From what I've seen, Kyїvnaukfilm has many films about elephants, an animal that can only live in tropical regions. Their lifespan is usually 50 years, but in colder climates, it's only 10 years. In Vietnamese, elephants are called "voi", and you know what? It means "penis". Perhaps you know which part it refers to? That seemingly ugly name originates from a famous folk tale: The Six Blind Fortune Tellers and An Elephant. It tells the story of six fortune tellers who went to the market to see an elephant being offered for sale. However, because they were blind, each could only see by touching a different part: Ears, trunk, tusks, legs, tail, and back. Each believed they were right, and as a result, no two were alike, leading to a fight. From then on, "Fortune Tellers Looking at An Elephant" became an idiom referring to biased thinking.

This was one of six shorts about this little man made in the Ukrainian SSR between 1973-1980, with each one helmed by a different director. I haven't read all of the original book that the "hunting stories" come from (which was quite popular but has not, apparently, been translated to English), but at least at the start, it has nothing to do with tigers (Indian or otherwise) but is about more typical European forest animals.

The cartoon is too focused on physics-defying slapstick and not enough on character for it to hold my attention that well, especially because I also find the art to be too "rough" - rather southern in temperament. But I'm sure most little kids would like it, though I think this is one of those films that's more like candy than a full meal...

A very cute film that I watched on Vietnamese television when I was a child. Through this story with a touch of detective genre, children will learn a lesson about traffic safety rules in urban areas.

There is a pretty "song adaptation" of this film by the Denver band The Czars from 2004. In an interview , the lead singer John Grant mentions reaching out to the wife of (then late) Vadim Kurchevskiy for permission to use samples from the film in the song.

You know, yesterday was the first time since the 1950s that a Vietnamese football team managed to beat a team from Central Asia, even though just three days earlier, we had an easy victory against Jordan, another representative from West Asia. From the Soviet era to the present day, Central Asian teams have always been a nightmare for generations of Vietnamese football fans. However, there's a paradox or irony : All West Asian teams have lost to Vietnam at least once. Although West Asia and Central Asia aren't very different in many aspects, and that region even has advantages in climate and ocean, it turns out that sports is their weakest point. Clearly, even with all the advantages, you still risk getting fewer points than your opponent. That's why I always try to learn about the culture and history of Central Asia, a land that is truly fascinating.

This was among the earliest batch of Soviet cartoons I subtitled, way back in 2008. Back then (and until just a few years ago), only the Russian version was available. Seeing the Ukrainian version for the first time has been a bit of a revelation. It's like seeing the "full" version of the film for the first time, because the Russian version is simplified and a number of witty lines have been removed from the script.

For example, at the very beginning, the fish's "bubbling" is subtitled in the Ukrainian version, but left untranslated in the Russian one. Also, not a few later lines spoken by main character were removed. Despite this, I found the point of the film to be still almost as clear in the Russian version. Though some dialogue was removed, what happens is still the same.

And yet, I'm left a bit confused. Not by what was removed, but by why the film was allowed through at all.

So let's analyze who or what exactly is being satirized here. On Oleh Olifer's "Ukrainian animation" YouTube channel (where the 2022 restoration was posted), the description says: The film was created in the era of "Stagnation" and to some extent became a satire on this historical period. But I think that's only telling part of the story.

Who is the main character, at the start? Powerful, fat, lazy, indolent. In charge of a world of "little people" (fish) that mildly interest him, but for whom he does nothing, not even the most basic maintenance. Somehow (did it come in from elsewhere?), a real predator fish appears in the aquarium that eats every other fish.

He still does nothing. He feels utterly secure. His loyal cat, Vasya, is still by his side. In a line that was removed in the Russian version, he muses, "I'll say, 'look at that, Vasya! Just what exactly is going on here?!'". He is sure that will be the end of the matter, since everyone knows that cats eat fish.

Except that's not what happens here, and he then loses his last chance to save his only friend and himself through his utter cowardice and indecision.

Up to this point, does any of this sound like it's describing the pre-Revolutionary Russian Empire peasant population? No way, but it does describe the aristocracy. The "Whites". Those who reluctantly acceded to their new poverty after losing the Russian Civil War, kept their heads down, but to make themselves feel better would sometimes "protest" in a completely ineffective way.

