Melnitsa Animation Studio
 | |
| Industry |
Animation Motion pictures |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Products | Animated films |
Number of employees | 325 (2014) |
| Website |
www |
Melnitsa Animation Studio (Russian: Студия анимационного кино «Мельница», "melnitsa" meaning "windmill") is one of the largest animation studios in Russia. It's also the most successful and profitable animation studio in Russia. Deutsche Welle called the studio the Walt Disney of Saint Petersburg.[1] Alongside its animation projects, Melnitsa has an effort devoted to creating digital special effects for both animation projects and live-action films.
History
The studio traces its roots to several animated projects in the late 1990s, including television commercials, the short film Die Hard by Konstantin Bronzit (Grand Prix of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, 1998), and the animated series "Global Bears Rescue" and "Technology", created for Poseidon Film Distributors Ltd.
In 1999, Melnitsa was formally established with backing from STV Film Company's Sergey Seliyanov and led by Aleksandr Boyarskiy.[2] STV Film Company retains a 50% share of the studio.[3] The newly formed studio's first project was Adventures in Oz (Приключения в Изумрудном Городе) for NTV-film (НТВ-кино), a four-part animation released in 2000.
In 2001, Melnitsa released its first 3D-animated project - the short film Good Morning (С добрым утром) by Denis Chernov. In 2002 Melnitsa released two short films by the famous animator and director Konstantin Bronzit: There Was an Old Lady for Scholastic Entertainment and the 3D-animated film The God (winner of a number of international festival awards).
In 2000, Melnitsa began work on the feature-length animated film Little Longnose (Карлик Нос) directed by Ilya Maksimov, based on the fairy tale of Wilhelm Hauff. The film premiered on March 20, 2003, reportedly becoming one of the first Russian animated feature film released to theatres in nearly 40 years.[4]
On December 23, 2004, the feature film Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey (Алёша Попович и Тугарин Змей) was released, directed by Konstantin Bronzit. The film was completed on a $4 million budget, and took in about $1.7 million at the box office.[5][6] This marked the beginning of Melnitsa's "The Three Bogatyrs" trilogy, and two more films were planned over the next several years.
On January 2005, at the 10th Open Russian Festival of Animated Film in Suzdal, the new short film by Konstantin Bronzit premiered, called Cat and Fox (Кот и Лиса). Work on it had been finished in November 2004. Bronzit's film, based on a national Russian tale, was part of the huge government-sponsored project by Moscow-based Pilot studio called "Gora Samotsvetov" (Гора самоцветов). The project, when complete, will consist of 52 13-minute films based on fairy tales from all of Russia's nationalities.
On March 15, 2006, the second film in the "3 Bogatyrs" trilogy was released, called Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych (Добрыня Никитич и Змей Горыныч), directed by Ilya Maksimov. It came on the heels of the animated blockbuster Prince Vladimir, which was released on February 22, 2006.
Luntik, an animated series launched in 2007, gathered a total of over 2 billion views on YouTube.[7]
The third film in the trilogy, Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber (Илья Муромец и Соловей Разбойник), was released on July 7, 2007, grossing $10 million on a $2 million budget and setting a record for Russia's domestic animation industry,[8] later surpassed by the studio's Three Heroes on Distant Shores earning $26 million in 2012.[9] The 2013 film Three Warriors On Far Shores again established a new record for Russian animation, grossing $31.5 million.[7] The release of Krepost in 2015 led to some controversy in Poland, as it depicted a 17th century battle between Russian and Polish armies.[10]
The studio's 2007 short film Lavatory – Lovestory was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, followed by a nomination for We Can't Live Without Cosmos in the same category during the 88th Academy Awards in 2016.[11]
Filmography
Short Film
| Year | Production |
|---|---|
| 2015 | We Can't Live Without Cosmos |
| 2007 | Lavatory Lovestory |
| 2003 | The God |
Full length
| Year | Title cartoon | Director | Author(s) script | Production Designer | Budget | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Little Longnose Карлик Нос | Ilya Maksimov | Aleksander Boyarsky | Aleksandra Averianova | $2,5 million | $569 837 |
| 2004 | Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey Алёша Попович и Тугарин Змей | Konstantin Bronzit | Aleksander Boyarsky Maksim Sveshnikov Ilya Maksimov Konstantin Bronzit | Ol'ga Ovinnikova | $4 million | $1 730 000 |
| 2006 | Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych Добрыня Никитич и Змей Горыныч | Ilya Maksimov | Aleksander Boyarsky Maksim Sveshnikov Ilya Maksimov | Ol'ga Ovinnikova | $4,5 million | $3 620 000 |
