50 best Soviet cartoons for children and adults

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Treasure Island, Just Wait!, Winnie the Pooh and many other great stories.

The best short Soviet cartoons

1. Once upon a time there was a dog

• USSR, 1982.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 9, 1.

The cartoon by Eduard Nazarov retells a Ukrainian folk tale about a dog who decided to prove his importance to the owners and agreed with the wolf to stage a kidnapping. Legendary phrases "I'll sing right now" and "You come in, if anything" surely everyone knows.

2. Last year's snow fell

• USSR, 1983.
• Fairy tale, comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 20 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 7.

One of the most beloved New Year cartoons by the audience tells about a stupid man, whom his wife sent to the forest for a Christmas tree, and he ended up in a fairy tale. What this plasticine hero did not meet on his way. But I never found the tree.

3. Wow, a talking fish

• USSR, 1983.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 8 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 3.

One of the most famous works of "Armenfilm" studio is dedicated to a strange and creepy creature named Eeh. The villain wants to deceive a gullible old man, but a very talkative young man is visiting him. Everyone loves this cartoon for its incredible abstract humor and amazing animation.

4. Magic ring

• USSR, 1979.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 19 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 3.

Ivan is a very poor but kind guy. Time after time he goes to the bazaar to sell his things and earn money, but in the end he trades them for animals. However, one day good deeds still help him get rich, and the mercenary princess immediately decides to take advantage of this.

5. Flying ship

• USSR, 1979.
• Fairy tale, musical.
• Duration: 18 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 3.

The Tsar wants to marry his daughter Zabava to the boyar Polkan. But she is mutually in love with the chimney sweep Ivan. To free the bride, the hero must build a flying ship.

6. A bag of apples

• USSR, 1974.
• Fairy tale.
• Duration: 20 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 3.

A kind hare picks apples for his big family. But the crow flying after him arranges mischief and in every possible way interferes with the hero.

7. Hedgehog in the fog

• USSR, 1975.
• Fairy tale, parable.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 2.

In one of the most philosophical Soviet cartoons, the Hedgehog goes to visit his friend Bear Cub, but gets lost in the fog. There he meets various unusual creatures and at the same time reflects on the meaning of life.

8. Mom for a mammoth

• USSR, 1981.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 8 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 2.

Hearing the title song of this cartoon, even adults will not be able to hold back their tears. After all, the story tells about a mammoth who spent many years in the permafrost and woke up when all his relatives died out long ago. And the young hero goes to look for his mother.

9. - Oh you, Maslenitsa

• USSR, 1985.
• Comedy, fairy tale.
• Duration: 8 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 2.

The greedy landowner takes the pot of oil from the old people. But they have a witty grandson who decides to restore justice. The main thing is to be good at convincing.

10. Plasticine crow

• USSR, 1981.
• Comedy, fairy tale.
• Duration: 9 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 1.

Three short sketches to songs by Grigory Gladkov tell about the landscape, still life and portrait, as well as what can be observed from the window. But the most famous part is the hilarious version of the famous fable of the raven and the fox.

11. Wings, legs and tails

• USSR, 1985.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 4 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 1.

A very short, but very funny sketch introduces the audience to an ostrich and a vulture, who argue which is more important: wings or legs? But the lizard has its own answer to this question.

12. Dog in boots

• USSR, 1981.
• Comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 20 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

Everyone knows the story of D'Artanyan and the three Musketeers. But in this cartoon, all the characters are dogs, and their enemies, which is logical, are cats.

13. Big Uh

• USSR, 1989.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

The cutest alien lands in the forest. Thanks to his excellent hearing, he can hear a lot of interesting things. And at the same time he helps casual acquaintances and finds new friends.

14. Vovka in the Far Away Kingdom

• USSR, 1965.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 19 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

Schoolboy-slacker Vovka gets into the book of fairy tales. But in vain he thinks that life there will be easy. He will have to stop saying “And so it will do” and learn to finish everything to the end.

15. Santa Claus and summer

• USSR, 1969.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 19 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 9.

Having gone to distribute gifts in the next winter, Santa Claus learns that there is some kind of "summer" in the world, which he has never heard of. Then he goes to the city during the warm season, but he overheats too much.

16. Snowman-mailer

• USSR, 1955.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 20 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 9.

This cartoon was invented by the famous Vladimir Suteev based on his own fairy tale. Children sculpt a snowman who must deliver a letter to Santa Claus. But on the way, a vicious wolf, a fox and an owl await him.

17. Little Raccoon

• USSR, 1974.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 9 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 9.

Little Raccoon on his birthday goes to fetch sedge. But on the way he meets a monkey, which scares him with a story about who is sitting in the pond. Although in reality there is nothing to worry about.

18. Nutcracker

• USSR, 1973.
• Fairy tale.
• Duration: 27 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 8.

An incredibly beautiful work by Boris Stepantsev retells Hoffmann's fairy tale to the classical music of Pyotr Alekseevich Tchaikovsky.

