Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Fox and Hare


I recently received a comment on my post about Yuri Vasnetsov by David from Australia, 
suggesting that I look up Yuri Norstein's films. I had already featured Hedgehog in the fog
a lyrical masterpiece and one of my all time favorite animations, but thanks to David 
I discovered the charming The Fox and the Hare, Norstein's 1973 debut as a film director. 

Illustrations from Yuri Vasnetsov's Ladushki
Progress Publishers, 1971, thanks to flamenconut on flickr



Three illustrations from Yuri Vasnetsov's Dancing Perch: Folk Songs and Ditties
compiled by N. Kolpakova, Progress Publishers, 1974, thanks to SamsMyth on flickr 





This animated short is based on a Russian folk tale and, as David noticed, it shares 
a very similar feel with Vasnetsov's folk art inspired illustrations. Besided being lovingly 
drawn and animated, I particularly enjoy the inclusion of classic folk motifs like borders 
and flowers, and although I don't understand Russian, the voiceover sounds wonderful!


4 comments:

  1. I found your blog by accident. I just showed my 8 year old son the Russian story of the rabbit & the rooster; we loved it.
    Thanks for keeping such a great blog. I also love animal illustrations. I am in the middle of brainstorming a story behind a little bird. I mainly illustrate using Adobe Illustrator, but my other favorite medium is ink & watercolor.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I translated a section from Norshteyn's book which talks about this film over here:
    http://niffiwan.livejournal.com/10065.html

    If you'd like to take a deeper look at Russian animation, I highly recommend going here:
    http://editthis.info/animatsiya/Main_Page

    (or to my blog/Youtube channel)

    :)

    There are some wonderful films to discover. Here's one of my favourites start with:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDJocyVi3s0

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for your comments.
    Cristina, I am glad your son enjoyed it too!
    Niffiwan, many thanks for the info and links, I will check them out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow!Thanks for nice website.This book is mine chilhood bookstory. :)

    ReplyDelete

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