The Scarlet Flower (1952)

Nastenka asks her good father to bring her a scarlet flower from his journey One thing she doesn't know: the flower belongs to a horrible beast.

Director:

Lev Atamanov (as L. Atamanov)

Writers:

Sergey Aksakov (story) (as S.T. Aksakov), Georgiy Grebner (scenario) (as G. E. Grebner)

Stars:

Mariya Babanova, Nikolay Bogolyubov, Olga Chepurova

Cast

Credited cast:
Mariya Babanova	...	Lyubava (voice)
Nikolay Bogolyubov	...	Stepan Yemelyanovich (voice)
Olga Chepurova	...	Gordeya (voice)
Vladimir Gribkov	...	Kondrat (voice)
Nina Krachkovskaya	...	Nastenka (voice)

Storyline

Before going on a voyage, the merchant Stepan Yemelyanovich asks his three daughters what they would like him to bring as a gift to them. The eldest daughter, Gordeya, asks for an expensive decoration - a golden crown decorated with semi-precious stones. The average, Lyubava, orders a magic mirror in which her face will always look young, and the youngest, Nastya, asks her father to bring her a scarlet flower, similar to the one she saw in a dream. Sisters laugh at her desire.

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Fantasy | Romance

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Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

1952 (Soviet Union)

Also Known As:

The Scarlet Flower

Company Credits

Production Co:

Soyuzmultfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nastenka's song "At this time in the birth place" was performed by the famous chamber singer Viktoriya Ivanova.

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Connections

Version of Shirley Temple's Storybook: Beauty and the Beast (1958)

User Reviews

Russia's answer to Beauty and the Beast

Considering that Beauty and the Beast is such a timeless story and that Russian animation and film-making fascinates me, they were reasons enough to make me want to see The Scarlet Flower. I am so happy I did, because this was a truly beautiful animation and one of my favourites from Russia(and there are some great Russian animations). The animation is rich and elegant, I especially loved the colours and the wonders of the island which contrasted beautifully with the dark haunting colours of the first encounter with the monster. The music is both beautiful and stirring with somewhat at times a Rimsky-Korsakov influence. The dialogue is very literate and noble, the translation is not the best but it doesn't spoil the mood at all. The story is very true in detail and spirit to the Beauty and the Beast story while adding a distinctive Russian flavour to it, much of it was very moving too like the ending and the father's stay on the island/first encounter with the monster were remarkably mysterious. The characters are always engaging, Nastenka is very easy to relate to and I liked the sincerity of the father, and the voice acting is pitched perfectly, I did like that the monster was very foreboding but in an understated sort of way. In conclusion, a true beauty in every way. 10/10 Bethany Cox