#russian disney

[adarkrainbow]

So... I have watched "The Last Bogatyr"! Sorry, "The Last Knight/The Last Warrior/The Last Hero". The 2017 movie.

Due to the recent world events, I had to pause away from anything related to Russian folklore - but I still will dip my fingers into it from time to time.

If you do not know about this movie, "The Last Warrior" is a 2017 Russian movie part of the "fairytale fantasy" category, and... it is one of the rare movies produced by the Russian branch of the Disney Company (in collaboration with the Russian company "Yellow, Black and White"). The title is actually weirdly translated because the whole focus on the story is on the "bogatyr" - a type of semi-historical semi-legendary character of Russian culture who could be best compared to the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian world. They are not knights in the Western sense of the world, though they do fill their role in the traditional fairytales as the heroic military warriors that kill monster and save princesses ; and merely calling them "heroes" is a bit too vast for the very specific thing they are. Anyway...

The Last Bogatyr is a typical "portal fantasy" type of story. In modern-day Russia (there's a reference to the President, and this made me grit my teeth, because fuck Putin), lives Ivan, a famous star-magician, professional medium and dedicated scammer, who poses as "Svetozar, the wizard of light". But one day, after fleeing from the goons of a person he ended up pissing off, Ivan finds himself teleported in "Belogoria", the world of Russian fairytales.

There he is welcomed by Dobrynya Nikitich, and discovers he is not an orphan as he always believed but the son of Ilya Muromets, send to another world as a baby. (Dobrynya and Ilya are two of the most famous bogatyr of legends) However he is soon imprisoned by Dobrynya's sorcerous wife, the witch-queen Varvara, and discovers that almost all of the supernatural beings of Belogoria have been hunted down and persecuted by Varvara's crusade against all things "evil". This forced the once great villains of the land to become heroes against the tyrannical oppresor, and as such Ivan (because of course, as the main hero he has to be called Ivan) is forced to team up with Koschei the Deathless and Baba-Yaga to subvert Varvara's evil plans. Other folktales character that join the party include The Frog Princess/Vasilisa the Wise, and the Vodianoy ; and the purpose of their quest is to find the legendary "Kladenets sword" (magical sword).

This movie is... weird. Not weird in a "cult movie" type of way, no, no. This movie definitively is Russian and feels Russian, but at the same time it has Disney smeared all over it. As in: the plot and character types of this movie are all the cliches and stereotypes of Disney live-action fantasy movies. If you just take Ivan's character here - he is just a recycled version of the Wizard of Oz from Disney's "Oz The Great and Powerful". Once you understand you are in a "typical Disney movie", you can easily guess and expect what is going to happen. (Except for the very end, which has a real twist. It is the post-credit scene, if I recall well, and oh boy I did NOT see that coming, that was good) So yes, if you are used to Disney movies, in the likes of Tangled or Pirates of the Caribbean or the like, you'll know exactly where this movie is going.

Despite being very generic in terms of plot and character handling, being a very Disneyified product, this movie has the great interest of showing how Disney would handle the Russian fairytales. It is not everyday you can say "I watched the Disney version of Baba-Yaga" or "I watched Disney's take on Vasilisa the Wise". Plus the movie does look pretty, I will not lie. On the other side, this is definitively a movie for kids and all audiences. It is a semi-humoristic movie, a fantasy-comedy mostly filled with jokes (but one that won't make you "laugh out loud", and not one I would call the funniest movie). There is no gore, no brutal violence, no adult jokes. The "softening" or "Disneyification" is especially seen by the handling of Koschei and Baba-Yaga, who lose the darkness, the horror and the morbid typically associated with them and become comical side-characters, fitting more your typical Disney cast of anti-heroes and funny sidekicks... But don't get me wrong, it does not mean they are done wrong. In fact, Baba-Yaga, Vasilisa, Koschei are without a doubt the BEST parts of his movie.

Because Ivan, the protagonist, is one of the most insufferable characters I have ever met. He is a bad man (morally speaking) as much as a bad character (writing speaking). He is a jerk that has nothing pleasant to him, his moments of "goodness", "kindness" and "heroism" are SO artifical and SO forced it feels out-of-character for him. I understand he is supposed to embody the archetype of "Ivan the Fool", and they do relie in some scenes on the fact he is indeed not a hero but a cowardly, idiotic jerk... But then in other scenes he suddenly becomes this great hero hidden underneath and this kind man that just looks like a pathetic idiot and... yeah I hate this character. If the movie had been all about Koschei and Baba-Yaga and Vasilisa as their own team, it would have been such a better and great movie. The villains are good, the side-characters are good - it is just the main protagonist that is... bleh.

