As I understand it, caterpillars are usually ugly, while butterflies always have beautiful wings, so caterpillars must be male and butterflies female. At the same time, Vietnamese also has the same problem: "Swimming" and "sailing" are the same thing. There is a song like this : I go to swim/play the boat (Em đi bơi/chơi thuyền).

This is really an excellent film and even a little scary. Perhaps, it should not be watched while we are eating. :D

First time I'm seeing this one - I had earlier seen the 1995 cartoon from Belarusfilm. Although the art style in that one's more punchy, I like this film better. All of the characters are likeable, while in the 1995 one only the sorcerer's daughter really was.

Also, it's not so obvious in English translation, but the language the characters speak in is rather beautiful, with many uncommon/old-fashioned phrases (this is probably why the previous translation had so many mistakes).

This film seemed to be very famous in Vietnam in the 1980s. Ever since I was very young, I heard about it : Баранкин, будь человеком! (повесть).

Well, absurdity and meaninglessness are almost characteristic of films of the 1980s and 1990s. This film reminds me of the Australian children's series I watched as a child. Typically as : Round the Twist. Or : About the Knight Who was not Afraid of Anyone 1.

As close to "purely for entertainment" as Soviet animation got. This one seems to have no point to it that I can see other than to showcase some funny antics.

This was almost Babichenko's final film, made when he was 74 years old. He had earlier retired from Soyuzmultfilm at 60, but came back to work for the TV animation studio Ekran/Soyuztelefilm 10 years later and made six more films. He only returned once more in 1980 to make a very short one for the Olympics.

But his better films were definitely made earlier in his career, I think (for example, "Spring Melodies", "The Liu Brothers").

This film was shown for free on YouTube in 2011 by Colory Animation Studio and quickly became the most viewed video in Vietnam for three consecutive years. It continued to inspire the studio to develop a series.

Blue Mouse bragged to his two friends Frog and Crab about his heirloom ring. He declared that it was a worthy reward for the bravest, so he was entitled to wear it.

However, when the Snake appeared and kidnapped Frog, Mouse was doubted by his friends about his talent. He was faced with two choices : Either forget the ring and leave Frog in the Snake's cave, or try to go there to reclaim the ring and rescue his friend.

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

1
00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,000
<b>IN THE SHADE OF THE TREES</b>
- Subtitles by Duy Kiền -

2
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,000
Frog, Crab!
Come here!

3
00:00:42,500 --> 00:00:44,500
I'll show you something.
It's really cool!

4
00:00:47,500 --> 00:00:50,000
Hurry up!

5
00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,000
Guess what!

6
00:00:59,500 --> 00:01:04,000
It's a ring, my heirloom!

7
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:07,000
So big!

8
00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:08,500
Awesome, huh?

9
00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:10,000
Oh, so awesome!

10
00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:11,000
Where's it from?

11
00:01:11,500 --> 00:01:16,500
Only the bravest in my family...

12
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,000
... can wear this ring.

13
00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:25,000
So you are the bravest
in your family, aren't you?

14
00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:27,000
Of course!

15
00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:33,000
I'm not afraid of cats or dogs,
tigers or tigresses,

16
00:01:33,500 --> 00:01:35,500
or any animals in this world.

17
00:01:36,500 --> 00:01:39,000
But, what about Snake?

18
00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:40,500
Snake's extremely ferocious.

19
00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:41,500
Snake?

20
00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:43,500
Few days ago, I just beat him up,

21
00:01:43,500 --> 00:01:46,000
until his nosebleed flowed down everywhere.

22
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,500
I even tied his tail up the chili tree.

23
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,000
He begged me for thousand times,
so I release him.

24
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,000
Hey, Snake the Wicked-skinny!

25
00:02:05,500 --> 00:02:08,000
Be aware of my buddy Mouse
whom will tie your tail up the chilli tree.

26
00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:09,900
Huh, Mouse?

27
00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:43,000
Ah, Mouse!

28
00:02:58,190 --> 00:03:00,010
Mouse, help me!

29
00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:05,000
Oh, hell!

30
00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:07,000
Gotta get my ring back!

31
00:03:08,500 --> 00:03:11,500
Ah, we have to rescue Frog!

32
00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:13,500
Crab, come with me, don't you?

33
00:05:04,060 --> 00:05:05,030
Go home!

34
00:05:06,210 --> 00:05:08,310
Ah, get away, Snake the Bad-breath!

35
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,000
Anyway, Mouse will come to save me.

36
00:05:11,500 --> 00:05:12,500
You're gonna die!

37
00:05:14,500 --> 00:05:16,500
[Shrine of Five-Dragon Gods]

38
00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:22,500
Drop Frog off!

39
00:06:11,500 --> 00:06:12,500
So wasteful!

40
00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,500
I couldn't witness
Mouse beat Snake to a pulp.

41
00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,500
Eagle is even fiercer than Snake.

42
00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,860
Do you dare to fight with him?

43
00:06:23,500 --> 00:06:25,500
I have never known fear.

44
00:06:31,500 --> 00:06:59,999
<b>THE END</b>
© Varhiv 2024

The main theme of Mykola Hohol's story is the sexual orientation of women when they enter puberty. According to ancient beliefs, this age is from 10 to 18 years old, because ancient people often married very early compared to modern people. For example, in Vietnam before the twentieth century, being 20 years old without being married could be considered old.

In this story, demon Viy is actually a version of Veles, the god of sex in Eastern European pagan culture. Here, the corpse's harassment of seminarian Khoma is a manifestation of the rebellious behavior of adolescents. This is a topic of great interest in the existential literature period, that is, the mid-twentieth century.

I will cite another story from the late 18th century of Vietnamese people : The Ghost of the Terrible Mother (桑滄偶錄·乾剎鬼母, Tang thương ngẫu lục - Mẹ ranh càn sát).

In Từ-Liêm rural district (now North Từ-Liêm urban district, Hanoi), there was lived an orphan who kept asking his younger uncle for permission every night to go to his maternal grandparents' house to sleep. However, the younger uncle accidentally discovered that he had not been to his maternal grandparents' house for a long time.

One time the uncle secretly followed the orphan, he saw his nephew enter the village's grave site. There was a woman with breasts one meter long holding the boy to breastfeed, and there were a few other children around.

When the orphan wanted to go with that mother, she told him : The drought was still a few years away, and in the meantime, the boy must absolutely stay away from carp and softshell turtle meat.

Here, "drought" (hạn) is a category of East Asian philosophy, which is very close to the Christian concept of "debt" (nợ). Asians believe that people live in this world to repay a debt from a previous life, so they only relax when they have paid this debt. Thus, that woman has a very similar role to Viy. She seduces children through her motherly instincts so that she can die peacefully. In other words : These children must die if they follow her, at the same time, this woman seems pitiful because she had to die before she could get married or have children.

Why do I say that ? Carps and softshell turtles are very common animals in Vietnamese rivers, what are often considered top foods for pregnant women. Their smell is very fishy when unprocessed, so maiden's hormones often cannot stand it. Therefore, the woman in the story definitely has not had a chance to get married.

I can't help but notice how banal, stupid and unlikely is the main reason given here for why a reader may want to subscribe to The Moscow News (to be better than your spouse at answering some random Soviet-related trivia question for some contest). It's like a lame TV ad, but several times the usual length we were used to. I sure wouldn't be convinced. The little live-action montage at the end is more compelling.