How the cartoon "Once upon a time there was a dog" appeared: Why I had to change the name, and make the Wolf look like Dzhigarkhanyan

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

35 years ago at the International Film Festival in Denmark the first place was taken by the Soviet cartoon "Once upon a time there was a dog", created a year before. And in 2012, at the Suzdal Animated Film Festival, this cartoon was recognized as the best over the past 100 years. More than one generation of children has grown up on it, and the phrases of the Dog and the Wolf have long become winged. Many interesting moments remained behind the scenes: viewers are unlikely to know that in the first version of the cartoon the wolf looked completely different, and the title was not missed by the censorship.

The future animator Eduard Nazarov read the tale "Sirko" as a child, and 30 years later it fell into his hands again. Then he was a production designer at the All-Union animation studio "Soyuzmultfilm". Later he said: "".

The preparation process was very serious and lengthy. In the 1970s. Nazarov often visited his army friend in the small Ukrainian town of Tsyurupinsk, which then resembled a large village. According to the director, the “mood and smell” that created the unique atmosphere in the cartoon came from there. And in order to create sketches of clothes, household utensils, dishes and other important trifles, Nazarov went to ethnographic museums, including the famous Pirogovo.

The final touch in creating the atmosphere and color of the Ukrainian village was the music that the director obtained from the Institute of Folklore and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. Employees presented Nazarov with a tape reel with recordings of Ukrainian songs collected by ethnographers in villages. The song "Oh there, on the mountains", sounded in the cartoon, probably everyone remembers. But few people know that it sounds performed by the folklore group "Drevo". At the same time, its participants did not even suspect that this song was chosen for the cartoon, and that soon the whole Union would hear their voices.

One of the members of the group "Drevo" Nadezhda Rozdabara said: "". In 1982, they recorded 24 songs at the Melodiya recording studio, and in the same year the cartoon "Once upon a time there was a dog" was released, in which this composition sounded, which was a complete surprise for the members of the musical group.

The original timing of the cartoon was 15 minutes. However, the material had to be cut - due to disagreements with the head of the Soyuzmultfilm studio, the director had to cut out several scenes: “”. The original name of the cartoon had to be changed - "A Dog's Life". The management found it too suspicious - what is the author hinting at?

The appearance of the Wolf had to be changed as well. It was originally planned that he would be voiced by the famous actor Mikhail Ulyanov, but at that time he was busy filming and refused. Then they invited Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, but then it turned out that the appearance of the character was in disharmony with his voice. And the Wolf had to be redrawn urgently.

As a result, the Wolf turned out to be so similar to Dzhigarkhanyan that Nazarov even began to worry: "". The dog was voiced by Georgy Burkov, who after that again worked with Dzhigarkhanyan on the dubbing of the cartoon "The Adventures of Funtik Pig".

The premiere of the cartoon in 1982 made a splash. A year later, it was appreciated in Denmark, Poland, Yugoslavia and Australia."Once upon a time there was a dog" still does not lose its popularity among children and adults. When the director was asked what he sees as the secret of such popularity of the cartoon, he replied: "".

There are also many interesting moments behind the scenes of another popular Soviet cartoon. Secrets of "Three from Prostokvashino": Who became the prototype of the cat Matroskin, and why Uncle Fedor changed beyond recognition.