Rusalka: A Timeless Tale of Beauty and Bravery

Hello everyone! I'm excited to share with you my thoughts on the animated adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's Rusalka, released in 1968 by Ivan Aksenchenko.

One thing that really stood out to me was the beautiful animation of the main characters. Their faces looked like they were straight out of an icon.I also want to give a shoutout to the music. They included a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach, and I was completely mesmerized by the sounds. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before - it was so unique and beautiful. It reminded me of the time I attended an organ concert in Kaliningrad.

I ended up rewinding the movie a few times just to catch every single word of the Rusalka song. It was performed by a soprano singer named Victoria Ivanova, and it was absolutely stunning. I was blown away by how much emotion she put into it. I've heard rumors that in a later Soviet adaptation of the story, there was some controversy surrounding Victoria Ivanova's role, with some people even speculating that Galina Pugacheva had blocked her from performing on a larger stage. But in this version, Victoria Ivanova shines. The way she sang was just breathtaking - I couldn't even catch the words at first, but it was so beautiful that I couldn't look away.

The waves crashed against the black rocks, It's hard for people in an uneven struggle. But I believe, drop by drop, drop by drop, Life and strength will return to you! The first drop will be with power, The second drop will be with joy... Beautiful things shouldn't die, Brave things shouldn't die! They shouldn't die, they shouldn't die! They shouldn't die!

The waves crash against the black rocks, It's hard for people in an uneven struggle. But I believe, drop by drop, drop by drop, Life and strength will return to you!

❏ Description:

Based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. A film about love and friendship. The mermaid falls in love with a handsome prince and saves him from death. In order to be with him, the mermaid gives up her voice in exchange for a human form.❏ Is it worth watching with kids?

6+Absolutely, it's a must-watch with your kids. The video is wholesome, of high quality, and leaves you with something to think about. It's also really heartwarming.

Just look at this beauty! Some people might say that the animation is outdated, but I think it's still amazing.

I'll be honest, I wasn't exactly hyped to watch this 68-year-old Soviet animated short. I figured it'd be a classic that's just gotta be seen, but not exactly thrilling. Boy, was I wrong! This one actually topped the Disney adaptation for me. ❏ Genre: animated short film.

❏ Country: USSR

I was surprised by how strict the censorship was, even in animation back then. The creator of The Plastilinovaya Vorona had to rework their stuff all the time. There's not a lot of politics in Rusalka, but there are some intense scenes with the mermaid and some pretty messed up manipulation of a kid's psyche at the end. I wrote more about that in my breakdown of the original fairy tale here.

❏ IMDB Rating:7,7I think the rating could've been even higher, but the ship scenes just didn't do it for me.

❏ Cast:

Nina Gulyaeva, Lidia Koroleva, Rosa Makagonova, Anatoly Papанов, Vladimir Troshin, Yuliya Yulskaya, Viktoriya Ivanova❏ Characters:

✔️ Rusalka, the main mermaid character.

This mermaid princess is a delicate and flexible creature, living in a glass palace at the bottom of the sea with her sisters, a loving father, and a grandmother. She's prone to daydreaming and melancholy. It's no wonder she falls head over heels for a young man the moment she tries to experience the world. The mermaid princess lost her mother at a young age, and she's the youngest of her sisters. Her grandmother is actively raising her, but I think the little one probably lacked attention and love. There are many adaptations of Andersen's fairy tale out there now. Some even change the ending to make the audience happy, with the true lovers getting together. I've even seen a version with a black mermaid princess. I'm only accepting that version with a black mermaid princess so far. It's all about the play of light and shadow in this version.

✔️ Prince. He's a 16-year-old dark-eyed, black-haired heartthrob. I immediately added him to the friend zone, which broke the poor mermaid's heart. What struck me as weird was that the prince came to propose to the mermaid princess with her by his side. Who would believe that she's just his sister? The mermaid princess stays on after the wedding, but the prince's new wife doesn't seem to mind. They get along just fine. Unfortunately, the prince is oblivious to the mermaid princess's obvious hints. He made a mistake in choosing his bride, but will he ever realize it? Even in the final song, he attributes it to his wife.

Somewhere deep down, I doubt the prince will ever come to his senses and miss the mermaid princess. He didn't even notice her by his side all this time.

I liked that they removed the embarrassing term 'foundling' from the prince's dialogue. That really bugged me in the original fairy tale, along with the mermaid princess being relegated to a spot on the prince's doorstep like a stray dog.

✔️ Wicked Witch. I've got some questions about the Disney adaptation, like why the witch has fewer tentacles than she should. Disney said it was because of budget constraints. In the Soviet adaptation, the tentacles were barely visible, but the witch still looked menacing and complete. I didn't have any questions about the number of tentacles, though.

{"html": " I\u0027ve got to say, the princess looks like she\u0027s straight out of a fairytale. The attention to detail in her costume is seriously impressive.

What\u0027s weird is that the princess doesn\u0027t even get asked if she likes the prince. I guess princes are just automatically likable to girls or something.

My Impressions: The movie\u0027s actually pretty engaging for a whole 30 minutes. I\u0027m surprised I\u0027d never seen it before. The animation is bright and colorful, which helps break up the darker scenes.

These silly people think love exists, but mermaids don\u0027t.

The Little Mermaid But, as the fish say, there are mermaids swimming around the statue in Copenhagen. I loved that funny moment and how it tied in with the legend of the mermaid.

I also really liked how the mermaid\u0027s sisters stood up for her. It\u0027s clear that she comes from a close-knit family, but that didn\u0027t stop her from getting a little too caught up in her dreams and ending up in the sea.

We gave her our amber palace and our beautiful hair...we gave her everything we have.

Setting: Soyuzmultfilm takes us on a tour of Copenhagen and the harbor where you can see the famous Little Mermaid statue, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen\u0027s classic tale.

"} I've seen the mermaid statue in person, and it's the real deal. I have to say, the statue looks a bit different now compared to 1968. There are a lot of Chinese people around the mermaid now. We spent a significant part of the day near this sad sea siren, but we couldn't stay with her alone. After discussing it, we collectively decided that the mermaid wasn't that interesting, although it was worth visiting.

However, back in 1968, when the country's borders were closed, seeing a reference to foreign sculpture in a movie would have been a real treat. In general, I get the impression that Soviet cartoons were for kids on one hand, and for adults on the other, who would try to guess various paintings, classic books, and landmarks. Cartoons made it interesting for everyone! Here, for example, even Pushkin's Queen of Spades is hidden, although the movie is for kids.

Another funny moment in The Little Mermaid is when the animators poked fun at the obsession with souvenirs. That's a great moment.

So, what about Denmark?

The Gothic cathedrals and roofs of old houses in the old town are beautiful and recognizable. The steep spires can be seen in Austria and Denmark as well.

I enjoyed looking at these little houses, you can click on the photoThe facades of the houses remind me of Copenhagen. By the way, you can see more views of Denmark here.

But that's just the intro to the main story, the legend of the mermaid.

The main action takes place at the bottom of the sea, or near it.

✔️ Pros:

about lovebeautiful musicthe Mermaid's imagea story about courage and kindnessviews of Denmarkthe movie is longa classic work⛔ Cons:

the prince still didn't understand the truth❏ Final opinion:

If you haven't seen this amazing animated film yet, I highly recommend it. Despite being released a few years ago, it's still a treat to watch. The music is incredible – the organ is mesmerizing, and Victoria Ivanova's singing is so good that you'll want to listen to it over and over again.

Highly recommended!

Skip to my other reviews on various topics.

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The Gifts of the Magi, a Famous Short Story from School Literature

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