A production of "Soyuzmultfilm" studio, Moscow, 1952
KASHTANKA
screenplay by Boris Brodskiy and Mihail Papava basen on Anton Chekhov's story
director Mihail Tsehanovskiy art directors Aleksandr Belyakov, Leonid Aristov
composer Yuriy Levitin background designs Konstantin Yuon
camera Mihail Druyan assistant camera Yekaterina Rizo
sound Nikolay Prilutskiy montage Lidiya Kyaksht
assistant director Vera Tsehanovskaya assistant art directors A. Sementsov-Ogiyevskiy, A. Durakov
technical assistant Natalya Orlova
animators Fyodoy Hitruk, Valentin Lalayants, Boris Chani, Renata Mirenkova, L. Popov,
Tatyana Taranovich, Roman Davydov, Nikolay Fyodorov, Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin,
Mihail Botov, Boris Butakov, Konstantin Chikin
background art Olga Gemmerling, Yelena Tannenberg, Irina Troyanova, Vera Rodzhero
voices: Aleksey Gribov (Monsieur George), Boris Chirkov (carpenter), V. Feoktistov (Fedyushka),
Yuriy Hrzhanovskiy (Kashtanka), Vladimir Grikov (narrator)
"How through the grass the hunter
walks about all day..."
Fedyushka! Bring me some glue!
Kashtanka!
Father, look!
We're playing wheelbarrow!
Leave the dog alone!
And then the coachman rings. "Dong! Dong! Dong!"
Ring it louder, louder!
Oh!
Fedyushka, stop, I said!
Well, learned your lesson?
Fedyushka, you behave while I'm away!
Kashtanka!
Get out!
Kashtanka!
Where did you wander off to, damned dog?
Keep close!
Luka Aleksandrovich's customers lived a very long way off,
so that, before he could get to any one of them,
the carpenter had several times to step into a pub
to... fortify himself!
After visiting his customers, Luka Aleksandrovich
went to his sister's for a while, where he ate and drank some more.
After that, he went to see a bookbinder he knew,
from the bookbinder to another pub,
from the pub to another friend's, and so on.
You, Kashtanka, are an insect...
of... of a cr... creature...
And nothing more...
To compare you to a human is the same thing
as comparing a carpenter to a joiner!
Kashtanka could not endure the music!
It unhinged her nerves.
To her surprise, her master, instead of being frightened, whining and barking,
drew himself up to attention, and saluted with all his five fingers.
Seeing that her master did not protest,
Kashtanka forgot herself and dashed across the road to the opposite pavement.
When it was quite dark,
Kashtanka was overcome by despair and horror.
The long day's journeying with Luka Aleksandrich had exhausted her,
her ears and her paws were freezing,
and, what was more, she was terribly hungry.
During the day, she had eaten only twice:
When they were at the bookbinder's, she had eaten a little paste,
and in one of the pubs, near the counter, she had found a sausage skin.
That had been all.
A dog!
Where did you come from?
Did I hurt you?
Oh, you poor girl.
Well, don't be angry. I admit it was my fault.
What are you whining for? Where is your master, eh?
You must be lost! Oh, you poor dog!
What shall we do now?
My, are you pretty!
And funny, too. Almost like a fox!
Well...
There's nothing for it, come with me.
Perhaps you will be of use for something.
Not more than half an hour later,
Kashtanka sat on the floor in a large and bright room.
Seems to me, your masters don't feed you well.
And how thin you are!
Skin... and bones!
Hey, doggy! Come here!
Lie down here. Sleep.
Kashtanka was left on her own.
Suddenly, she was overcome with melancholy.
She thought of Luka Aleksandrovich
and his son Fedyushka...
Kashtanka!
When Kashtanka woke up again it was already light
and from the street came the noises that only belonged to daytime.
There was not a soul in the room.
On the bed, covered with a flannel blanket, slept the stranger.
She discovered that the boots and clothes of the stranger
smelled very much... of horse.
