Some well known and well received Russian animations:
Alexander and Dimitri Petrov: The Old Man and the Sea (1999)
One of the most successful Russian animations has got to be Alexander and Dmitri Petrov's "The Old Man and the Sea"
Father and son created this oscar-winning film by working day and night without rest with their unique style of finger painting with slow drying oil paints on multiple sheets of glass. The point of view flows smoothly in a perfect moving perspective, moving so well that the movement probably couldn't be bettered if someone decided to re-create this using GCI. Petrov later said he identified with and was inspired by the old man in the story as he represented the "struggle, patience and determination needed as an animator", probably something that most, if not all animators can relate with. I think this animation has a real unique charm to it, and it looks stunningly beautiful. Not many animators would adopt such a method because of the time and dedication it would really take to make this, and that's what makes this piece so unique.
Nina Shorina: Dver (Door) (1986)
This animation is made using stop frame and has a message behind it about adults who are unable and unwilling to change their way of thinking.
The door of a large apartment block is kept permanently boarded shut, but in these difficult circumstances, the residents manage to carry on with their lives. When the door is eventually left open, they continue with their old habits and avoid using it. A young boy sees the ridiculousness of the situation, but when he points it out, nobody listens and is ignored by the adults. Nina cleverly demonstrates the fallings in the Soviet communist world. She made this shortly before Mikhail Gorbachev introduced political and economic reforms. The set is beautifully made too. The crumbling buildings have a lot of character and the characters are well made and animated. It makes the animation satisfying to watch as well as challenging your mind.
Yuri Norstein: Skazka skazok (Tale of Tales) (1979)
This animation has been well received over the world and has been regarded as one of the greatest animated film of all time. Norstein made this animation with a range of methods that he had developed during 15 years of working for Soyuzmultfilm. He had worked on many different styles of film and with many different people.
The film is a follow up to Norstein's short "Little Hedgehog in the Fog (1975)". It's a bittersweet poem about childhood, Russia and about being human. The narrative has several series fragmented, interlinked stories that play in a random order, rather than a logical order. It was made this way so it could be like the structure of the human memory. We remember one thing, and that then links onto another memory of something else. It's all about memories: the personal memories of the animator and how these link to the collective memories of Russia and its people to the universal human memories and how even though memories can be sad, they can still be beautiful. It's a very atmospheric animation and does require some attention to understand what's happening, but it is beautiful to look at. It's interesting seeing different animation methods blending into one another and I love that it was made to represent how us humans piece memories together and how one memory can spark of a different memory.