I know that the movie was popular enough to get not one but TWO sequels. I might watch them one day - I heard they are better. As for this movie... What I'd say is that it is not an excellent movie, nor a bad one - depending on your own taste and preferences, it ranges from a "good but not great" movie to a "neutral/middle-ground/meh" movie. It is not groundbreaking or inventive, but it is pretty, and honestly, the real interest of watching this movie is to see how Disney handles Russian folktales. This is the reason I watched this movie, and the main if not only reason I would advise people to go check it out - it is the improbable and bizarre crossover of Russian media and Disney movies, it is a Russian Disney fairytale movie, uniting the beloved folklore of the Soviet world and the traditional movie-making of American culture, and as such it is a very... weird piece that one must at least know about.

(And the character of Varvara is SUCH a good character. I love how she is presented, the visuals, how she plays out in the plot. I don't know if she is inspired by any specific folktale character - from what I have seen around she was invented for the movie and while fitting the fairytale world is not meant to represent a specific folk-character? But that's a very cool character)

[propalahramota]

Gleefully posting a video of terrified Ukrainian children to own the khokhols

[ratatatastic]

oh you mean to tell me mackie was working out with geno and senko while cooper black was in net for them yeah no thats fine 😃

[thewhimsyturtle]

Behold, I am Kirby, King of GRUMPs and everything the light touches!

[franki-lew-yo]

Fanart Friday: Snowqueens

Elsa the White Ape from Frozen and The Snowqueen from 50's soviet The Snow Queen do an outfit swap. Tbh I don't know if Soviet Snow Queen has hair, I just winged it. Elsa's happy to be in a well designed outfit for once. Good for her.

Now give that woman the pointy chin and snowweasel fringe she always deserved, DISNEY!

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

Someone PLEASE make an English Dub of Buratino's Return (obscure Russian movie)

Okay, so I heard about this Russian cartoon animated movie recently, and it's got this Wild Thorberries-Rugrats-ish art style and the songs slap! The one that's gotten really popular was the one with the singing Barbie dolls, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2CSmp02Emk in this video here (turn the captions on). I heard the name of the movie is actually Возвращение Буратино which translates to Buratino's Return apparently. It looks amazing! I love talking toy themed movies that are NOT Toy Story. It doesn't look as amazing as Raggedy Ann & Andy Musical Adventure but it looks good enough to watch and enjoy. The thing is, the subtitles on the original Russian movie, the English subtitles SUCK! I got them saying weird things like "Oh yeah Obama" when she was apologizing to the other doll, and apparently the dog's name translates to "Potatoes" which... is actually kinda cute not gonna lie! If the movie gets dubbed, they should keep it!

Yeah, so the whole "dubs vs subs" thing is ridiculous. Dubs are obviously way easier to watch and understand. If you're hearing impaired and need subtitles, that's one thing but if you're not and you want to watch a movie, it's way easier to watch a dub. Plus, subtitles aren't always accurate and sometimes make things sound more awkward. Like, the dubbed versions often make more sense. Plus, subtitles go fast and you can't always pay attention to little details if you're watching it with subtitles, it's too distracting. I wholeheartedly believe that dubs are better all the way! If you don't speak English or Russian, maybe it can be dubbed in your language too! There needs to be a Spanish dub, French dub, Japanese dub, whatever language you might speak! The only language I speak is English, so that's why I'm trying to get someone to make an English dub. By the way, the English captions for the Мой Портрет - Трафарет video were an exact translation, I feel like the dub would change it up.

My friend wondered about the songs being ruined in the dub, which I would be worried about too, but they could hire a translator and songwriter to work together and make the lyrics make sense but also rhyme. Even if it was a fan dub, they could still get enough permission and help to make it a good dub without ruining the songs.

Another thing, let's talk about this not being popular in Russia, where it was made. I mean, it came out in 2013, the same year as Disney's Frozen! It didn't stand a freaking chance in theaters! Frozen literally took the world by storm... a snowstorm, that is! (haha, funny joke). Plus, a lot of non-English spoken movies don't get an English dub until years later. 2013 was 11 years ago, but who said it's too late for an English dub. Especially, now that the Barbie doll stencil song is becoming popular online. I also haven't actually seen the full movie, I just skimmed through it on YouTube to get a grip of what it's about and apparently it's about talking toys but they have to escape from a bad guy who wants to destroy them and turn them into the same "evil" toys to create a bad future of children. I also found out that apparently Buratino is Pinocchio and I like the idea of a non-Disney Pinocchio movie, because Pinocchio has been around for like 150 years, way before Disney made it into a creepy a** animated movie and they shouldn't take copyright of Pinocchio. There's also that other Russian movie "Pinocchio a True Story" where Pauly Shore voices Pinocchio and Tom Kenny voiced Geppetto. Also, this movie Buratino's Return was animated in 2D form, when a lot of early 2010s movies were 3D. I'm not sure how that effected the marketing and who wanted to see it but I'm almost sure that a lot of people were more hyped about Frozen or other popular movies.