Wasn't this film a bit of a call to that slice of the population to wake up, remember who they were, and realize that it's the whole system that needs overturning if they are ever to regain what they lost?

About a decade after this film (give or take), that's just what ended up happening (well, part of it). Another "castling" occurred, and the Whites ended up back in charge (or at least, their ideas and symbols were back in favour).

Did nobody in 1979 see the message? Or am I missing something?

In any case, I always thought it was brilliant film, though "The Tree and the Cat" (a very different sort of movie) is still my favourite by Sivokon.

Also, it's interesting to note that the animation was done entirely by Aleksandr Tatarskiy and Igor Kovalyov, who would later team up as directors. But not in Kiev - the studio management thought they were too young, and they had to move to Moscow to make their own films. That whole period is described in Tatarskiy's 1986 essay "Making Animation", which I translated in 2008.

Although the story is very tragic, it serves as a warning to those who only desire a peaceful life within their family home.

This is hibiscus, a plant known as the "tropical rose", but of course you can still grow it in the Arctic if your garden has a glass enclosure. This plant has a bitter taste, so according to Asian medical experience, it can be used to treat wounds, and it's also very good for women when they're unwell. There's an Indian legend that says a little girl couldn't walk, so her elder sister was given a red umbrella by a fairy elder. The umbrella was magical ; when opened, the little girl could run. When the wind blew, the umbrella was blown into the garden and suddenly transformed into a hibiscus flower. This story immediately reminds me of a Russian tale, which might be helpful for understanding the details : Народные русские сказки (Афанасьев)/Сестрица Алёнушка, братец Иванушка (Sister Alyonushka, Brother Ivanushka).

Ancient people often associated greed with the sea, because no one could measure water. On tropical beaches, there is a type of crab (scopimera globosa), only the size of a carp's eye, that often rolls sand into balls like dung beetles. It is said that they are descendants of a grieving old man who wanted to fill the sea to take revenge on the sea king. There are two stories related to this:

Once, a Chinese king, while strolling on the beach, witnessed a scene: A female crab was ill, and a male crab cared for her, but when she recovered, she left with another male. The king was furious, so he ordered that any man willing to kill wife would be rewarded. While many men did so, one young husband hesitated when he heard his child crying. He begged the king for forgiveness, but the king rewarded him with half the kingdom.

An old man in middle-age Vietnam was given a gem by a male snake (similar to the story above), which allowed him to understand the language of animals. This gem helped the old man save a goose family from being slaughtered, so the geese gave him another gem, which allowed him to go underwater without getting wet. He immediately went into the sea to cause the dragon palace to tilt. The sea king then tricked the old man's wife, promising to marry him if she stole the gems. She agreed and died in the sea. The old man, filled with resentment, carried sand to try and fill the sea. After the old man died, the heavenly king took pity on him and transformed him into a crab.

Winter was approaching the forest. While the Squirrel family and many other animals worked diligently to stockpile, Weasel did only one thing as sleep. And so each animal received its own consequences for its actions.

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<b>THE SQUIRREL FAMILY</b>
- Subtitles by Duy Kiền -

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Liberation Film Studio
The Animation Workshop

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Produced in 1977

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Scenarist and director : Vĩ Nguyên

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Composer : Lư Nhất Vũ
Orchestra : Lotus Art Troupe

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Come on, let's have breakfast!

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Look out, you might fall!

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From now on, stop teasing others!

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Y'all, why are you working so early?

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Plants should be watered
before the sun comes out.

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I am hurrying into
the deep forest to find honey.

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Excuse me!

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Mr Weasel!

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It's almost noon. Get up to work!

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That's tough!

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Wouldn't it be better to
just sleep in like I do?

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He's pathetically lazy.

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Winter is coming and he isn't worried.

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What just fell?

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Dad, so hungry!

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Hey, darling!

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Give them whatever you have left!

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Our food supplies ran out yesterday.

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Shut up!

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I'm going to steal a chicken for you.

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He refused to work
and wanted to be served,

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which is why he accepted it.

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<b>THE END</b>
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