Союзмультфильм: Ресей анимациясының тарихы мен қазіргі жағдайы

Russian animation studio

Soyuzmultfilm ( , Unioncartoon) (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm, Unionchildcartoon) is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched on June 10, 1936 as the animated film production unit of the U. S. S. R.'s motion picture monopoly, GUKF, Soyuzmultfilm has produced more than 1,500 cartoons. Soyuzmultfilm specializes in the creation of animated TV series, feature films and short films. The studio has made animated films in a wide variety of genres and art techniques, including stop motion, hand drawn, 2D and 3D techniques. The "Golden Collection" of Soyuzmultfilm, produced from the beginning of the 1950s and to the end of the 1980s, is considered to be the classics of the animation medium and the best works of world renowned directors, production designers and animators. Among the studio's best known films are Hedgehog in the Fog (1975), the Cheburashka series (1969–1983), the Well, Just You Wait! series (since 1969), Karlsson on the Roof (1968) and others. Many of the films rank among the classics of world animation, garnered a multitude of international and Russian awards and prizes, and became an integral part of Russian and global culture. The studio has released 7 series projects since 2017. One of them is a sequel of the well known Prostokvashino trilogy Простоквашино (мультсериал) based on the aesthetics of the original. Six other series, with new original scripts, are Orange Moo cow, which is co produced with Cyber Group Studios, Squared Zebra, Claymotions, The Adventures of Peter & Wolf, Captain Kraken and His Crew, Pirate School. The series Mr. Theo, Cat and Dog and Orange Moo cow ranked in the top 5 among the cartoons shown on Russian television in 2019, according to Mediascope research company. Several other series are in production and expected to be released in the second half of 2020. The shorts produced by the studio participate in prestigious festivals and receive international prizes. Among the recent award winning shorts are: Vivat Musketeers! (2019), Good Heart (2018), Coco's Day (2017), The Sled (2016), Two Trams (2016), Moroshka (2015), Pik Pik Pik (2015) and others. In addition to the production of animation, the studio launched many educational activities. Soyuzmultfilm conducts advanced training programmes for animators and script writers. In 2018, it opened a development center for children Soyuzmultclub with animation workshops, interactive programs, regular animation courses for children, the museum. In 2020, the first indoor recreational multimedia park Soyuzmultfilm will be opened at the VDNKH exhibition center. A Technopark, which is to become the largest animation production centre in Russia, is being created on the basis of the studio.

In 2011, Vladimir Putin, at the meeting with animation directors, decided to abolish the "United State Film Collection" and transfer the films to the studio. He also promised to significantly increase funding for domestic animation and children's cinema. From that moment, with the support of the state represented by the Ministry of Culture, the studio got out of crisis and the revival of Soyuzmultfilm began. From 2013 to 2016, the artistic director of the studio was Алдашин, Михаил Владимирович. In 2016, the Soyuzmultfilm film studio celebrated its 80th anniversary. As of today, Soyuzmultfilm received about 90% of the film rights to its collection. In terms of the number of projects and the volume of created content, Soyuzmultfilm has reached the level of a major film studio and presents its projects again at international film and television markets.

In 2017, Soyuzmultfilm moved to a new building on Akademika Korolyova Street, with almost 6000 square meters of floor space. There are about 300 employees in the studio today, 250 of them are engaged in the projects production process. Since February, 2017, Yuliana Slashcheva has been managing the Soyuzmultfilm studio as the chairman of the board. Her past experience includes a position of chief executive officer of the leading Russian independent broadcasting holding CTC Media. Yuliana has several significant rewards in the Media Business category – in 2007, she was included in the ranking of the Most Influential Business Women in Russia, prepared by Карьера (журнал), and became the winner of the annual national award Media Manager of Russia 2007 in the nomination "Public Relations", in 2015, Yuliana appeared on the list of The 20 Most Powerful Women in Global TV 2015, prepared by The Hollywood Reporter. In July, 2017, Boris Mashkovtsev became the director of the Soyuzmultfilm film studio. Before that he was heading Airplane Studio LLC, bringing with him over a decade of experience in animation production. Boris is also a member of the management board of the Russian Animated Films Association. Boris is one of the key experts in the animation industry in Russia, he is a co author and the chief scholarly editor of A Dictionary of Modern Animation Terminology and co author of the textbook Producing Animated Films. Since June, 2019, Julia Osetinskaya became the general producer of the studio. She was the executive producer in Riki Group and the head of Riki Development Fund, where she developed and produced several successful new animated brands and projects of the group. Recently, Soyuzmultfilm has developed, ready to introduce into production and is already patenting several unique technological solutions. The studio keeps producing and developing clay and puppet stop motion animation as this is an incredible legacy of Russia, with professional specialists using unique techniques. The initial task, according to the new management, is to develop all existing animation techniques under the studio's roof.

