There is something in our childhood that warms our whole life. These are cartoons. And although modern technology has come a long way, and the choice of animated films to watch has become much wider, it is said that our own is our own. In Ukraine, the development of cartoons began almost a century ago, back in 1927. Then the animator Vyacheslav Lewandowski created the first Ukrainian animated film – «The Tale of the Straw Bull». And for many decades the traditions of Ukrainian animation have developed. World Animation Day is a good reason to remember with pride and warmth the most popular Ukrainian cartoons on which we grew up. Let’s do it together?
«Like Cossacks…» is a whole series of cartoons, which was created from 1967 to 2008, first at the Kyivnaukfilm film studio, and later, during the times of independent Ukraine, at the Ukranimafilm and Baraban studios. Volodymyr Dakhno’s directorial work became extremely popular and had been fallen in love not only with young viewers. The heroes of the series – Zaporizhski Cossacks Burmylo, Korotun and Sylach, get into incredible adventures, meet interesting heroes from different countries, eras and even gods and aliens. The collection of cartoons includes 10 series, in which there are numerous variations on the theme of Ukrainian folk songs and dances. The popularity of famous heroes has not diminished over the years – a series of video games for children has already been developed based on the cartoon series.
«Once Upon a Time a Dog Lived…» is an animated film created by director Eduard Nazarov based on the Ukrainian folk tale «Sirko», which was released in 1982. The plot is extremely simple: the old Dog, who angered the owners with negligence, is driven into the woods, where he meets his former enemy Wolf. And then the action begins: The Wolf is not so bad – he helps the old poor Dog to return to his masters. Together they stage the abduction of the owner’s child, the dog brings the baby back to the family and gets permission to return to the farmyard, even with honors. As a token of gratitude for his return, the Dog invites a friend to visit the wedding. Those who have seen the funny story at least once remember how this story ended. The cartoon fell in love with the audience so much that the phrases from it «entered the people», and in memory of favorite heroes in 2013 in the village of Svyatopetrovske near Kyiv and in the capital, sculptural compositions were installed. The cartoon won an award at the V International Fairytale Film Festival in Denmark in 1983, and in 2012 was fully dubbed into Ukrainian.
«How Petryk Pyatochkin Counted Little Elephants» is a funny story about a restless red-haired boy who appeared on the screens in 1984. The little thug in a dream gets to Africa and becomes an educator of elephants in an amazing kindergarten for animals. The director of the cartoon is Oleksandr Viken, one of the classics of Ukrainian animation. Thanks to whom hundreds of characters in various cartoons were «revived». The author’s creative output is about 200 stories, and the cartoon about Petryk Pyatochkin is one of the most popular. The script for the cartoon about Petryk was written by Natalia Guzeeva, and over time the cheerful boy turned into a full-fledged literary hero: a number of books were published about him. The author of the story about Petryk has been living in Germany since the mid-1990s and still writes and publishes books. The cartoon about a merry boy has become extremely popular and is rightly considered one of the most famous achievements of Ukrainian animation.
«Kapitoshka» is a funny story about the friendship of a raindropt and a wolf cub. Kapitoshka is a humanized cheerful drop of summer rain with positive sun energy, healing power of water and bright colors of the rainbow. Where Kapitoshka appears, all living things rejoice. One day a droplet hit the house of little Wolf. Frightened by the sudden rain and the pounding of drops on the roof, he became angry and tried to be an evil and terrible predator. His attempts to catch up with Kapitoshka gradually turn into a fun game, thanks to which they become friends. It is Kapitoshka who brings friendship and light to the Wolf’s house. The cartoon was voiced by young actor Bohdan Beniuk and singer Lyudmyla Ignatenko. Since its release in 1980 and until today, the cartoon about Kapitoshka directed by Borys Khanevych has won an honorable place in the unspoken list of «10 cartoons that Ukrainians thank for a happy childhood».
«The Adventures of Captain Wrungel» is the work of director David Cherkasky, the first animated series in the USSR. The cartoon was shown for five days in a row – several series each day, and they immediately fell in love with the audience. Because 13 ten-minute series had to be done in record time, most animators had to be at work around the clock. They were even officially provided with beds. To speed up the work, Cherkasky came up with «know-how»: first they made characters using the technology of «flat puppet», and then added to them «live action» – moments shot on film. Eventually, it turned into a creative feature of the director. The wild success of the series was evidenced by the fact that in some cities during the viewings could not withstand the power grid and the light was turned off. The cartoon about Wrungel during Independence was shown on 18 Ukrainian TV channels.
Congratulations and gratitude to the professionals who still create the history of Ukrainian animation. May our Ukrainian cartoons remain good and sincere for the next generation!
