Books read in childhood remain with us for life. These are our most faithful and best friends. They make up the necessary cozy atmosphere of memories, where it is so nice to dive out of the full cares of an adult rush. One of the most striking characters in this virtual world is Winnie the Pooh. Books and films about him were translated into 29 languages, but the Soviet and American Winnie the Pooh remain the two most famous characters.
Primary source
Alan Alexander Milne was a well-known playwright and writer, and the book about Winnie the Pooh is far from the first and not the last in his work. Today only literary scholars will be able to name the list of his works, and all-all-all know stories about the toy bear and his friends. Prototypes of the heroes were toys of the son of the writer Christopher Robin. Now they are all in the New York Public Library. A teddy bear was presented to Robin for his first birthday, and he received the name Vinnie in honor of the bear Winnipeg in a London zoo, with which the boy made very friends. The second half of the name - Pooh - went to the hero from a swan who lived on a pond near the house of Milnov.
Winnie the Pooh translated by Zakhoder
In Russian, the story of a funny teddy bear first appeared in 1958 in Lithuania. However, the translation of Boris Zakhoder received widespread fame and popular love. Looking through the English encyclopedia for children in the library, the writer came across an image of a glorious teddy bear. History enthralled him so much that he sat down here to translate Milne's book. In 1960, the Soviet reader first picked up the book "Winnie the Pooh and all the rest."
Zakhoder always emphasized that he did not seek to literally translate the text of the English writer, his Winnie the Pooh is more like a free retelling, a rethinking of the original book. The translator owns a number of finds, without which we now cannot imagine Pooh. Sopelok, Pyhtelok, Shumelok, Chants and Vopelok were not in the English text. Just like the famous sawdust in the bear’s head, Winnie the Pooh Milna modestly described himself as a bear with “little brains”.
Names of heroes in translation
Zakhoder creatively approached the translation into Russian of the names of the main characters of the book. Winnie-the-pooh turned into Winnie the Pooh, although by the rules of pronunciation, you should call him Winnie-Poo. For the Russian ear, this is not so harmonious, so Zakhoder translated it as transliteration. Piglet was supposed to be Piglet, as Alan Alexander Milne called it - Piglet. The name of the donkey Eeyore is a literal translation of Eeyore. The Rabbit was simply a Rabbit, and all the other characters also did not undergo any changes in the translation.
American Winnie the Pooh
Disney released the film adaptation of the adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1966. In the interpretation of Wolfgang Reitermann, the protagonist appeared a kind of bumpkin - good-natured, stupid, readily recognizing his modest mental capabilities. It seems that the only thing that really worries him is honey. At the same time, he does not forget to periodically sing songs about friendship, mutual assistance and other virtues. Looking through all the Disney series in a row, one gets the impression that the American Winnie the Pooh is not at all the key character in this story. Piglet attracts much more attention with the eternal struggle with its fears or Eeyore with profound conclusions about the expediency of being.
Hitruk version
Even the Americans themselves admit that our Winnie the Pooh is better. Reiterman admitted to Khitruk that, despite the fact that he did not understand a word in Russian, he liked the Soviet cartoon more than his own. There is something psychedelic in that the paws of our bear are not attached to the body, in some clumsiness of movements, which is actually the result of an animator's mistake, which mixed up the phases of movement of the legs and arms. In addition, our Pooh is more vital than the American counterpart. He is a stranger to excessive moralizing, with a sweet bluntness offers to go on a visit when he discovers that there is nothing to eat at home. He is not averse to philosophizing and is not at all inclined to sacrifice himself to save a friend (remember the episode with a balloon and bees).
Intrigue in the end
Few people know that there is one secret that neither Soviet nor American Winnie the Pooh has revealed. What is his real name? After all, the bear cub Christopher Robin had a completely different name before the boy made friends with the bear Winnipeg. And his name was just Edward. Now you know the little secret of your beloved hero.
That's how fiction gave us one of the most charismatic heroes of children's literature. And does it really matter which of them is better - ours or the American Winnie the Pooh, especially since there are enough admirers for both of them.