Today the studio is actively engaged in the development of series production with a focus on international markets. Soyuzmultfilm actively develops co production and creates projects with other well known studios. Nowadays Soyuzmultfilm has seven released projects. Several other series are in production The animated series are intent on not only at entertaining children, but also at education and personal development through visualization in a funny way without strict edification. Most of the series are created with the participation of professional media psychologists. Together with Channel One Soyuzmultfilm is creating the educational mini series aimed at the very youngest audience segment Claymotions (2+) (since 2018), made in authentic clay motion technique and teaching kids through games. The musical comedy Orange Moo cow (3+) (since 2019), co produced with Cyber Group Studios, forms important value orientations among children. The adventure story Captain Kraken and His Crew (4+) (since 2017), co produced with Rocket Fox Animation Studio, The adventure social comedy Pirate School (8+) (since 2018) was the only Russian series project that entered the competition program of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, in 2018, and became a winner at the Open Russian Festival of Animated Film in Suzdal as Best Series, in 2020. The series for a teenage audience The Adventures of Peter & Wolf (12+) (since 2020), in which the real world and the magical world collide, is full of funny adventures and many unexpected events. The series develops ability to think out of the box and find a way out of any situation with the help of knowledge and ingenuity. At the same time, Soyuzmultfilm preserves the continuity of the classic legacy and keeps the atmosphere of the original cartoons with a focus on modern audience. One of the most popular series – the adventure family sitcom Простоквашино (мультсериал) (6+) (since 2018) which is a sequel of the famous Russian trilogy Prostokvashino based on the book by Eduard Uspensky. It is produced in the traditional technique of complex hand drawn animation, where each scene is sketched manually, but today it is made with a stylus on the touchpad so that it looks modern. The premiere of the series became the record breaker for the number of views on the air of the Carousel Russian television channel and collected more than 1 million views in just 2,5 hours on social networks. The series Orange Moo cow and Простоквашино (мультсериал) took 2nd and 4th places, respectively, among the animated series shown on Russian TV in 2019, according to the 4 17 year old audience rating of the most watched television programme which lasts more than 5 minutes, Mediascope research company indicates.

In 1992, the studio signed a deal with the American company Films by Jove, owned by Russian immigrant actor Oleg Vidov and his American wife Joan Borsten. It was the first international offer that the studio had received. The deal stipulated that Films by Jove would be granted the rights to 547 of the most popular classic studio films for a period of 10 years in all territories except the CIS; as part of the return, Soyuzmultfilm would receive 37% of the net profits. Films by Jove restored many of the films and released many of them on television, video and DVD in the United States and Europe, albeit usually with dubbed voices (in the case of the series "Mikhail Baryshnakov's Stories from my Childhood" having celebrity actors dubbing some characters in the films featured in the series) and changed music. According to current director Akop Kirakosyan, the original deal seemed promising at the time but turned out to be "deadly" for the studio. The expected payouts never materialized because Films by Jove never posted any net profits; all of the money officially went to things such as new soundtracks, lawsuits and copy protection measures. Whether either deal was legal was debated in court, with the Soyuzmultfilm Film Fund (see section below) claiming that because the company's lease on its possessions would have expired in 1999 (at which time ownership would have automatically reverted to the government if no new lease were signed), Soyuzmultfilm had no authority to issue rights that lasted beyond that timeframe. Joan Borsten presented a different story. In the end, the Russian courts sided with Soyuzmultfilm and the American courts sided with Films by Jove. U. S. Federal Court found that the Russian government has twice tried to invalidate Judge Trager's August 2001 summary judgment decision in favor of Films By Jove and transfer the copyrights to a library of 1,500 animated films, which Films by Jove licensed from Soyuzmultfilm Studios in 1992 to a new state owned company. The judge found evidence of "continued actions being taken by the Russian government and judiciary to influence the outcome of this United States litigation with the purpose of depriving plaintiff Films by Jove of its right to distribute the animated films in the United States and elsewhere outside the former Soviet Union." The voluminous and very thorough decision further noted that, "In the case at bar, expropriation of the property of an American company by an act of a foreign sovereign is unquestionably against the public policy of the United States." On 11 April 2007, Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov announced that he was in the final stages of negotiating a price with Films by Jove to buy back the collection. A source close to Usmanov said that Films by Jove's initial price was $10 million, while Usmanov is willing to pay "several times less", as he considers that the rights already belong to Soyuzmultfilm and that he himself is only buying the physical film prints.