Little Gray Neck (1948)
Defending a friend, duckling is attacked by fox and must learn to survive.
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"Seraya sheyka" or "Little Gray Neck" is a Soviet 20-minute animated short film from 1948. This is almost 70 years ago and at that time, audiences were witnessing the Golden Age of Animation in the United States. And even if the Soviet equivalent followed considerably later, it does not mean that there is no quality animation from the 1940s from that part of the world. Here we have an example and it is certainly among the better Soviet films I have seen (and I have seen many). The title character is a little bird with an injured wing and things get dangerous when a hungry fox tries to catch him. But luckily, the bird has many friends, such as a bunch of rabbits who keep helping and supporting him. I must say the animation here is not worse compared to what the United States gave us during that time, maybe even better than some of the American cartoons. The story is fine too and works well for a 20-minute film. I would not say that this was a great watch or really touching, but it was a sweet little story and I give it a thumbs-up.
Ready to fly away with the rest of the flock, little gray neck, a female duckling, sees her rabbit friend in danger and comes to the rescue. The encounter between her and the fox leaves gray neck with a disability. She will have to battle the Winter season,the fox, and build confidence in herself. This endearing 20 minute Russian animated film not only deals with confidence, but with loss(gray neck's Mother thinks she is dead), the power of friendship, and the harshness of Nature. Even though there is dialogue the visuals are enough to tell the story. The English language version sometimes translates inaccurately but conveys the same message. There is a mistake, though. One character is referred to as a wood cock in the English version. The Russian version correctly refers to him as a grouse. Another minor difference is the American release has additional opening narration and deletes a still scene of marsh land. Appropriate music adds to what must be one of the most circulated Russian toons in the United States as it was released in 16mm, 8mm, VHS and DVD here!