The Twelve Months, Lolo the Penguin, and other Soviet winter animation.

Nomyte — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 11:25:50 -0800

Today is, of course, December 31st, the new year's eve. And tomorrow will be December 32nd, the day after — December 33rd, and so on, until someone brings me a basket of blooming snowdrops. The Twelve Months (Soyuzmultfilm, 1956) is a classic of Soviet animation that is often televised around the turn of the year. Based on a play by Samuil Marshak (doodle), a founding figure in Soviet children's literature, it tells the tale of a meek peasant girl, her cruel stepmother, a brave old soldier, a fickle and lazy child queen, her schoolmaster, an impossible demand, and the twelve months themselves personified.

Двенадцать месяцев (~55 min.) — Here it is, in all its Soviet glory. Without subtitles.

What, you don't understand Russian? Never fear, because in 1980 Toei Animation^(TVT) released a remake. Called 『森は生きている』 (The Woods Are Alive!), it remains largely faithful to the original material, although Toei's trademark filler (junk food for low income earners) stretches it out to 90 minutes.

『森は生きている』 (English dub) — 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Actually, that's not entirely correct. You can watch the Soviet original capably dubbed into German with parallel Russian text. And, apparently, it's been presented as a stage play in Japanese. And you can listen to the "tale of the twelve months" (『十二月物語』) in Japanese on a 45 RPM record from 1956. (There's also a Russian live-action film, but I'm not sure you'd be interested.) But let's talk about Lolo. The penguin. In the mid-80s, Soyuzmultfilm partnered with Lifework Corporation (JP) and several other production companies to tell the story of a young Adélie penguin's life in Antarctica, his struggle for survival, and escape from captivity on a poacher's boat. The film debuted on January 1st, 1986, in the USSR, and appeared as a three-part OVA in Japan in 1988.

Приключения пингвиненка Лоло (78 min.) — "The Adventures of Little Penguin Lolo," Russian, no subtitles.

The film was localized for American family audiences by Utah-based Feature Films for Families, which changed all the names, removed all scenes of violence, completely rewrote the narration, and added a new synthesizer score with several song numbers. The result can be seen on YouTube:

The Adventures of Scamper the Penguin (76 min.) — edited for an all-ages audience. Music and songs by Bullets.

Luckily, there is a version of the original on YouTube with subtitles in hilarious broken English: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 In Japan, the cartoon was reasonably titled 『小さなペンギンロロの冒険』, but no clips seem to be available. I guess it's not very well-known. But if you still want more Soviet winter holiday animation, here are in no particular order:

«Ну, погоди!» short #8 (the New Year's Eve one) — No subtitles necessary, but it might help to know who Ded Moroz and Snegurochka are.
«Дед Мороз и серый волк» (1978, 17 min.) — Subtitled in English. The big bad wolf steals Ded Moroz's toys. Swift retribution follows. The same actor provides the voice of this wolf and the one in Nu, Pogodi!
«Снеговик-почтовик» (1955, 18 min.) — No subtitles. Some children make a snowman and send him on a quest to find Ded Moroz and obtain a suitable tree. The snowman overcomes dangers untold and hardships unnumbered.
«Новогодняя ночь» (1948, 10 min.) — No subtitles, and it's all in verse. The young and enthusiastic New Year demands that Ded Moroz provide young Muscovites with a tree with golden pine cones. Ded Moroz must bargain with the Leshy, a woodland spirit, for the festive tree. The Leshy's magical wonders pale in the light of the wonders of Soviet technology.
«Когда зажигаются елки» (1950, 20 min.) — No subtitles. A brother and sister are rehearsing their musical number, but the boy can't get over his stage fright without a present from Ded Moroz. Alas, Ded Moroz loses their presents, and Bunny and Teddy have to find their way to the children with Snegurochka's help. Scored by Khachaturian's nephew.
«Дед Мороз и лето» (1969, 19 min.) — No subtitles. Ded Moroz is kind of old and doddering and has to hitchhike to deliver toys. He is driven to distraction by hearing about this "summer" thing and sets out to experience it for himself with the help of some screaming children.
«Серебряное копытце» (1977, 10 min.) — Subtitled in English. Not strictly speaking a story about the New Year, but I wanted you to see and hear it anyway. Based on a well-known tale by folklorist Pavel Bazhov (some pretty illustrations).

Enjoy, and best of luck in the new year.

The future is not a straight line. There are many different pathways.

Artw — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 09:51:15 -0800

Carl Macek, who created Robotech, brought Akira to America and was a co-founder of Spumco, passed away this Saturday.

Otaku in Love

digaman — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:53:07 -0800

"Nisan didn’t mean to fall in love with Nemutan. Their first encounter -- at a comic-book convention that Nisan’s gaming friends dragged him to in Tokyo -- was serendipitous. Nisan was wandering aimlessly around the crowded exhibition hall when he suddenly found himself staring into Nemutan’s bright blue eyes... 'I’ve experienced so many amazing things because of her,' Nisan told me, rubbing Nemutan’s leg warmly. 'She has really changed my life.' Nemutan doesn’t really have a leg. She’s a stuffed pillowcase — a 2-D depiction of a character, Nemu, from an X-rated version of a PC video game called Da Capo." The New York Times' Lisa Katayama on "2-D lovers" in Japan, the latest outgrowth of otaku subculture.

TV Shows Cartoons Anime Movies Music Videos Sports

carsonb — Sat, 19 May 2007 21:14:19 -0800

Ugokie-ko-ri-no-tatehiki

a louis wain cat — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:28:30 -0800

Japanese animation from 1933. A bizarre Max Fleischer-inspired 11-minute cartoon about some critters from traditional Japanese folklore, complete with a soundtrack of traditional Japanese music. [youtubefilter]

You never see him reading, where does he get this stuff?

drezdn — Thu, 04 Nov 2004 08:27:33 -0800