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Revamped Russian animation goes for global audiences
MOSCOW, April 29, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – In a slick Moscow loft, dozens of
graphic designers peer at COMPUTERS, compiling the latest scenes of “Fantasy
Patrol”, a cartoon produced by Russia’s Parovoz animation studio.
With its Netflix contracts, state-owned Parovoz — which means locomotive
in Russian — is at the forefront of a resurgence of the country’s animation
industry.
But, for some observers, the revival comes at the expense of a tradition
for innovation dating back to the Soviet-era heyday.
Russian authorities have invested heavily in the animation sector in
recent years, after it, like others, was left in ruins following the breakup
of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Parovoz is part of a state media holding and has grown from around 20 to
300 employees. Its animated series are shown in 55 countries.
Chief executive Anton Smetankin, who co-launched the studio in 2014, said
it had “a product for every market”.
Last year, two Parovoz productions were bought by the US-based streaming
service Netflix — one of them, “Leo and Tig”, is about the adventures of a
tiger and leopard in Siberia.
“We have taken the best from the Russian school (of animation),” said
artistic director Yevgeny Golovin.
“All of our films are full of kindness and can be watched by children of
all ages.”
The studio also signed two contracts with China and had several of its
projects dubbed and adapted for the Chinese market.
Today they are shown on four of China’s top streaming channels whose total
users are estimated to number 1.5 billion a month.
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– From the ashes –
Soviet animators won global repute for their creativity but the sector has
seen mixed fortunes since then.
Soyuzmultfilm, a studio launched in the 1930s which made many of the
Soviet Union’s animated greats, faced funding problems in the 1990s and lost
control of its back catalogue.
In 2011, then prime minister Vladimir Putin stepped in to try to restore
the Russian animation industry to its former glory.
By the early 2000s, Soyuzmultfilm had been reorganised and was again a
state company.
The government returned the distribution rights for its classics back to
the studio and invested about $14 million over five years.
– ‘Masha and the Bear’ effect –
But it is a cartoon series produced by a private Russian studio,
Animaccord, that has proven a big international commercial hit.
Since 2009, “Masha and the Bear” about a mischievous little girl and an
amicable, retired circus bear has been viewed dozens of billions of times on
YouTube alone, as well as been broadcast in 100 countries, and has inspired
several spin-offs.
“Our theme, which revolves around the relationship of a child and an
adult, is universal,” Animaccord CEO Vladimir Gorbulya told AFP.
“There is a good amount of humour and things to reflect upon for viewers
of both age categories.”
Encouraged by the global success of the computer-animated duo, the Russian
government has continued to boost support for the industry, announcing
massive subsidies and, in 2017, tax reductions.
“There is a desire to make sure our children look at animated films with
our national cultural codes, our mentality, our language and culture,” said
Irina Mastusova, who heads the Russian animation association.
She noted that the Russian animation sector was still relatively up-and-
coming, with around 3,000 employees.
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– Commercial ‘propaganda’ ? –
The government attention is in line with Moscow’s increasing efforts to
inject conservative, patriotic values avowed by the Kremlin into the cultural
sphere.
Smetankin, of the Parovoz studio, conceded that animation was part of
Russia’s drive for “soft power” abroad, a form of cultural diplomacy to
explain Moscow’s view of the world, especially at a time of tensions with the
West.
In November, Britain’s The Times newspaper cited experts in a report who
called “Masha and the Bear” a form of “propaganda”, saying that “feisty but
plucky” Masha “punches above her weight” while the bear’s sanguine character
painted Russia in a positive light.
The studio rejected the depiction, pointing out that the cartoon was made
without government funding.
Larisa Malyukova, a culture reporter for the independent Novaya Gazeta
newspaper, said that government support prioritised commercial success,
rather than innovative and poetic projects of the kind that made Soviet
animators famous.
“The culture ministry pays less and less attention to original animation,”
she said.
“This worries artists, since this is what, at least in Russia, is a
laboratory that creates new talent.”
Joel Chapron, a Russian film expert for the Cannes Festival for two
decades, agreed that Russia’s animation was changing.
“Before, the legacy of animation in Russia was associated with prodigies
and big names. Today, nobody knows who the authors are.”
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