7 Comments
Apr 14, 2021Liked by Animation Obsessive Staff

"Grey Wolf & Little Red Riding Hood" can now be seen in its entirety with English or Spanish subtitles here:

https://www.animatsiya.net/film.php?filmid=445

(the video is from Soyuzmultfilm's official channel, with the subs overlayed on top)

Incidentally, many of Bardin's other films can be seen as well, including his 2010 animated feature:

https://www.animatsiya.net/director.php?directorid=14

(not all of them yet, more will be added, I hope. His most famous one in Russia remains "The Flying Ship" from way back in the 1970s!)

I think, personally, Bardin's films have great technique, humour, cleverness and even wisdom (as in "Adagio"). Yet, the theme that really inspires Bardin (most of his films seem to be variations on this) - and it is coated in all sorts of attractive packages, but it's not actually a super nice one at its core - seems to be that of seeing the mass of the people around as crude cattle, and the implications of this.

Expand full comment
Apr 6, 2021Liked by Animation Obsessive Staff

Interesting write-up on Three Monks. It's a pity Shanghai animation fell prey to the cultural revolution, especially since it's unlikely to ever recover from it. Uproar in Heaven is a testament to what Chinese animation could have been. Tremendously creative film. Asian aesthetics taking centerstage (e.g. woodblock prints, traditional guó huà) is a quality Japan's early output simply didn't have, at least not to this extent (e.g. Horus, Wanpaku, Hakujaden owe much more to western art and animation). However, what really elevates that film to a higher realm is the artistry of inking department (iirc the only anime film to ever notably distance itself from standardized black lines was Sirius no Densetsu) and it makes me wonder why Anime has yet to distance itself from standardized black oulines.

Expand full comment