Three from Prostokvashino (1978)

"Three from Prostokvashino" is a Soviet 18-minute short film from over 35 years ago. It was directed by Vladimir Popov and written by Eduard Uspenskiy. Both worked on several other famous animated films. The story here is about a boy who is not allowed to have a cat as a pet. so he leaves home and moves into his own place where he has a cat and dog. The cat is more the reasonable type, the dog is really more the loyal one in terms of their friendship to the boy. I must say I did not find the animation typically Soviet, but there are other components (apart from the language of course) that had Russian written all over them. One would be that it is fairly common in these films that grown women speak young male characters. Or that (speaking) animals are fairly common, there's not only a cat and dog in here, but also a bird and a cow for example. Another would be the humour, especially the last scene with the postman and the bike. If you enjoyed this film, make sure to check out the sequels. I personally thought it was a decent watch, solid animation, okay humour and heart, but there was nothing really outstanding about it. Still I recommend it I guess. Not bad by any means.

I've seen the cartoon several times, since I was a child (I was born in Russia). It is based on a sweet book, which I've also read. It is preferable for one to know Russian for a full understanding of the wit and the humor in the story, but not so necessary. It is a unique cartoon that is watched and loved by several generations in Russia (my parents love it)and for very good reasons: clean but not childish humor, smart characters and nice songs. For someone who grew outside of Russia, it will be interesting to see the life of an ordinary Russian family back in the 70's, or to be exact - how it was portrayed through a cartoon. The quotes from the cartoon are known to almost everyone in Russia.

The three series of the Prostokvashino cartoon, "Troiye iz Prostokvashino" (Three from Prostokvashino), "Kanikuli v Prostokvashino" (Vacation to Prostokvashino), and "Zima v Prostokvashino" (Winter in Prostokvashino) center around the advertures a boy, Fyod'r, has after running away from his home in Moscow to this small Russian town with his new-found cat. On the way, he finds a dog who offers them a dacha he found, and postman Peshkin soon comes along to look after the trio. When Peshin tells Fyod'r's parents back in Moscow of his whereabouts, the family soon finds Prostokvashino to be a very inviting and friendly place, where there is no shortage of adverture and things to do, as well as trying to keep tensions down between everyone when they start to get bored. Filled with humor and jokes, "Prostokvashino" is one of the best television programs ever to come out of Brezhnyev's USSR, frequently appearing on the children's program "A-B-V-G-D" (the first 5 letters of the Russian alphabet). "Prostokvashino" is still popular with children today throughout the former Soviet Union.

This cartoon is one of the best I have seen (I included some information that might be considered a spoiler). This cartoon is a little strange at some points, (i.e. a car being fixed in an apartment), but otherwise is funny, interesting, and contains the somewhat usual characterization of animals as human beings (i.e. talking cat). The basic story is that a teenage boy, feeling unappreciated by his family, runs away to live in the countryside with his newly found cat-friend. This goes on to become a couple of half-hour episodes, interesting and very original (at least I've never seen a cartoon like this one). I must say though, that some of the cartoon's value is in voice-acting (but not too much) and one would better enjoy it if one knew Russian or at least was used to hearing the Russian language. Otherwise (I mean with the sub titles) I can easily give it 10 out of 10.