This is one of those nice cartoons that just kind of fell through the cracks. Made by a regional studio in the Ural mountains, lacking even an entry on animator.ru... it is a good geometry introduction for kids, and I think the character design and animation are very polished. Though the ending promises a continuation, it does not seem like the director ever made one. Someone else at the studio directed a 1976 sequel, but it is not as good.

It was unusually difficult to find who the director was - it seems that the Sverdlovsk Film Studio in this period often just listed everyone as "film crew" in the credits without differentiating their roles. Some film databases list it as being directed by Nina Pavlovskaya... but she only started directing in 1976 (that aforementioned "sequel" was her first film...), and was not even in the credits here, so I figured it could not have been her. Eventually, I found an off-hand mention in an article on the studio's website confirming that it was directed by Galina Turgeneva. She began to direct films at the Sverdlovsk Film Studio in 1957, but this apparently included educational/documentary films as well, so I have no idea when she directed her first fully-animated film. Maybe this was it. She has been described as "the founder of Sverdlovsk animation", and she set up the studio's (non-educational) animation division in 1973, just after finishing this film.

The translation presented no special difficulties, although I will note that the Russian word for "angle" and "corner" is the same, so that part of the lesson is just a little more obvious.

The Georgians began making animated films pretty early, their studio was well-funded (due no doubt to Stalin's Georgian background), and for a while it was the only place where animation was being produced outside of Moscow (in 1939, Leningrad was still making a few as well, but not for long...). But the quality of their animation was subpar for a long time. This film is a good example of their earlier work. The motion is smooth (it's animated on ones, as far as I can tell) but there are many elementary mistakes in animation character consistency and timing. Even in later decades, it seems to me like they had more trouble keeping the animation quality high than any of the other Soviet studios.

I wonder if the screenplay was written because someone in charge knew that a big war was not far off, and wanted to encourage young boys to learn to shoot their rifles well, since they would soon need it...

Like many of the ones directed by Nosyrev, I find this cartoon to be very charming. Although I think that once upon a time, I would have been a bit bothered by all of the kids being naked at the beach at the beginning. :) This is a different boy than his famous Antoshka, but not really. Though apparently aimed at very young viewers, I think he succeeds in making it fun to watch for adults as well. For me, it has some of the same charm as many scenes from Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" - in that it follows a young child through the world as he navigates it on his own terms, in a way that feels true to life.

This was Amanov's final film, and his longest to date. I think there's something very calming and soothing about the recurring images in it, which have clearly been crafted with such care, even though the topic itself is a grim one.

Amanov's filmography on this site is now complete except for his 2002 film, which I have been unable to find Amanov's anywhere, nor even any images from it.

Agamurad Amanov's first film. I suppose he got the animation bug after being the originator, art director, voice actor and screenwriter of Mihail Aldashin's The Other Side (1993), so perhaps this should be viewed as his first solo film. I can't say I find it as interesting, though (nor as good as his later ones). I think it's trying to hint at something more profound (like "The Other Side"), but I just find it too simple, and the deeper meaning maybe a little forced.

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Hello. The second film in the series already has Russian subs, and I just made some for the first film today. Out of curiosity, what did you want the subtitles for?

I've thought for a while that the narration/dialogue in this series seems like a good one for those learning the language, since it's quite simple and everyday (not "literary" or flowery at all), and repetitive, but also prominently features quite a lot of the grammatical features and vocabulary that one would need to learn to be fluent in it.

But I don't know any student actually actively learning Russian, so I can't say whether my intuition is correct.

A brutally sad film. It's also worth noting that the country was in dire straights during the early 2000s. Life expectancy, for example, was way down from its high point in the 1980s and would not start to rise again until 2004. Amanov had once worked as a street sweeper in Moscow, and must have seen many tragedies first hand.

A funny and touching film. The director had himself worked as a street sweeper in Moscow before beginning his career in animation, which is perhaps why it has the ring of truth about it.

I wonder if we can have, or where to find, the Russian text/subtitles for these (or this) cartoons!! Thank you.

I can't help but feel that the style of this cartoon is inspired by Bronzit's brilliant and funny 1998 animation At the Ends of the Earth, though it's not as elaborate and the plot is far more adult-oriented.