19. Golden Antelope

• USSR, 1954.
• Fairy tale.
• Duration: 31 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 6.

A poor orphan boy rescues a magic antelope, which can make gold with a kick of its hoof. But the insidious raja wants to get a wonderful animal and enrich himself.

20. Octopuses

• USSR, 1976.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 6.

A funny story in verse about how difficult it is for octopus parents to live with children who change color all the time.

21. Cinderella

• USSR, 1979.
• Fairy tale.
• Duration: 17 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 7.

The cartoon briefly retells the classic tale of Charles Perrault about a modest girl who, with the support of a fairy, secretly enters the ball. The prince falls in love with her, but Cinderella is forced to flee as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

22. How a lion cub and a turtle sang a song

• USSR, 1974.
• Fairy tale, musical.
• Duration: 9 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 7.

The Rrr-Meow lion walks through the forest and hears a song performed by a large turtle. And they decide to sing it in a duet.

23. Thumbelina

• USSR, 1964.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 30 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 6.

The cartoon based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen tells about a girl no more than an inch tall. She lives on her foster mother's dressing table. But one day Thumbelina is stolen by an evil toad in order to marry her son.

24. Vacation Boniface

• USSR, 1965.
• Adventures.
• Duration: 21 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 3.

The circus lion Boniface goes on vacation to Africa. But even there he continues to entertain the kids with his creativity.

The best Soviet animated series and cycles

1. Winnie the Pooh

• USSR, 1969.
• Fairy tale.
• Duration: 11 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 7.

The main characters of the cartoon trilogy based on the book by Alan Alexander Milne visit each other, celebrate Donkey's birthday and try to get honey from bees. For all the naivety of the plot, the wise statements of Winnie the Pooh, speaking in the voice of Yevgeny Leonov, have long gone into quotations.

2. Three from Prostokvashino

• USSR, 1978.
• Comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 19 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 7.

The boy, whose name is Uncle Fyodor, meets the cat Matroskin. Together they run away from their parents to the village of Prostokvashino to live on their own.

In total, three classic episodes of the cartoon were released, and in 2018 the modern continuation of the story started. But still, the audience loves the old stories much more.

3. Well, wait a minute

• USSR, Russia, 1969-2006.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 6.

One of the most popular Soviet animated series tells about a funny confrontation between the hooligan Wolf and the modest and quick-witted Hare.

It originally aired 16 episodes. In the 90s, two more were filmed, using old recordings of the voice of the already deceased Anatoly Papanov. In 2006, two more episodes were added with new voice actors. And in the future, they plan to restart the story, adapting the plot for new times.

4. Umka

• USSR, 1969.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 2.

The naive bear cub Umka meets a Chukchi boy. The young heroes become friends, but soon people leave the area. In the sequel, Umka decides to find his new acquaintance and goes to the polar station.

5. A kitten named Woof

• USSR, 1976-1982.
• Adventures.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 2.

A cute kitten with an unusual name Woof made friends with a puppy Sharik. Together they learn to share sausages and not be afraid of thunderstorms and come up with a secret language.

6. Koloboks lead the investigation

• USSR, 1986.
• Comedy, detective.
• Duration: 21 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 1.

A rare striped elephant has been kidnapped from the zoo. But the great detectives, the Kolobok brothers, take on the search.

7. Kid and Carlson

• USSR, 1968.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 20 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 1.

A free retelling of the fairy tale by Astrid Lindgren is dedicated to the Kid, who meets Carlson - "a man in his prime." He loves to misbehave and loves jam. And also Carlson has a propeller behind him.

8. The Bremen Town Musicians

• USSR, 1969.
• Fairy tale, musical, adventure.
• Duration: 20 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 1.

The musical cartoon, in which almost all the parts were performed by Oleg Anofriev, tells about the Troubadour and his animal friends. They arrange the princess in love to escape from the palace.

Four years later, the sequel "In the Footsteps of the Bremen Town Musicians" was released. And in 2000 they tried to continue the series with the third part, but the audience did not like it.

9. The Adventures of Captain Vrungel

• USSR, 1976-1979.
• Adventure, musical.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 1.

The famous David Cherkassky shot the musical version of the book by Andrey Nekrasov. The story with the abduction of an antique statue and spy games were added to the main plot. Cherkassky also combined animation with filming of the real sea.

10. Crocodile Gena

• USSR, 1969.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 20 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

Roman Kachanov retells the story of friendship between Gena the crocodile and a strange creature named Cheburashka, who was found in a box with oranges.

11. How the Cossacks played football

• USSR, 1970.
• Adventures.
• Duration: 19 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

The trinity of Zaporozhye Cossacks is constantly getting involved in some kind of adventure. For example, he arranges sports matches with representatives of different countries.

A series of cartoons by Vladimir Dakhno began with the episode "How the Cossacks cooked kulesh", but the heroes gained massive popularity after the release of the football story. The director himself has released nine parts. And in 2016, after the death of the author, the story was continued with the cycle “Cossacks. Football".

