Puppet animation is a masterpiece made by hand. The best foreign puppet cartoons Top puppet cartoons

Puppets are the oldest animation technique, and although there were periods when the popularity of puppet cartoons waned, the tradition was never completely interrupted. Arzamas collected not the most famous, but important works over the past half century

"Little Frog is Looking for Dad"
Director Roman Kachanov, 1964

One little frog didn't have a dad, and he was very sad. So much so that he went looking for him. This seemingly simple film is used to teach dramaturgy to students at animation schools. The legendary Roman Kachanov is one of the creators of puppet animation in our country. It was he who made both “Mitten” and “Cheburashka” (Leonid Shvartsman worked as the artist on these two cartoons).

"My green crocodile"
Director Vadim Kurchevsky, 1966

“All the crocodiles were like crocodiles, but this crocodile was somehow strange...” A poetic movie about love based on the script by Genrikh Sapgir and Gennady Tsyferov, in which Yuri Norshtein worked as an animator, and Alina Speshneva worked as an artist. Vadim Kurchevsky is an animated film director, book illustrator, screenwriter, production designer, TV presenter, art teacher and set designer for children's plays.

"Clew"
Director Nikolay Serebryakov, 1968

A very sad story about how important it is to stop in time, told with the help of dolls and yarn. Nikolay Serebryakov - Soviet and Russian director of animated films; his most famous works are "I Want to Be Brave" and "Gilded Foreheads".

"The Little Goat Who Counted to Ten"
Director Vladimir Degtyarev, 1968

One day the little goat learned to count. But not everyone in the forest liked it. Vladimir Degtyarev is a legend of puppet animation. This film adaptation of a fairy tale by Norwegian writer Alf Preusen is one of his most famous cartoons for children.

"Moomintroll and others"
Directed by Aida Zyablikova, 1978

The first of three cartoons about the Moomins. Director Aida Zyablikova is a classic of puppet animation. It was she who filmed Tatyana Alexandrova’s fairy tale “Kuzya the Brownie.” The composer of the cartoon is Alexey Rybnikov, and the lyrics for the songs were written by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya. The cartoon was voiced by Zinovy ​​Gerdt and Olga Gobzeva.

“Moomintroll and the Comet”, “Moomintroll and the Comet. The way home"
Directed by Nina Shorina, 1978

The director of the second and third series about the Moomins was Nina Shorina, and the artist was Lyudmila Tanasenko (she was also the artist of the famous films “Last Year’s Snow Was Falling,” “A Big Secret for a Small Company,” “The Boy Walked, the Owl Flew”), etc. d. These episodes were also voiced by Zinovy ​​Gerdt and Olga Gobzeva.

"New Year's Adventure"
Directed by Julian Kalisher, 1980

A New Year's movie about how Papa Man and Papa Bear forgot to buy Christmas trees and are trying to fix it. The Soviet fairy who helps the heroes is especially good. Julian Kalisher directed a lot of musical cartoons, for example “A Big Secret for a Small Company” or “Who Are the Birds.” "New Year's Adventure" also has a funny song.

"Hedgehog plus turtle"
Director Ivan Ufimtsev, 1981

A film by one of the classics of puppet animation - Ivan Ufimtsev, creator of “38 Parrots” and “Losharik”. This film adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's tale "Where the Armadillos Come From" begins with the song "On the Distant Amazon" performed by Tatyana and Sergei Nikitin. The roles were voiced by Oleg Tabakov, Vsevolod Larionov, Nadezhda Rumyantseva and Tatyana Peltzer.

"Little Imp No. 13"
Directed by Nathan Lerner, 1982

It’s an important day at school for devils: in class they study the question “Who should the devil love?” Of course, yourself! But the main character does not agree. A witty and gentle cartoon by Nathan Lerner, to whom we also owe the animated images of Baron Munchausen and the Fleeing Mook.

"Vrednyuga"
Director Yuri Trofimov, 1987

Yuri Trofimov has several cartoons based on fairy tales by the English writer Donald Bisset. In this episode, Drakosha and his friends fight the insidious Vrednyuga, who wants to steal the rainbow. Script by Vadim Kurchevsky, text from the author read by Alexey Batalov.

