Hedgehog in the Fog
| Hedgehog in the Fog | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Yuriy Norshteyn |
| Produced by | Soyuzmultfilm |
| Written by | Sergei Kozlov |
| Starring | Alexei Batalov Maria Vinogradova Vyacheslav Nevinniy |
| Music by | Mikhail Meyerovich |
| Cinematography | Nadezhda Treschyova |
| Editing by | Natalia Abramova |
| Release date(s) |  October 23, 1975 |
| Running time | 10 min 29 s |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Hedgehog in the Fog (Russian: Ёжик в тумане, Yozhik v tumane) is a 1975 Soviet/Russian animated film directed by Yuriy Norshteyn, produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow. The Russian script was written by Sergei Kozlov, who also published a book under the same name. In 2006, Norshteyn published a book titled Hedgehog in the Fog, listing himself as an author alongside Kozlov.[1]
Contents |
Plot [edit]
This is a story about a little hedgehog (voiced by Mariya Vinogradova), who is on his way to visit his friend the bear cub. As explained in the introductory narration, the two would meet every evening to drink tea from the cub's samovar, which was heated on a fire of juniper twigs. As they drank their tea, the hedgehog and the bear would converse and count the stars together.
On this day, the hedgehog decides to bring the bear cub some raspberry jam. As Hedgehog heads out, a sinister looking eagle-owl is following him. Hedgehog passes through the woods and encounters a beautiful white horse standing in a fog. He is curious as to whether the horse would drown if it went to sleep in the fog. The hedgehog decides to explore the fog for himself. As he goes down an incline into the fog, it is soon so thick that the hedgehog can't even see his own pink paw.
The fog alternately thickens and thins; when it thins the hedgehog briefly catches vague sight of objects and creatures which disappear again as the fog thickens. Hedgehog finds himself in a surreal and often frightening world inhabited by shapes which are not always identifiable and various creatures ranging from dangerous predators to benevolent animals, in a world of silence and rustles, of darkness, tall grass and enchanting stars.
The owl, which has been following the hedgehog, appears near him suddenly and hoots only to disappear again, prompting the Hedgehog to call it psycho (Russian: псих). He is frightened, but his curiosity keeps him exploring the unknown. Occasionally an unseen distant voice is heard calling out for Hedgehog. Hedgehog explores a large hollow tree, then panics as he realises he has dropped the raspberry jam he was carrying. He encounters a large dog, which is initially frightening to Hedgehog, until the dog retrieves the jam for him.
Later he falls into a river and believes he is going to drown as he floats downstream on his back until he is rescued by a mysterious Somebody (a catfish) in the river that "speaks" to him silently and sets him on shore. The Hedgehog finds himself at the campfire where friend Bear cub is brewing tea. Bear (voiced by Vyacheslav Nevinniy) says how worried he was at Hedgehog's absence; he had been calling out to him but heard no answer. The two sit together, contemplating how good it is to be together again—and the mysterious horse in the fog.
The characters Hedgehog and Bear Cub are convivial and tame. In contrast, the eagle-owl is more wild and mischievous, lacking Hedgehog's introversion.
Creators [edit]
| Director | Yuriy Norshteyn (Юрий Норштейн) |
| Writer | Sergei Kozlov (Сергей Козлов) |
| Art Director | Franchesca Yarbusova (Франческа Ярбусова) |
| Animator | Yuriy Norshteyn (Юрий Норштейн) |
| Camera Operator | Alexandr Zhukovskiy (Александр Жуковский) |
| Composer | Mikhail Meyerovich (Михаил Меерович) |
| Sound Operator | Boris Filchikov (Борис Фильчиков) |
| Script Editor | Natalya Abramova (Наталья Абрамова) |
| Voice Actors | Alexei Batalov (Алексей Баталов) Narrator Mariya Vinogradova (Мария Виноградова) Hedgehog Vyacheslav Nevinny (Вячеслав Невинный) Bear cub |
| Film Editor | Nadezhda Treshchyova (Надежда Трещёва) |
Awards [edit]
- 1976—Frunze All-Union Film Festival: Hedgehog in the Fog "best animated film"
- 1976—Tehran Children's and Youth Film Festival: Hedgehog in the Fog "best animated film"
- 2003—Tokyo All time animation best 150 in Japan and Worldwide: Hedgehog in the Fog "№1 Animated film of all the time"
Other information [edit]
The fog effects were created by putting a very thin piece of paper on top of the scene and slowly lifting it up toward the camera frame-by-frame until everything behind it became blurry and white.[2]
Hayao Miyazaki considers Yuriy Norshteyn "a great artist"[3] and cited Hedgehog in the Fog as one of his favorite animated films.
Legacy [edit]
Since January 2009 the main character (the Hedgehog) from the movie has a statue in the city center of the capital of Ukraine, Kiev.[4]
The film is a great influence to music video director and filmmaker Michel Gondry. There are cinematographic elements of the film that are featured throughout Björk's music video 'Human Behaviour', which was directed by Gondry in 1993.
The film was referenced in the third episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, "Spies Reminiscent of Us" in 2009.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Ежик в тумане. Ozon.ru. Retrieved on 2012-11-23.
- ^ "Все свободны" – разговор на свободные темы. svoboda.org (2007-07-04)
- ^ Hayao Miyazaki in Los Angeles!. Black Moon (2002-09-13). Retrieved on 2012-11-23.
- ^ Monument to “Hedgehog in Fog” appeared in Kyiv, UNIAN (2009-01-27)
External links [edit]
- Hedgehog in the Fog at the Animator.ru
- Hedgehog in the Fog at the Internet Movie Database
- Hedgehog in the Fog at AllRovi
- Hedgehog in the Fog at the Keyframe – the Animation Resource
- Laputa Animation Festival 2003 (in Japanese)
- BBC Article about Soviet brands, including "Ёжик в тумане" in Russian
- Norstein's Studio Official Website
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