12. House for Kuzka

• USSR, 1984.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 19 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

The brownie Kuzya settles in a high-rise apartment and makes friends with seven-year-old Natasha. But the backstory of the hero is told already in the second of the four cartoons "The Adventures of a Brownie".

13. Return of the prodigal parrot

• USSR, 1984.
• Comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

The schoolboy Vovka has a parrot Kesha with an unbearable character. He is very fond of attention and constantly gets into trouble. But at the same time he invariably returns to his master.

At the beginning of the 2000s, they also tried to continue this story, adding new plots to the three classic series. But the audience did not appreciate them.

14. You go! Hello

• USSR, 1980.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 9 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 9.

Stories about the friendship between the Hedgehog and the Bear Cub based on the fairy tales of Sergei Kozlov were filmed by different directors, but the most famous were the cartoons of Yuri Butyrin. In them, the heroes give each other chamomiles, are treated in winter for colds and launch toy boats.

15. Alice in Wonderland

• USSR, 1981.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 30 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 8.

A psychedelic cartoon based on a fairy tale by Lewis Carroll tells about a girl Alice who ran after a white rabbit and fell into an incredible Wonderland, where literally anything can happen.

In 1981, three episodes of the cartoon were released. A year later, "Alice Through the Looking Glass" was filmed.

16. On the road with clouds

• USSR, 1984.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 9 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 7.

The cheerful Monkey invites the sad Tiger Cub for a walk. On the way, they meet a lot of friends and just have fun. Later, the story of the heroes was continued in the cartoons "Gift for the Elephant" and "Treasure".

17. The Adventures of Leopold the Cat

• USSR, 1975-1987.
• Comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 7.

The famous confrontation between a good-natured cat and harmful mice began with the cartoon "Revenge of Leopold the Cat", where the hero drank the medicine "Ozverin", but the series acquired a familiar visual series only from the third episode about the search for the treasure.

In total, 11 cartoons about these characters were released. In the latter, mice stole a car from Leopold, which turned out to be a lot of unusual functions.

18. Uncle Ay

• USSR, 1979.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 19 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 6.

In three episodes of this cartoon, the forest man Uncle Au argues with his reflection, grows a tree by pouring soup on it, and then gets out of the forest into the city.

19. Elusive Funtik

• USSR, 1986.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 6.

The four-part cartoon tells about the piglet Funtika, who escaped from the evil Lady Belladonna, who forced him to collect money by trick. The young hero joins Uncle Mokus's circus, but the former mistress wants to return Funtik to herself by all means.

20. Washer! Washer

• USSR, 1964.
• Sports.
• Duration: 21 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 6.

The arrogant professionals from the Meteor team and the friendly newcomers from Vympel meet on the ice. And their confrontation continues in the next cartoon "Rematch".

In addition, director Boris Dezhkin has created many other sports cartoons dedicated to skiing, boxing and football.

21. Kapitoshka

• USSR, 1980.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 9 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 3.

The kind young Wolf meets Kapitoshka - a drop of rain. The heroes do not immediately find mutual understanding, but then they become real friends.

The cartoon ends rather sadly. But in 1989 there was a more positive sequel, "Come back, Kapitoshka!"

The best full-length Soviet cartoons

1. Treasure Island

• USSR, 1988.
• Adventures.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 1.

Young Jim Hawkins finds a map and sets out on a voyage to find treasures. But it turns out that pirates were in command of the ship.

David Cherkassky retold the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson in a comedic vein, sometimes going into a frank phantasmagoria.

2. Twelve months

• USSR, 1956.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 55 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

The arrogant queen announces: whoever brings her a basket of snowdrops will receive the same basket of gold. Only it happens in winter. But a modest girl, who is sent to the forest by an evil stepmother, meets at the edge of the forest for all 12 months. And they decide to help her.

3. Mystery of the third planet

• USSR, 1981.
• Science fiction, adventure.
• Duration: 50 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 8, 0.

Young Alice sets out with her father and Captain Green in search of rare animals for the zoo. However, instead, they will have to solve the mystery of the disappearance of two captains and even fight the space pirates.

Initially, there were three captains in Kira Bulychev's story "Alice's Journey", and the plot was much more complicated. But after the appearance of the popular cartoon, the author rewrote the book, creating a lighter version for children.

4. Snow Queen

• USSR, 1957.
• Fairy tale, adventure.
• Duration: 64 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 9.

The evil Snow Queen kidnaps the boy Kai. His sister Gerda sets out in search, encountering many difficulties along the way and finding new friends.

5. Mowgli

• USSR, 1973.
• Adventures.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• "KinoPoisk": 7, 2.

One day, the wolves find a human child and decide to raise him as a member of the pack. Mowgli lives among animals, learns from the bear Baloo and the panther Bagheera. But the tiger Sherkhan is hunting him.

Initially, the cartoon was released in the form of five short episodes, but then they were edited into one full-length picture.