"Amorous Crow"
Directed by Maria Muat, 1988

One day a crow fell in love with a sideways hare. And then a fox, and then a wolf, and then... You can’t order your heart! A touching and absurd cartoon about love based on a script by Irina Margolina with memorable characters performed by Georgy Burkov, Roman Filippov and Larisa Udovichenko. Maria Muat is a student of Sergei Obraztsov, a leading director of modern puppet animation.

On March 21, a unique holiday was celebrated - International Puppet Theater Day. The idea of ​​its creation belongs to a prominent figure in the puppet theater, Jivad Zolfagariho. In 2000, he brought up the idea of ​​celebrating Puppet Theater Day internationally, but the first celebration took place only in 2003. It seems like it couldn’t be simpler to suggest something to celebrate. Where there... But no matter how extended the implementation of the idea of ​​International Puppet Theater Day may be, this holiday still exists.

It is in his honor that our selection of cartoons today has been compiled. The editors of Tlum.Ru present to your attention the top 10 Soviet puppet cartoons.

No. 10: The Littlest Dwarf (1977)

Multi-part animated series about the gnome Vasya. He was so small that no one noticed him. Because of which the baby suffered a lot. The gnome's grandparents instruct him: you need to do something good to be noticed. And Vasya goes in search of good deeds.

In the cartoon, Snow White herself is mentioned, and the famous Little Red Riding Hood is also shown. Vasya dedicates one of his good deeds to this particular girl and her salvation, which becomes the next item on his list. The animated series has a total of 4 episodes, and in each episode Vasya helps everyone. Based on the book “Little Dwarf Vasya” by Mikhail Lipskerov.

No. 9: Bunny-Snobbish (1976)

A typical confrontation between the Fox and the Hare. Once again trying to escape from the red-haired cunning one, the Hare meets a hunter in the forest and steals his gun. Real chaos begins: the cowardly Hare, having tasted power, calls himself the strongest animal in the forest. And to begin with, he settles in the Fox’s house, where has this been seen?

Particularly notable in the cartoon are the songs that come in short bursts, but quickly tell about the character. The cartoon proves that courage cannot be picked up so easily, it must be cultivated in oneself. And also, don’t take other people’s goods. Based on the play of the same name by Sergei Mikhalkov.

No. 8: Bosun and the Parrot (1982)

A wonderful animated series consisting of 5 issues. In the first episode, we are shown the boatswain Roma, who is pestered by his new parrot at night. And Roma predictably tries to get rid of the bird. Giving it to new owners time after time... Roma gets the bird back. It is not as easy as it seems to get rid of a parrot. Returning home once again, Roma also sees Rita at home, her new parrot friend. The boatswain resigns himself to his fate and the three of them continue to live together.

No. 7: The Wizard of Oz (1973)

Multi-part cartoon. The 10 episodes show the adventures of the girl Ellie, who finds herself in a magical land. The entire series is dedicated to the journey of Ellie and her dog Totoshka, who meet both enemies and friends along the way. In the end, Ellie must return back to Kansas. The animated series is accompanied by cheerful music and simple but soulful songs. Based on the series of books “The Wizard of the Emerald City” by Alexander Volkov.

No. 6: The Little Goat Who Counted to Ten (1968)

Educational cartoon for the little ones. The snow-white kid learned to count to ten. And he began to count from himself, continuing to count with everyone around him. Counting, he says, is not at all difficult. Who knew that the usual process of learning to count could end in questionable reactions from other cattle. And an entertaining chase begins, the counting doesn’t end there. This cartoon clearly shows: learning is light, and ignorance is darkness. It is an adaptation of the book by Norwegian writer Alf Preusen.

No. 5: Losharik (1971)

A circus cartoon about a juggler who dreamed of becoming a trainer. One day, a real Losharik is formed from the balls. Together they become stars. The circus director decides that since the juggler was able to tame a strange animal like Losharik, he can cope with a lion and a tiger. The only problem is that the predators consider Losharik to be unreal and refuse to perform with him. A sad animal gives out its balloons to children who find themselves in the theater. The moral is, in general, elementary: everyone should be valued.

