In the Doll Land
About In the Doll Land
Zina and Kolya soil and break their toys. At night the toys leave for doll country, joined by Misha, a teddy with a torn paw from the next apartment. A hot-water-bottle doll wakes the children. A caged magic Mouse, set free, shrinks them so they can follow through a hole under the stairs. The toys put Zina and Kolya on trial. Ded Moroz has price tags hung on them, they are turned into dolls, and a mean boy gets hold of them. They apologize. The toys forgive them and start home, except Misha, who stays so he can be given to children at a kindergarten.
Cast & crew
More about In the Doll Land
Made in 1940 at Mosfilm's volume-animation unit under Aleksandr Ptushko, that unit's last film before it was closed in 1941. Released in March 1941. Taken from puppet plays by Sergei Obraztsov, who is also credited as an artist. Vyacheslav Levandovsky and Georgy Elizarov directed.
Themes
Background
The film opened in March 1941. Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, and the Ptushko volume-animation unit was dissolved the same year.
Making
Live-action children share scenes with the stop-motion toys. A. Korobov recorded the sound.
Reviews
Animation historian Georgy Borodin has said Levandovsky's work here was not matched by Soviet animators in the 1950s and 1960s.
Look
Vladimir Popov shot the stop-motion, cut together with the live-action children.
Music
Nina Makarova wrote the score.
Preservation
Gosfilmofond's copy is on Культура.РФ in the Open Collection.
Notes
- The Russian title is В кукольной стране.
- Veronika Lebedeva plays Zina. Galina Kravchenko is also credited.
- Nikolai Kopyevsky and R. Galinsky wrote the script.
- Animator.ru lists a separate crew for the puppets and sets, among them Roman Gurov.
- Culture.ru's Gosfilmofond copy runs about 33 minutes. The Russian Wikipedia entry says 34.
Scenes
- The toys slip away at night, Misha hobbling on a torn paw.
- Ded Moroz has price tags hung on the shrunken children.
- Misha stays behind for the kindergarten.
Influenced by
- Sergei Obraztsov's puppet-theater productions
Also available
- Культура.РФ (Gosfilmofond Open Collection)