Here's something else I found, apparently it was also based off "The Adventures of Buratino" which is a really old story, and I think this 2013 movie kind of looks like a creative twist on that story, kind of like what Disney does, but also kind of makes fun of Disney as well. Basically it looks like they're basing a story off old fairytales Pinocchio and The Adventures of Buratino, just as Disney does, except they're changing the things about Disney that isn't woke and making fun of the things that are wrong with Disney. I know a lot of you probably hate it when I talk crap about Disney, but I always give my side of how I feel and let you have your side. With enough convincing and understanding, hopefully we can understand both sides!

Anyway, feel free to chat with me about this in the comments! I'm always happy to hear opinions, even if they're different from mine. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!

[pixiedust-poppers]

Sofia expects she’s in a Toontown that’s suspiciously close to the real world and where toons drawn specifically for preschool shows are just curse with being an adult in a never aging body even after their show has ended.

Also I think it would be fun when you meet Sofia on set she’s in her Ariel Winter voice but the moment the director yells cut, the jarring contrast from a high pitched American accent to a deeper and strong Russian accent and a mix of Russian + english words (if she’s cursing you out), sounds funny to me.

[the-art-of-claude]

"Heart, don't fail me now; Courage, don't desert me; Don't turn back now that we're here.." Here she is, the first of a trilogy: Anastasia/Anya in her orphanage look!I always loved this look in the movie so much and ever since my first Anastasia repaint in 2016 I wanted to recreate that one for a doll glad I was finally able to do that! Unfortunately the hat doesn't fit anymore with that hairstyle.. and the original doll never came with that enormous jacket. Guess I have to do another one some day that can wear the hat and maybe commission someone with the jacket Let me know what you think of her :3

repainted with high pigmented artist acrylic paints // hair rerooted & styled // clothes: original Galoob Anastasia doll // before doll: 2021 Shop Disney 11" Cinderella classic doll

[burningpinkcandle]

Мультфильм: Мороз Иванович О рукодельницы и ленивеце✨

[jewishbarbies]

I’m so fucking tired

[brsb4hls]

Loki 2x5:

[disneyboot]

[resideanevil]

Cinderella | Zolushka (1947)

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 3A, MATCH 2 OUT OF 2!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Melody:

Her movie sucked but her character was literally SO good. I love her so much. Just look at her goooo

The daughter of Ariel, Melody begins the story as a literal fish out of water. Though she's half mermaid she is forbidden from being in the sea, and is kept from the knowledge of her origins. Though she believes herself to be human all she wants is to be in the water. -She sneaks out where she is forbidden to go -Her parent finds out and the have an argument -She runs away and gets a human/mermaid transformation with the help of a sea witch

It's like Ariel's story in reverse where she's not allowed to go to the sea so she makes a deal with Ursula's sister (that we didn't know existed lmao) to become a mermaid. I remember liking the movie as a kid.

i think she counts as a little mermaid in her own right. her story is a fantastic mirror of ariel's.

The Little Mermaid:

It’s a s story with the ending left with two interpretations- one of the fish and one of the humans. I think it’s really creative and also just immensely beautiful.

She is tender and tragic. She danced for the prince, even though it hurt a lot. She actually loves her sisters. When the prince fell in love with another woman, she was given a way out by her sisters: she could kill the prince by causing a storm. But she refused and basically sacrificed herself, turning into sea foam, just like in the original. Her character design resembles a fairy, so she actually looks like a creature from another reality, not a human.

An absolutely gorgeous take on the original story. The visuals are just so utterly captivating and I love the way the little mermaid is voiced as well. Just so well done.

[thewhimsyturtle]

*cue the Lion King song* 🎶🌤🦁🐢👑✨

[laurasimonsdaughter]

What if Disney adapted Baba Yaga?

Do you mean the story where a girl's stepmother tricks her into goign to Baba Yaga to ask her for a needle and thread? Or just the character Baba Yaga in general?

Either way I wouldn't want Disney to do it. I'd want someone to bring Ivan Bilibin's illustrations to life:

It'd be terrifying and gorgeous.