The Scarlet Flower
Directed by	Lev Atamanov
Produced by	Soyuzmultfilm
Written by	Georgiy Grebner Sergei Aksakov (story) Y. Shvedov (lyrics)
Music by	Nikolai Budashkin
Editing by	Lidiya Kyaksht
Release date(s)	1952 (USSR)
Running time	42 min
Country	USSR
Language	Russian

Screenshot from the film

The Scarlet Flower (Russian: А́ленький цвето́чек, Alenkiy tsvetochek) is a 1952 Soviet traditionally-animated feature film directed Lev Atamanov. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the story of the same name by Sergei Aksakov. Winnie-the-Pooh by Soyuzmultfilm The Studio Soyuzmultfilm () is the most important Soviet animation film studio, founded in 1935 under the name of Soyuzdetmultfilm. ... Sergei Aksakov was a nineteenth century Russian writer. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... // Events February 20 - The film The African Queen opens (Capitol Theater in New York City). ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) Translation: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital (and largest city) Moscow Official languages None; Russian de facto Government Socialist Republic/Federation of Soviet Republics  - Last President Mikhail Gorbachev  - Last Premier Ivan Silayev... Traditional animation, sometimes also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular form of animation. ... A reel of film, which predates digital cinematography. ... Winnie-the-Pooh by Soyuzmultfilm The Studio Soyuzmultfilm () is the most important Soviet animation film studio, founded in 1935 under the name of Soyuzdetmultfilm. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2005)    - Density 10,415,400   8537. ... Sergei Aksakov was a nineteenth century Russian writer. ...

The film is an example of the Socialist Realism period in Russian animation, which was characterized by heavy use of rotoscoping and a focus on adapting traditional Russian folk tales. It was restored at the Gorky Film Studio in 1987 and is now widely available on several video and DVD editions in Russia (an English-subtitled version has not been released). The history of Russian animation is a very rich, but so far nearly unexplored field for Western film theory and history. ... A rotoscope is a device that enables animators to trace live action movement, frame by frame, for use in animation. ... Central portal of Gorky Film Studio Gorky Film Studio (in Russian, Киностудия имени Горького) is a film studio in Moscow, Russian Federation. ...

Plot

Before going on an overseas journey, a merchant father asks his three daughters what they would like him to bring back for them. The eldest asks for a shining tiara, the middle asks for a frame through which her face would always appear young, and the youngest (Nastenka) asks her father to bring her a beautiful scarlet flower like one which she saw in her dreams. Her elder sisters laugh at this simple wish.

The father's trip is successfull and he finds everything that he came for, with the exception of Nastenka's scarlet flower. Nevertheless, the ship heaves off and they begin to head back while the father scans the lands around him for a scarlet flower.

A storm strikes and the father is washed overboard. He wakes up on a strange island which is full of all sorts of wonders. He explores, and eventually finds a flower just like the one Nastenka described. The instant that he plucks it, however, a great storm comes upon him and the owner of the island - a hideous monster - makes his presence known. He tells the father that he will let him keep the flower, but in return he must send one of his daughters to live with him. The father refuses, and the monster gives him a ring, telling him that whoever puts it on will be teleported back to the island, and that if his daughter doesn't come then he himself must come and be killed.

In the morning, the crewmembers of the father's ship (who had been searching for him) see him on the island and rescue him. Back home, the father prepares to put on the ring and meet his fate. However, Nastenka overhears a conversation where he reveals this to his friend and secretly puts on the ring herself.

There, she expects to be killed but instead finds herself on a beautiful island and welcomed for by a kind, unseen host. She accidentally catches a glimpse of him eventually, and is mortally scared at first. He allows her to go home to visit her family, but tells her that she must come back by putting on the ring by 8pm or he will die of loneliness.

Nastenka comes home dressed in splendid clothes and with presents for her sisters. Her sisters, however, become jealous and secretly turn all of the clocks in the house back two hours. Nastenka looks outside and hears the clock chiming 9pm, and quickly goes back, only to find the monster near death. She is very saddened and vows to never leave him again, and with those words the scarlet flower which she holds reattaches itself to its original stem and the island fills with light again. The monster turns into a handsome prince and explains that he was under the spell of a witch from which he could only be freed from if he won over the heart of a lady while being in the body of a hideous monster.

Creators

Nikolai Fyodorov (1828 - 1903) was a Russian philosopher and futurist, who theorized about the eventual perfection of the human race and society (ie. ... Fyodor Savelyevich Khitruk (Russian: Фёдор Савельевич Хитрук; born May 1, 1917 in Tver) is one of the most influential animators and animation directors in Russian animation. ...

See also

• History of Russian animation
• List of animated feature films

The history of Russian animation is a very rich, but so far nearly unexplored field for Western film theory and history. ... This is a list of animated feature-length films from around the world organised chronologically by year; theatrical releases as well as made-for-TV and direct-to-video movies. ...

External links

• Alenkiy tsvetochek at animator.ru (English and Russian)
• Alenkiy tsvetochek at myltik.ru (Russian)
• Alenkiy tsvetochek at Krupnyy Plan (Russian) (restoration on DVD)