, which was probably easier to animate. The part with the construction truck is a visual reference to the 1969 Soviet film «Белое солнце пустыни»/White Sun of the Desert
Leopold is celebrating his birthday alone (what is it with Soviet cartoon characters?). The mice will have none of it. Provides a fine overview of Soviet domestic life.
Dear god, why do I know all of these songs by heart? Leopold enjoys typical Soviet outdoor pastimes: fishing, picking mushrooms, working on his dacha (don't ask why the English Wikipedia page on mushroom picking has been taken over by Russians).
Leopold occupies himself with turizm, which in the USSR typically comprised hiking, camping, and domestic, rather than international, travel (see this book review). The book Leopold is reading is Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. The theme of castaways is rampant in Soviet literature and obviously inspires the action.
A bizarre and perhaps lazy interview in the style of Inside the Actor's Studio. Leopold talks about acting, casting choices, fame, his future plans, and living as a cat in the world of cinema. All talk, no subtitles.
Leopold enjoys all the modern benefits of socialized Soviet medicine. The round glass jars are for cupping, a procedure that's discredited elsewhere but is still widely recognized, thought perhaps less widely practiced in Russia today. The mice also try to know Leopold out with a rag soaked with ether. The scene mirrors a similar one in the perennially popular Soviet comedy «Операция Ы»/Operation [ɨ]. When the grey mouse is put to sleep, the soundtrack includes a musical reference to the closing theme of «Спокойной ночи, малыши»/Pleasant Dreams, Children, a beloved and long-running children's bedtime TV show (1987 NYTimes article about a cultural exchange between Mr. Rogers and the show's creators).
Leopold takes his DIY (!!) automobile, license playe number LEO-19-87, out for a ride. (No, there was no tradition of people building their own cars in the USSR, not even in this fascinating book. No, I'm not sure why the car dispenses milk — out of a genuine USSR-era carton.)
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posted by box at 4:45 PM on June 29, 2011