Cartoons covering mythological and biblical themes are an established subgenre of animation around the world due to the features of the drawing, implying a TV format. Before perestroika, there could not have been such projects in our country. And only now, thanks to the efforts of philanthropic producer Yury Ryazanov, an animated film “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia” appeared on the screens, aimed at partially eliminating the informational vacuum around the noticeably popularized holiday - Family Day, Love and Fidelity.
History of creation
The Tale of Peter and Fevronia was created shortly after these saints were canonized at the Moscow Church Council in 1547. And the Orthodox cartoon "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia", which retells the legend in a modern way, was shot in 2017.
The production of the cartoon lasted for seven years. The script has been rewritten many times. The creative team, led by director Yu. Kulakov, has repeatedly suspended work, rewriting the images of the main characters. The image of Peter did not cause difficulties for the creators, in contrast to the character of Fevronia, the creation of which took as long as 4 years. As a result, the authors confidently declare that the key female character in the cartoon “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia” is the embodiment of beauty, humility, spiritual strength and simplicity.
Difference of opinion
New animated project “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia” directed by “Prince Vladimir” Y. Kulakov and producer “Priest-san. Samurai’s confession. ”Yu. Ryazanova is trying in every possible way to adapt the picture to modern tastes and the idea of what is due, nevertheless, the literary original has not undergone a complete revision. Despite the painstaking production process, the film caused a lot of discussion and conflicting opinions. Many regard the project as a cultural imperative for modern society, which for a considerable time period has been estranged from religion. Others position the animated film as a vaccine against extremism exploiting religious beliefs. In general, “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia” received mixed reviews.
Not without nuances
Talking about the animated product "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" by Ryazanov and Kulakov is easy and difficult at the same time.
It’s easy, because the cartoon was shot very sincerely, without zeal, to fall into the fashion trend category, not with the aim of appealing to the public or to please someone and others.
It is difficult because the project has some nuances that cannot be left unnoticed. Nevertheless, I immediately want to focus on the fact that the animated film "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" is a kind and touching cartoon that turned out to be several times better than skeptics or benevolent well-wishers could predict. However, as with any work of modern art, it has several problems.
Difficulties of adaptation
Unfortunately, the authors of the cartoon "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" were initially limited to a certain framework. The fact is that the main characters were elevated by the church to the rank of saints, and they have real historical prototypes. Their story is far from a myth, not an epic, not a fairy tale, not a popular belief, etc. Going to the cinema and attending church Sunday school are completely different things and the authors of the project perfectly understood this. Therefore, on the one hand, it was by no means impossible to offend the saints, and on the other, it was necessary to turn the cartoon "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" into an intriguing, modern, dynamic action.
In an attempt to find the optimal balance, the creators decided on an experiment, so the "Tale" almost turned into a fairy tale, while retaining the elements of the "Tale". What was not overlooked by film critics who, analyzing The Tale of Peter and Fevronia, left comments with a detailed analysis of the technological aspects of production.
Copyright delights
Experts who wrote reviews for the animated film "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" emphasized the following author's delights:
- The narrative structure did not include collisions associated with the death of heroes, as this could adversely affect the vulnerable children's psyche.
- The almost mercantile considerations that guided the main character were deliberately smoothed out.
Reviews of the cartoon "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" report the presence of pressing problems of our time, such as the shameless plunder of the state treasury. Also, according to experts, the authors brilliantly managed to detail the image of the Hare, who, in the course of the narrative, turned into an assistant to Fevronia and fearlessly engages in a battle with his sworn enemy.
Minor flaws
Unfortunately, in the animated film “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia”, the reviews of art critics also note a certain discord not only in genre politics, but also in musical design and dialogues. The music in the project is too motley - from the background symphonic to the folk dance and the composition of Valeria. Separately, everything sounds great, but together it doesn’t fit very well.
As for the dialogues, mainly the characters speak the language familiar to the modern viewer, the dialogues contain irony and humor. But at some moments it seems that the authors recall the source and in the conversations of the characters Old Russian begins to reign.
Graphic arts
The film "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" reviews are praised for being traced by hand. The technique in comparison with the projects of the Studio "Mill" is somewhat different, but, in fact, the same traditional "flat" graphics. Sometimes it does not look completely convincing in separate episodes, but this is more than compensated by a successful styling for Old Russian popular print and is positioned as a reference to icon-painting traditions.
In any case, this propaganda of family values was successful. Despite the frivolous inconsistencies, the project turned out to be sweet, lively, dynamic and instructive.