| 2007 | Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber Илья Муромец и Соловей-Разбойник | Vladimir Toropchin | Aleksander Boyarsky Maksim Sveshnikov | Ol'ga Ovinnikova Oleg Markelov | $2 million | $9 739 679 |
| 2008 | The Tale of Soldier Fedot, The Daring Fellow | Lyudmila Steblyanko | Lyudmila Steblyanko Roman Smorodin | Anastasia Vasil'eva | — | $2 586 097 |
| 2010 | How Not to Rescue a Princess Три богатыря и Шамаханская царица | Sergey Glezin | Alexander Boyarsky Ol'ga Nikiforova | Ol'ga Ovinnikova Elena Lavrent'eva Oleg Markelov | $2,5 million | $19 010 585 |
| 2011 | Ivan Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf Иван Царевич и Серый Волк | Vladimir Toropchin | Alexander Boyarsky | Marina Kudryavtseva | $3 million | $24 830 497 |
| 2012 | Three Heroes on Distant Shores Три богатыря на дальних берегах | Konstantin Feoktistov | Alexander Boyarsky | Lidiya Savina | $3,5 million | $31 505 876 |
| 2013 | Ivan Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf 2 Иван Царевич и Серый волк 2 | Vladimir Toropchin | Vladimir Toropchin Alexander Boyarsky Svetlana Sachenko | Svetlana Degtyarёva | — | $20 962 988 |
| 2015 | Three Heroes. Horse Course Три богатыря. Ход конём | Konstantin Feoktistov | Alexander Boyarsky Svetlana Sachenko | Svetlana Degtuarёva | $3,5 million | $19 390 136 |
| Krepost (The Fortress) | Konstantin Feoktistov | Alexander Boyarsky | Oleg Markelov | — | $1 176 906 | |
| 2016 | Ivan Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf 3 Иван Царевич и Серый волк 3 | Vladimir Toropchin | — | — | — | $10 271 463 |
| 2017 | Three Heroes and the King of the Sea Три богатыря и морской царь | Konstantin Feoktistov | Aleksander Boyarsky Svetlana Sachenko Alena Tabunova | — | $4 | $14 134 274 |
| 2017 | Fantastic Journey to OZ Урфин Джюс и его деревянные солдаты | Vladimir Toropchin | Aleksander Boyarsky Darina Shmidt | Anatolii Sokolov | — | $3 068 073 |
In Production
Full length
| Year | Title cartoon | Director | Author(s) script | Production Designer | Start of production |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | «Three Heroes and the Princess of Egypt[12]» | Konstantin Feoktistov |
Serial cartoons
| Title cartoon | Start of production | Information |
|---|---|---|
| «Luntik» ru:Приключения Лунтика и его друзей | Since August 2014 | In production 8 season |
Serial cartoons
| Year | Title cartoon | Directed by of the animated series | The main authors of the script (as at 2014) | Production Designer | Number of seasons | Number of series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005—present | «Luntik» ru:Приключения Лунтика и его друзей | Darina Shmidt | Darina Shmidt Fёdor Dmitriev Elena Galdobina Mariya Domogatskaya Anna Sosnora Alexandr Mal'gin Svetlana Sachenko Tatiana Gorbushina | Marina Komarkevich (1-2 seasons) Tatiana Klein (2-6 seasons) Irina Fёdorova (5-6 seasons) Vita Tkachёva (7 seasons: series 2012) Ekaterina Maksimenko (since 7 seasons) | 7, in production 8 season | 440+ |
| 2011—2012; 2014 | «Unbeatables» | Elena Galdobina | Elena Galdobina Fёdor Dmitriev Anna Sosnora Tatiana Gorbushina Alexandra Shoha | Ludmila Steblyanko (1-100 series) Alesya Barsukova (90-129 series) Marina Makarova (since 130 series) | 2 | 142 |
See also
References
- ↑ "The Walt Disney of Saint Petersburg". Deutsche Welle. March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ↑ Giannalberto Bendazzi (6 November 2015). Animation: A World History: Volume III: Contemporary Times. CRC Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-317-51988-1.
- ↑ "Мультяшки на миллиард: кто зарабатывает на героях российских мультфильмов". РБК. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Alosha Breaks Toon Records in Russia". Animation Magazine. 11 February 2005. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Алеша Попович и Тугарин Змей — кассовые сборы — КиноПоиск". КиноПоиск (in Russian). Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ Birgit Beumers (2011). Directory of World Cinema: Russia. Intellect Books. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-84150-372-1.
- 1 2 "Russian Animation Rises From Ashes of 1990s". Moscow Times. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Is Russian ani ready to rise? Stay tooned". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ Barraclough, Leo (8 September 2014). "Russian Cinema: Toon Boom Echoes, But Not Far Enough". Variety. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Rosjanie przygotowali kolejną antypolską produkcję. Tym razem indoktrynują dzieci". naTemat.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Russian cartoon competing for Oscars". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Three Heroes and the Princess of Egypt". CTB. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
External links
- Official website
- Melnitsa Animation Studio on IMDb
- Official website of the "3 Bogatyrs" trilogy (in Russian)
- Interview with Konstantin Bronzit (in Russian)
- La monto da gemoj - some Gora samotsvetov (Gem Mountain) series with subtitles in Esperanto.
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