Animation queens: 9 women who made Soviet cartoons unforgettable

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the Soviet Union, everyone watched cartoons - both adults and children. They were bright and kind, helped to understand what is good and what is bad. The names of male animators are widely known, but women who influenced the development of Soviet animation or the popularity of certain cartoons are known, with rare exceptions, very little. Who are they, the queens of the Soviet cartoon?

Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg

The Brumberg sisters were among the first creators of Soviet animated films. Their first directorial work - "Give me a good shop!" was filmed in collaboration with Nikolai and Olga Khodataevs back in 1927. The last cartoon "From the pine forest" shot by the sisters was released in 1974. And between them there were many works that were remembered by the audience. They directed The Tale of Tsar Saltan and Puss in Boots, The Canterville Ghost and Three Fat Men.

They have worked together since 1937, complementing each other both in life and in work. The sisters tirelessly traveled around the country to draw beautiful views from life, and they attracted real choreographers to stage dances in cartoons. Igor Moiseev himself took part in the creation of the cartoon "The Missing Letter".

After Valentina died in 1975, Zinaida, who was a year younger than her sister, stopped making cartoons, although she lived for another 8 years.

Clara Rumyanova

She dreamed of a brilliant career as an actress and even made her film debut quite successfully. However, a quarrel with Ivan Pyriev led to the fact that an authoritative and authoritarian director simply closed her way to big roles. But Klara Rumyanova was able to become famous without even appearing on the screen. So many favorite cartoon characters spoke in her voice that it was simply impossible not to recognize her. How impossible it is to imagine a different voice from the Hare from "Well, wait!", The Kid from the cartoon about Carlson or from Cheburashka.

His first cartoon "Who is the Strongest?" Clara Rumyanova sounded in 1961, and the last one - "Morning of Kesha's parrot" - in 2002, two years before her own departure. In more than 350 cartoons, the characters speak in the voice of this wonderful actress.

Faina Ranevskaya

The brilliant theater and film actress took part in the dubbing of cartoons only twice. The work on "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" in 1943 did not impress Faina Ranevskaya, and for the second time she agreed to such work only after much persuasion.

Freken Bok in the cartoon "Carlson is Back" came out so colorful and memorable solely thanks to the actress. True, during the dubbing, she put the director Boris Stepantsev out the door, and the screenwriter Boris Larin in a rather categorical form asked not to interfere with her. As a result, Freken Bok said a lot that was not even mentioned in the script. Yes, and Karlson added replicas.

Maria Vinogradova

The talented actress has never suffered from lack of demand. At the same time, Musya, as her close people affectionately called her, was so energetic and hardworking that she simply could not sit still. If she was not invited to the cinema, she voiced films and cartoons, completely surrendering to the creative process. That there is only her unsurpassed Hedgehog in the fog or Uncle Fedor from Prostokvashino. By the way, she also voiced Disney films and cartoons with pleasure.

Maria Babanova

The famous theater actress did not voice too many cartoons, but each of her work became a real masterpiece. The Swan Princess in The Tale of Tsar Saltan and Lyubava in The Scarlet Flower speak in the voice of Maria Babanova. But the Snow Queen became the most striking image, because the actress was first filmed, like in a movie, and only then was redrawn frame by frame for the cartoon.

Zinaida Naryshkina

The voice of this amazing, undeservedly forgotten actress cannot be confused with any other. One has only to remember the dummy from the cartoon "Three from Prostokvashino", and one wants to repeat his unforgettable: "Who's there?"

Zinaida Naryshkina came to dubbing cartoons after her husband stayed in the UK during a business trip and she was practically no longer invited to significant roles in films. One of the most recognizable works in dubbing belongs to the cinema: in the film "The Wizards" the voice of the actress speaks of a harmful self-assembled Tablecloth.

Faina Epifanova

This amazing woman worked at Soyuzmultfilm for 37 years, having previously served as an animator at the Experimental Cartoon Workshop and at Mosfilm. As an animation artist alone, she participated in the creation of about 130 cartoons, and there were also directorial and screenwriting works. "The Adventures of Buratino", "Cipollino", "Puss in Boots", "Little Raccoon" - these and many other cartoons were created by Faina Epifanova.

Inessa Kovalevskaya

She was a real innovator in domestic animation. It was with her light hand that such a genre as an animated musical appeared. And most importantly, the very first cartoon musical "The Bremen Town Musicians" instantly became popular.

The songs were heard by everyone, they were sung in karaoke, new arrangements were created for them and they were covered. In addition, all the characters from the old, in general, fairy tale, suddenly turned out to be quite modern and recognizable, because they were given the appearance of well-known actors and musicians.

Not so long ago, one of the most beloved children's writers passed away, whose works have become classics of literature and animation - His books were sorted into quotes in the post-Soviet space, his characters are very popular in Japan, his books have been translated into 20 world languages. And thanks to him, everyone knows exactly how to eat a sandwich correctly - "We need sausage on the tongue."