Melnitsa Animation Studio
 | |
| Industry | Animation Motion pictures |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 26, 1999 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Aleksandr Boyarsky (CEO) Sergey Selyanov (chief producer) Konstantin Bronzit (art director) |
| Products | Animated films |
| Revenue | $1.57 million[1] (2017) |
| $207,909[1] (2017) | |
| $84,501[1] (2017) | |
| Total assets | $12.9 million[1] (2017) |
| Total equity | $484,653[1] (2017) |
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. Deutsche Welle called the studio the Walt Disney of Saint Petersburg.[2] Alongside its animation projects, Melnitsa has an effort devoted to creating digital special effects for both animation projects and live-action films.
History
[edit]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 Selyanov and led by Aleksandr Boyarsky.[3] STV Film Company retains a 50% share of the studio.[4] 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.[citation needed]
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.[5]
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.[6][7] This marked the beginning of Melnitsa's "The Three Bogatyrs" trilogy, and two more films were planned over the next several years.
In 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).[citation needed] 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 2006, gathered a total of over 2 billion views on YouTube.[8]
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,[9] later surpassed by the studio's Three Heroes on Distant Shores earning $26 million in 2012.[10] The 2013 film Three Warriors On Far Shores again established a new record for Russian animation, grossing $31.5 million.[8] The release of Krepost in 2015 led to some controversy in Poland, as it depicted a 17th-century battle between Russian and Polish armies.[11]
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.[12]
Style
[edit]The studio places its primary emphasis not on high-art animation but on engaging storytelling. According to professional assessments [ambiguous phrasing], the quality of Melnitsa's productions is considered average. However, Alexander Gerasimov, CEO of Master-Film, views this as a strength of the studio, since its productions are profitable. Anatoly Prokhorov, co-owner of the company “Petersburg,” also noted that Melnitsa's work features "less-than-perfect scripts, directing, and inconsistent animation quality," and that the creators "work with relatively simple technological tools"—yet their content resonates with audiences and is well received.[13]
Filmography
[edit]Short film
[edit]| Year | Production |
|---|---|
| 2024 | The Three Sisters |
| 2019 | Boxballet |
| 2019 | He Can't Live Without Cosmos |
| 2014 | We Can't Live Without Cosmos |
| 2007 | The Little Vasilisa |
| 2007 | Lavatory Lovestory |
| 2003 | The God |
Full length
[edit] | This section needs to be updated. (June 2025) |
In Development
[edit]| Year | Title cartoon | Director | Author(s) script | Production Designer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Ivan Tsarevich and The Grey Wolf 7 Иван Царевич и Серый волк 7 |
Konstantin Feoktistov | Aleksandr Boyarskiy Aleksandra Shokha | Yulia Maslova Daria Ivanova |
Serial cartoons
[edit]| Year | Title cartoon | Directed by of the animated series | The main authors of the script | Production Designer | Number of seasons | Number of series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999—2000 | Adventures in the Emerald City | Aleksandr Makarov (1-2)
Ilya Maksimov (3) Denis Chernov (4) |
Evgeny Markov (1-2)
Mikhail Bartenev (3-4) Andrei Usachyov (3-4) |
Yuriy Solovyov (1-2)
Ilya Myshkin (3-4) |
1 season | 4 |
| 2006—present | Luntik and his friends (Moonzy) Приключения Лунтика и его друзей (Лунтик) | Darina Shmidt | Darina Shmidt Fyodor 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 (from 7 season) |
10 | 572 |
| 2011—present | The Barkers (The Poochers) | Elena Galdobina
Ekaterina Salabay |
Elena Galdobina
Fyodor Dmitriev Konstantin Feoktistov Vadim Smolyak Anna Sosnora |
Lyudmila Steblyanko (1-100)
Alesya Barsukova (91-130) Marina Makarova (from 131) Aleksey Korobkin Eduard Yankovsky |
17 seasons | 286 |
| 2018—present | Little Tiaras Царевны |
Konstantin Bronzit Elena Galdobina Darina Schmidt | Darina Schmidt Fyodor Dmitriev Aleksandr Sinitsyn |
Andrei Yakobchuk | 3 | 78 |
| 2024-present | Three Heroes. Not a Day Without a Featru:Три богатыря. Ни дня без подвига | Aleksandra Shokha Yekaterina Salabay | Sergey Sel'yanov Aleksandr Boyarskiy | 3 | 9 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 "Бухгалтерская отчётность". Melnitsa Animation Studio. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- ↑ "The Walt Disney of Saint Petersburg". Deutsche Welle. March 22, 2016. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. 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. Archived from the original on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Alosha Breaks Toon Records in Russia". Animation Magazine. 11 February 2005. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ Алеша Попович и Тугарин Змей — кассовые сборы — КиноПоиск. КиноПоиск (in Russian). Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. 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. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Is Russian ani ready to rise? Stay tooned". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ Barraclough, Leo (8 September 2014). "Russian Cinema: Toon Boom Echoes, But Not Far Enough". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Rosjanie przygotowali kolejną antypolską produkcję. Tym razem indoktrynują dzieci". naTemat.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ "Russian cartoon competing for Oscars". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ↑ Жохова, Анастасия (2013-12-17). "В чём секрет «Трёх богатырей», одолевших «Хоббита» в кинопрокате". Forbes.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- 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.