No. 4: The Wolf and the Calf (1984)

The wolf stole the calf, and he mistook him for his parent. The wolf is ashamed to eat a small child, and he begins to look after him: lull him, feed him and cherish him. The wolf becomes a real father who will bring milk and hay. And together he and the Calf roar over “Moo-moo.” Everyone thinks that the wolf is raising the calf for slaughter, but this is not so... The wolf fell in love with the calf as if it were his own. That's all. It is a pleasure to watch the beautiful transformation of the calf. He voiced the Wolf himself.

Source: Cartoons

No. 3: 38 Parrots (1976)

An animated series consisting of 10 episodes. The most amusing scenes from animal communication are familiar to many from childhood. In the opening sequence, the company is measuring a boa constrictor. First in parrots, then in monkeys, and finally in elephants. Unobtrusive and short episodes are full of dialogues that, willy-nilly, will be remembered for many years. The cartoon will teach you to do everything Correctly with a capital letter. Let us remind you that the animated series was filmed according to the script of Grigory Oster. Yes, yes, the same one who wrote “Bad Advice” and more.

Puppet animation is considered one of the most complex types of cinema. Creating such cartoons is a long, expensive and energy-intensive process, where every frame is assembled by hand: from the scene and scenery to characters and effects. Over time, it has developed into its own niche genre. For the release of Wes Anderson's new film "Isle of Dogs" (premiere on May 3rd), we have compiled a selection of the most important puppet films.

"The nightmare before christmas"

Director: Henry Selick

The producer, author of the idea and co-screenwriter was Tim Burton. Initially, the cartoon was supposed to be released by Disney. The contract had already been concluded, but it was decided to release The Nightmare Before Christmas under the Touchstone Pictures label, since Disney did not want to be associated with a “dark and scary” cartoon. The story is based on the principle of a musical and tells about the inhabitants of the city of Halloween, who scare people on October 31, All Saints' Day. The main character accidentally ends up in the city of Christmas and falls in love with the holiday so much that he wants to organize it for all the residents of his hometown.

"Chicken Run"

Directors: Peter Lord, Nick Park

A subtle, ironic parody of the 1963 film "The Great Escape". Instead of prisoners of war there are chickens, and the concentration camp of the Third Reich is a chicken farm in the English county of Yorkshire. The chickens live in fear of the greedy Melissa Tweedy. Every week she looks for the hen that lays the fewest eggs and mercilessly kills it by cutting off its head with an axe. Despite the feigned “cartoony” nature of the film, “Chicken Run” is not recommended for viewing by children. About 350 scenes were made using computer graphics, the rest were made from plasticine. During its release, the cartoon grossed $224 million, making it the highest-grossing puppet project in the world.

"Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"

Directors: Nick Park, Steve Bax

The first full-length Wallace and Gromit cartoon (there are four animated shorts, as well as a non-fiction show on the BBC). "Wallace and Gromit" received an Oscar in the 2005 category for "best animated film" and ranks second in the list of highest-grossing puppet cartoons. The main characters work in the Antigryz company, which fights rodents. Wallace invents a device that tells rabbits that they don't want to eat vegetables. This solves the problems of local residents. Problems arise when a huge mutant werewolf rabbit appears in the city.

"Fantastic Mr. Fox"

Director: Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson's first puppet cartoon, based on the book of the same name by Ronald Dahl. The roles in the cartoon are voiced by Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Meryl Streep and George Clooney. Fox received two Oscar nominations, a Golden Globe nomination and a National Board of Review Special Achievement Award. The main character, Mr. Fox, steals food from people and raids farms. At one point, the farmers go berserk and intend to destroy the sly fox and his entire family, including his wife and children.

"Paranorman, or How to Train a Zombie"

Directors: Chris Butler, Sam Fell

A masterpiece from the legendary animation studio Laika, creators of Coraline and Corpse Bride. The story centers on a little boy, Norman, who can talk to ghosts. He is tasked with removing the curse from the city, but he fails, and the dead begin to rise from their graves. ParaNorman was the first animated film to use color 3D printers for animation.

