User Reviews

This is the first animated film made in the Soviet Union. It is a heavy-handed blow against capitalism. A fat man, representing the capitalist, gorges himself on an abundance of food. He eats an entire pig and then becomes one himself. We are quickly taught that this pig has to be dealt with, his money given to the Soviet cause. The animation is quite primitive with a few closeups, making the characters utterly grotesque. Of little other than historical value.

The very first Soviet animated film, by Dziga Vertov, is much more a curiosity worth seeing, for his historical importance, than properly a very well developped short movie. Indeed, it seems quite weird as it shows bizarre sequences in a pictorial and surrealist way. It is a very direct anti-capitalist propaganda and do not use subtle metaphors. Just a 'spoiler': workers win in the end. 😁

"Sovietskie Igrushki" is apparently the first animated film from the Soviet Union and not surprisingly it's a propaganda picture dedicated to teaching the audience about the evils of capitalism and the church. It's done in an incredibly heavy-handed fashion and the animation quality if only fair--with super-grotesque closeup shots.

The film begins with the evil Capitalist eating and drinking himself fat. Soon a good Soviet Citizen comes upon him and tries to squeeze the fat out of the guy. But a couple priests show up and impeded his progress. Eventually, some other good Citizens come and they take the money from the Capitalist and it all ends with a happy hanging in which the capitalist and priests are hung...and oddly a lady is dangled about by her skirt...though I have no idea why.

With scenes of the good Citizens trying to slice open this piggish Capitalist and ultimately a hanging, it's not what anyone would consider a subtle message. I have no idea how effective it was but considering that was the ONLY message audiences of the day would have received, perhaps it was effective to some degree. Regardless, it only is a minor curiosity for history-addicts like myself and little more. It is hard to imagine that this crappy little film was from Dziga Vertov, the guy who later made the exceptional classic silent full-length live action film "A Man With a Movie Camera"!