can be watched here: https://vk.com/video-24042394_159271811

A really charming film made in a technique that's becoming a kind of rare. I wish the director hadn't left us so soon.

I think I like Tuganov's very earliest films more than his later ones - the style of the puppets seems less lazy, more careful and traditional.

I did all that work on translating from the Russian, but it turned out there were other existing subs that seem to be closer to the original Estonian. Ah well - the option to select the other subs is there, in any case. Since I don't speak Estonian, I'm not sure how close the default translation actually is.

This is a pretty silly film. The Flight to the Moon from 8 years earlier shows spaceflight way more realistically. But I think maybe the Estonians just liked portraying space in a very silly way - all of their sci-fis that I've seen so far are kind of like this.

I've said this in a PM to Тихон, but I'll write it here as well, in case anyone has any ideas:

Though it's clever, I'm not sure that "Scarecrow-Scaremeow" is the best translation of the title (Чучело-мяучело). I don't think the "Scarecrow" bit is really the essential thing - the main thing is that it should be a nasty name you can yell at some cat that you don't like, but which can also be a ridiculous term of endearment (e.g. as at 4:30, when the kids are delighted to find the cat in their basketball swing, they call it the same name). It should sound natural in English, something ANYONE would think up on the spur of the moment to badmouth a cat they don't like (or, as at 4:30, find a bit ridiculous). Preferably something that already exists in English, like "sourpuss" (but without the implication that the cat is a grumpy one).

But I can't think of any alternative right now, myself.

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As for the cartoon itself, I think it's kind of typical of Kovalevskaya's work - on the plus side, optimistic, happy, with a catchy tune; on the other hand, no depth in either story or characters, with the title character drawn with huge cutesy eyes (the style Tatarskiy wrote quite a few words in disapproval of in his 1986 essay "Making Animation"). I don't really like most of her films, but she was an important "voice" in Soviet animation for a few decades. One of the extreme ends of the spectrum, you might say (if we were to make an analogy to food, Kovalevskaya's films would be the most like candy. The more sugary sort of candy).

>>1
>Also it's a shame that Daina and Agnis were cut from the series, I liked them, and I would have liked to see more of the Human civilisation.
I have to wonder if they were cut because they were too difficult to animate, since commercial costs would've become a big consideration in the 1990s. Apart from perhaps Indrikis XIII himself, they seem to be visually the most complex characters (and they can't be morphed out of shape as much as Indrikis sometimes is, because they're human and viewers would notice it more).

And/or maybe because it was harder to avoid having dialogue if you've got humans there.

I have to say, I think I actually prefer the Latvian versionfor this episode. Again, I like the more extensive use of voices, and this time the original had almost non, I also really like Receklites Latvian voice. The narration being cut is also a plus for me, I didn't think it had much of a purpuse this time.

As someone who has only known the Latvian version beforehand, the original one makes a lot more sense and I feel like this is gonna be a trend for all three Soviet versions. Certain explanations for some events are just left out, like why does a black hole suddenly appear or why does Indrikis just sacrifice himself at the end for no apparent reason, it's almost comical. All of that makes the Latvian version feel much more random.
While the original version was more somber, which I liked very much, the Latvian version was more jolly and lighthearted, and what's better is up for taste I guess, just like the voices, for example, whether you prefer Receklite's more ghostly laughter in the original or her more seductive moans in the latvian version. What I do prefer in the latvian version is the more extensive use of voices for the characters, it made them feel more lively.
Also it's a shame that Daina and Agnis were cut from the series, I liked them, and I would have liked to see more of the Human civilisation.

A little late, but this one is quite suitable for Halloween!