"A little prince"

Director: Mark Osborne

An unusual interpretation of "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The original story about a little girl who dreams of entering a flight academy is made in the usual 3D. And everything connected with Prince Saint-Exupery is realized with the help of dolls. These two worlds are connected by an elderly aviator, who tells the girl about his meeting with the prince in the Sahara Desert.

"Kubo. The Legend of the Samurai"

Director: Travis Knight

Despite his name, Kubo is not a samurai in the traditional sense. His anthropomorphic companions – a white monkey and a fighting beetle – look more like samurai in the cartoon. Kubo is a little boy with a magical shamisen (a Japanese three-stringed plucked instrument) who wants to save his homeland from the evil spirits of the past. To do this, he needs to find his father's magical armor. The film received a BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature and two Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature and Visual Effects.

However, the genre of puppet horror is being secretly revived, in which many screen masters - from the erotomaniac Valerian Borowczyk to the visionary Terry Gilliam - have worked enthusiastically, realizing their deepest fantasies. For us, shell-shocked by Soviet puppet animation, which scared more than one generation of citizens to death, this topic is especially close to our hearts. Apparently, there is something about dolls that attracts all sorts of strange types and damned geniuses. To study the issue, we have collected ten of the most striking examples of puppet perversions in world cinema. The decadent puppet cartoon is back on the horse.

Guard Dog (Stille Nacht V: Dog Door, dir. The Qui Brothers, 2001)

Convinced decadents, the Kuay brothers are American twins who moved to the Old World in the late 60s and quickly became unsurpassed classics of the “decadent puppet cartoon” genre. The brothers' epigones are countless; they themselves were inspired by the works of Starevich, Kafka, Bruno Schulz, Stravinsky, Borowczyk, and later Švankmajer, whom Western Europe did not immediately discover. The brothers entered popular culture thanks to Peter Gabriel, for whom they shot a video for the song Sledgehammer. A dog drooling to the hellish wheezing of Tom Waits is also a clip, although no television decided to show it. Monstrous horror.

Meet the Feebles (1989) (dir. Peter Jackson, 1989)

When the new Middle Ages arrive and they begin to burn the classics, Jackson’s “Show of Idiots” will definitely be in the top twenty martyrs, which, without any exception, can be included in our review almost entirely. The only thing that calms me down is that the manuscripts don’t burn, and at least the immortal “Song of the Sodomite” will definitely be preserved for posterity. Classic.

Adventures of Mark Twain, The/ (1986) (dir. Will Vinton, 1986)

In 1986, director Will Vinton decided to make an educational puppet cartoon based on the works of Mark Twain. It turned out to be a completely harmless story - an American classic flies on a comet through space in the company of teenagers, teaching them wisdom. Everything went well until Twain and the children arrived on the planet where Satan lives. The producers wisely decided not to get involved with Satan - they cut it out. This is such a children's film.

Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, The/ (1993) (dir. David Borthwick, 1993)

In a family of London alcoholics, an underdeveloped embryo with the face of a degenerate is born - Thumb Boy. After the brutal death of his parents in a fire, the midget goes on a wandering journey, ends up in a genetically modified food factory, and starts an uprising of mutants. The ending of the fairy tale was sad: for ten years director Borthwick was not hired anywhere. In 2005, the cute “Magic Roundabout, The/” (2005) was released under his signature, and one can only guess what was on Borthwick’s mind when he filmed this good, but unremarkable fantasy for family viewing.

“The Happiness of the Katakuri Family” / Katakuri-ke no kofuku / (2001) (dir. Takashi Miike, 2001)

For complete happiness of puppet animation, one talented person was missing - Takashi Miike. Transferred to Japanese soil, Švankmajer, Borowczyk and the Kuai brothers, under his visionary leadership, gave birth to a monster - the initial part of the musical comedy "Katakuri-ke no kofuku" (2001) about a family of killers who are attacked by zombies. A cannibal angel and a deadly teddy bear with iron claws were registered here. To press “play” or not to press it is up to you to decide.