Kashtanka felt a strange, very suspicious smell...
What is all this?!
What's the meaning of this? To your places!
Fyodor Timofeyevich, what's the meaning of this, eh?
Starting a fight? Oh, you old rascal!
Lie down!
Ivan Ivanovich, go to your place.
Well, well...
We must live together in peace and harmony.
And you, redhair, don't be frightened. It's a good crowd. They will not hurt you.
Hold on... What are we going to call you?
We must come up with a name for you.
I tell you what... you shall be... Auntie!
Do you understand?
Auntie!
Little Auntie!
Auntie!
Auntie! Lie down.
Kashtanka began to observe.
The cat was pretending to be asleep.
Judging by the look on his face and whiskers,
he was himself sorry that he'd gotten overexcited and entered a fight.
The goose went on saying something rapidly and excitedly,
but quite unintelligibly!
Obviously, it was a very clever goose!
Ivan Ivanovich, may I ask you to come here?
Well, let's start from the beginning.
First of all, bow!
That's right. Now make a curtsey.
Ivan Ivanovich! Curtsey!
Quickly!
Good...
Yes, well done...
Now... die!
Die...
Good.
Help! Fire! We're burning!
Help, help!
Well done! Good for you, Ivan Ivanovich!
Now imagine that you are a jeweller selling gold and diamonds!
Imagine now that you go to your shop and find thieves there.
What would you do in that case?
Good for you, Ivan Ivanovich! Bravo, bravo!
Auntie! To your place! Be quiet!
Marya!
Fetch Havronya Ivanovna here!
Come, come, Havronya Ivanovna, do some work!
Come, let us begin with the Egyptian pyramid!
Ivan Ivanovich, come closer...
Right, even closer... Right, now sit down.
Right, hop! Hold on, hold on! Hold on tight! Right.
Auntie, keep quiet!
Fyodor Timofeyevich, if you please!
Attention!
One, two, three!
Quick, quick! Hop! Right, well done!
Right, well done.
Respected public!
You see before you the Egyptian pyramid!
Do not sleep, Fyodor!
Hey, hey, hey... Auntie... Back, back! Quit barking, quiet!
Damn, what did you... what were you thinking...
A month passed.
Kashtanka had already become accustomed to being well-fed and being called Auntie.
She had grown accustomed to the stranger and her new room-mates.
Her life now ran as smooth as butter.
In the evenings, the master usually went somewhere
[CIRCUS] and took the goose and the cat with him.
When she was alone, Auntie would begin to feel sad.
But, when one thinks about eating one's heart grows lighter!
Thus, Auntie began to think about that morning,
when she had stolen a chicken leg from Fyodor Timofeyevich
and had hidden it in the drawing-room,
between the cupboard and the wall,
where there were a great many spiders' webs and a great deal of dust.
It wouldn't hurt to go now and check
whether the chicken leg was still there, or not...
It was very possible that the master had found it and eaten it.
[CIRCUS]
Auntie had a doggy dream in which she was chased by a street-sweeper with a broom.
Auntie had never been afraid of darkness,
but now, for some reason, she was afraid and wanted to bark.
Why are you screaming? Are you ill?
Oh, I remember now...
I know what bothers you...
It's because today the horse stepped on you.
My God, my God!
What are we to do?
What should we do?
Ah, my God! What are we to do?
Drink, Ivan Ivanovich...
Drink, darling... no...
There is nothing to be done now.
It's all over, Auntie.
Our Ivan Ivanovich is gone...
Gone...
Auntie and the cat could not stand to be left in the dark,
so they followed their master.
Poor Ivan Ivanovich...
And I was dreaming I would take you in the spring to the cottage...
and would walk with you on the green grass...
My dear creature! Me good comrade!
You are no more.
How shall I do without you now?
And shining drops trickled down his cheeks,
such as one sees on the window-pane when it rains.
