The Fox and the Thrush

1946 Animation 15 minutes Directed by Aleksandr V. Ivanov

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About The Fox and the Thrush

Thrushes nest in a birch and the chicks hatch. A fox threatens to whip the tree with her tail, shake the nest down, and eat them. The thrush promises pies and honey if she will come to the high road. He fakes a broken wing. A grandmother and her granddaughter drop a basket of pies and a pot of honey to chase him. The fox eats the pies and sticks her head in the pot. The grandmother's stick breaks the pot. The fox goes back and shakes the birch again. The thrush promises beer. He sits on a carter's horse, the horse bolts, a barrel falls, and the fox drinks until she is drunk. She then demands to be amused. He sings her toward a place where dogs catch her. The thrush family is left in the tree.

Cast & crew

More about The Fox and the Thrush

Aleksandr Ivanov directed the 1946 Soyuzmultfilm cartoon from a script by Georgy Grebner. Nikolay Voinov photographed it. Vladimir Kochetov wrote the music. The Russian title is Lisa i drozd. It runs 15 minutes.

Themes

Making

Ivanov tells the folk tale as three bargains. Each time the thrush pays the fox with someone else's food, and the last payment is the dogs.

Look

Nikolay Voinov photographed the drawn birch, the road, and the honey pot stuck on the fox.

Music

Vladimir Kochetov composed the score, including the song the thrush uses to lead the fox to the dogs.

Preservation

A print survives. One circulating copy runs 14 minutes and 44 seconds.

Notes

  • The Russian title is Лиса и дрозд.
  • The tricks come in order: pies and honey, then beer, then a song that leads to dogs.
  • The fox's head gets stuck in the honey pot before the grandmother's stick frees her.
  • A circulating copy runs 14 minutes and 44 seconds.

Scenes

  • The fox lashes the birch with her tail and threatens to shake the chicks down.
  • She eats the pies and jams her head in the honey pot.
  • A beer barrel spills and she drinks until she cannot stand straight.
  • Dogs take her while the thrush is still singing.

Influenced by

  • The Russian folk tale of the fox and the thrush

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