Putin: Western Cartoons Make Heads Spin
Photo source: media.vk.play.ru
Vladimir Putin unexpectedly decided to share his thoughts on... cartoons yesterday. It's strange to pay attention to such statements during a war, but I am a filmmaker after all... Moreover, the Russian president's statements like these most vividly demonstrate the wild archaism of the world into which he immerses his vast country.
"These modern cartoons of Western production, everything is shooting, jumping, running; after half an hour, your head will already fall off from watching such a film. How do children endure it? Our Soviet cartoons, of course, are of a completely different quality: both emotional and aesthetic impact are completely different on a developing person," Putin said.
In his usual manner, not allowing for other opinions, Putin dismisses the last thirty years of world animation, a period of its true flourishing. Amazing Pixar cartoons like "Inside Out," "Wall-E," or "Up" speak to young viewers about the most serious life issues - from loneliness, aging, and death to ecology and the future of humanity. Or the need for everyone to be able to experience sadness... Or "Shrek"? A film about a funny green giant that managed to evoke similar feelings in both children and their parents. And unite them in front of the screens. Or "How to Train Your Dragon"? Hundreds of posts wouldn't be enough to list artistically outstanding and incredibly useful for shaping a person's modern cartoons that have been released in recent years in the USA, the UK, France, Scandinavia, Japan... Is it all just shooting and running in the wonderful cartoon "Despicable Me," cleverly affirming family values with the story of an unsuccessful villain and his helpers - yellow minion creatures? Or is the viewer's head supposed to fall off from watching the French film "Ernest & Celestine" about the adventures of a mouse and a bear? Or from the Oscar-nominated touching Spanish Christmas cartoon "Klaus," telling the story of the origin of Santa Claus?
I understand that David Fincher's animated anthology "Love, Death & Robots" might have seemed complicated to Putin, as it is for adults. But "Peppa Pig," with which generations of viewers are growing up not only in Europe and Ukraine but also in Russia and China? Or "Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom," where flowers and grass are taller than the tallest towers? Well, the last question will, of course, remain unanswered. How exactly did the President of Russia familiarize himself with modern animation? Was a printout brought to him in a red folder? Or did Nikolai Patrushev report the content of "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" at a Security Council meeting? But that's just me joking. Watch good cartoons.
Author: Alexander Rodnyansky