When dawn had fully come,
Auntie went into the drawing-room and looked behind the cupboard.
The master had not eaten the chicken leg.
It was lying in its place among the dust and spiders' webs
Yet Auntie felt dreary,
sad and wanted to cry.
She did not even sniff the chicken leg.
Was that you?
Talent! You have talent!
You're undoubtedly talented!
I will make you an artist!
Do you understand? An artist!
You want to be an artist, right?
You're definitely going to be a success!
Little Auntie, maybe you could even replace our deceased Ivan Ivanovich.
And he began to teach her various things.
Talent! Undoubted talent!
Come on, come on! Now, now, hup! Right, right, right, well done!
Move those paws, move those paws...
What now, what went wrong? Why'd you get all confused? Try again!
Come here, come on...
Come on, come on, come on, come on...
Now, now, now, hup! Right, right, right, good, good!
One wonderful evening, the master came into the room....
Well...
Today I shall take with me Auntie and Fyodor Timofeyevich.
In the "Egyptian pyramid", you, Auntie,
will take the place of the late Ivan Ivanovich today.
God knows how it will go...
Nothing's ready, nor thoroughly practiced.
Too few rehearsals. Auntie, let's go!
A minute later, Auntie was sitting in a sleigh next to her master.
The sleigh stopped at a big, strange-looking house
that was shaped like an upside down tureen.
There were many people.
Horses, too, would often run up to the entrance.
But no dogs... were to be seen.
Auntie saw a huge, poorly-lit room full of monsters.
From behind screens and gratings scary faces looked out at her:
faces of horses with horns, with long ears...
and one fat, huge countenance with a tail instead of a nose,
and two long gnawed bones sticking out of its mouth!
Miss Arabella has just gone on. After her - you!
Auntie's felt her eyes and soul fill with colour.
That white-faced, sack-like figure smelled like her master,
and its voice, too, was the familiar master's voice,
but there were moments when Auntie was tortured by doubts,
and then she was ready to run away from the parti-coloured figure and to bark!
We'll be disgraced! It'll all fall apart!
And here I am! And here I am!
Auntie!
Don't be afraid, it's me!
You do not recognize me, huh?
No? Come on!
Why are you whining? Why are you whining?
Oh, Auntie!
Judging by his lips and hands, it was evident that the master was worried,
and Auntie could hear a trembling in his breath.
Come on, Auntie!
Monsieur George, please come!
And here I am!
And here I am! And here I am! And here I am!
My esteemed audience!
I have only just come from the station!
My grandmother has died!
And she left me an inheritance.
Here it is!
Wow, in the suitcase there's something very... heavy!
It must be gold!
Perhaps there's a million in here?
We'll open it and look!
Uncle! Fyodor Timofeyevich!
Auntie! My dear auntie! My dear relatives!
Well...
Auntie, you sit still,
In the meantime, uncle and I will dance the Kamarinskaya!
Well, Auntie...
At first, we'll sing, and then we will dance. OK?
Daddy!
Daddy! It's Kashtanka!
That really is Kashtanka!
Kashtanka!
Fedyushka, it's Kashtanka, for sure!
Kashtanka! Kashtanka!
Kashtanka!
Auntie! Where are you going? Where are you going?
Auntie!
- Little Auntie! - Kashtanka!
Auntie!
Little Auntie, come back!
Kashtanka!
Kashtanka! It's really her!
Half an hour later,
Kashtanka was walking along the street behind the people
who smelt of glue and varnish.
Kashtanka!
You Kashtanka, you are a thing of little understanding...
comparing you to a human
is the same as comparing a carpenter to a joiner!
Next to Luka Aleksandrovich walked Fedyushka, wearing his father's cap.
Kashtanka looked at their backs,
and it seemed to her that she'd already been following them for a long time.
And she was glad that her life hadn't been interrupted for even a minute.
The End
subs - Zhurka75, Eus, Niffiwan (Jan 2024) partly using Constance Garnett's translation