Why "Ogonyok-Ognivo" will please you, but not for long

On February 4, the Russian cartoon "Ogonyok-Ognivo" will be released. The picture was created by the independent film company "Up", which also has an animated "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia". The director of the tape was Konstantin Shchyokin, who had previously filmed only little-known short films.

The cartoon immediately grabs the viewer's attention. First, because good 2D animation makes it stand out from the background of many 3D pictures. Secondly, because the title contains the name of the famous fairy tale, which many have loved since childhood.

At the same time, there are also enough weaknesses. Let's figure out what there is more in the project - pluses or minuses. And we tell you who might like it and why.

An interesting idea, but an incomprehensible connection to Andersen's fairy tale

There are several main characters in the center of the story. Among them is the girl Ogonyok, who constantly tries to save everyone, but in the end only makes things worse. Her lover, the Potter, dreams of building a city fountain. But the guy is so insecure that he prefers not to even start. And then he finds Flint, lost by the wicked witch. The magic item makes the master rich - and it spoils the hero.

The fire in the title of the picture refers the viewer to the tale of G. H. Andersen. However, from the primary source in this tape - only the artifact itself and three magical dogs. Then why was it necessary to have Fire, if gold can give another object as well?

An interview with the director helped to unravel this inconsistency: the creators of the project wanted to shoot a picture about love and money, and during the discussion of the idea, Andersen's book lay next to it. Perhaps that is why the appeal to the classics looks not entirely justified in the cartoon.

A vigorous start, but too high a speed of development of the plot

The action of the cartoon is gaining momentum from the first seconds. The viewer abruptly plunges into the artistic world and enjoys watching the development of history. At first, this pace of storytelling is captivating, but soon it becomes difficult to follow the plot. Cartoon more and more often provokes "crises of attention".

The fact is that any cinematic work has its own structure, where a high density of events is replaced by a low one. For example, in "Shrek" the ogre does not let the Donkey visit him - and we observe how the main character enjoys cooking the usual dinner, but at the same time experiences pangs of conscience. No dynamic actions are performed, the scene does not move the plot - we are given time to evaluate and think about everything.

But in "Ogonyok" the density of events is always extremely high. The viewer is not given time to reflect. The characters are constantly running somewhere, breaking something, often speaking with anguish. And all this is very distracting to the viewer.

A striking example is the episode in which Ogonyok visits the Potter, who is trying to mold a model of the fountain. The characters talk about the young man's dream, about his doubts. And in the background there are many extraneous actions: Fire tries to put flowers in a pot, gets stuck in it with his hand, and then accidentally breaks other clay vessels.

Important, but not very deep thoughts

The Potter's line is based on the idea that an easily acquired fortune can spoil a person and that prosperity brings new challenges with it. Through the degradation of the character, the authors show that incessant self-doubt is a poison with which we poison ourselves, and they are often groundless. The main theme of the entire cartoon is the ability to renounce the material in favor of the spiritual.

These ideas are good for discussion with kids, but adults will definitely not amaze: they are too straightforward and they are simply presented.

Nice picture, but obvious problems with working out the world

In the age of 3D it is rare to find a picture similar to "Ogonyok-Ognivo". But "flat" animation can be different. Sometimes the exaggeration of the appearance of the heroes makes them repulsive. Here everyone will remember their example: some cannot watch "Adventure Time", others - "The Amazing World of Gumball."

"Ogonyok" in comparison with similar 2D-cartoons looks much nicer. The characters are rendered aesthetically and without excessive exaggeration. Probably, this approach to the portrayal of heroes is a continuation of the best traditions of Russian animation.

The color scheme of the cartoon is also pleasant. It mainly consists of warm and soft shades, which are often combined in unusual combinations. Animators play with the viewer: when portraying negative characters or events, they use cold tones. And the goodies are painted with warm colors.

However, the artistic world of the cartoon is not as well developed as the visual design. The distortion of the classics has become fertile ground for the emergence of cultural inconsistencies. So, the authors renounce the literary source - they change the characters, the main events. But for some reason the action is immersed in an old European town, and the inhabitants are dressed in dresses, tailcoats, caps and top hats.

However, not all. Twinkle runs in overalls, pulling his hair into two tails. The viewer racks his head: what era is she from? The same misunderstanding is caused by the appearance of her friend - a tailor with shaved temples and flared trousers. But most of all, the outfit of the Witch is embarrassing - after all, it painfully resembles the costume of her "colleague" from Disney's "Snow White". And such roughness is found not only in the external appearance of the characters.

Anachronism - a deliberate discrepancy between phenomena and the era in cinema - is a wonderful thing if it works for a plot or causes laughter. Such a technique, for example, is used in the cartoon "Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent" - it's funny to see in one of the episodes the name of the villain spelled as 2Garin. This is both an unexpected directorial find, and banter over the fashion for the Latin alphabet, which reigned in the 2000s.

In "Ogonyok" we see similar flirting, but they do not cause a smile and work poorly for content. The viewer understands from the first frames that the main character is not like everyone else. And her actions speak about this, and not clothes from another time.

Organic music, but no hits

The soundtrack of the cartoon is very organic. There is no musical overload here, as, for example, in "Frozen": the abundance of songs in it repels those who want to enjoy the development of the plot, and not the soundtrack. In Ogonyok, the musical numbers do not distract from the course of the action, but they reveal the characters well and add liveliness to the tape.

However, despite their melodiousness, the songs from this cartoon are unlikely to become children's hits. The complex construction of compositions and the lack of catchy techniques do not allow you to remember them for a long time.

From the very first shots “Ogonyok-Ognivo” captivates with an interesting plot, beautiful animation and pleasant music. But unlike the famous project about three heroes, the cartoon still has many flaws that overshadow the strengths of the picture.

Most likely, small viewers will not pay attention to the minuses and will enjoy watching. But adults are unlikely to be hooked on this project - after all, there are much more successful films like "Klaus" and "Soul", which are designed not only for children, but also for their parents.