Blue Puppy

Infobox Film
name = Blue Puppy


image_size =
caption =
director = Yefim Gamburg
producer =
writer = Yuri Entin
narrator =
starring = scoring by Mikhail Boyarsky, Alisa Frejndlikh, Aleksandr Gradsky and Andrei Mironov
music = Gennadi Gladkov
cinematography = Mikhail Druyan
editing =
distributor = Soyuzmultfilm
released = November 28, 1976
runtime = 19 min 09 s
country = flagicon|USSR USSR
language = Russian
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0212969

Blue Puppy (alternative translations - Pale Blue Puppy/Slate puppy, _ru. Голубой щенок, translit. Goluboy shchenok) is a 1976 Soviet animation, musical tale. Lyrics and scenario written by Yuri Entin, loosely based on a tale by Dula Urban.

A few quotes from the film lyrics turned into a colloquial sayings, like the phrases "What trouble can we stir up?" and "Ah, how I'm angry, ooh, how I'm angry" voiced by Mikhail Boyarsky, and the phrase "Ought to live skilfully". The non-traditional animation technique using the color spots of indian inks shapes the unusual plasticity for the animated characters ("see screenshot below"). For example, the Black Cat vanish from the front to appear immediately behind. Or the evil Pirate can easily transform to the thundercloud while inflating himself with his own malice.

Plot summary

A puppy, who is strangely born a shade of light blue, is rejected by all. Nobody wants to play with him or to be his friend. Even the Grey Dogs avoid him. The Black Cat, a dodger and a faker, is the only one that fains interest. Unexpectedly, the Pirate attacks the island and using the Black Cat, kidnaps the Blue Puppy.

Now the Good Seaman, who always helps the ones in trouble and does good things, is shown sailing the sea. The Black Cat tells the Sailor about the abduction of the Puppy. The Sailor decides to rescue the puppy and begins chasing the Pirate; the Pirate eventually attacks the Seaman with a saw-fish which sinks the Sailor's ship. Pirate ties the Seaman and the Puppy together with shackles. The Puppy, however, is able to get both of them free.

Meanwhile, Pirate and the Black Cat are celebrating their victory and hails their spurious friendship. Their celebration is cut short as the Seaman confronts and defeats the pirate. He and the Puppy return to the island as heroes. Now, nobody tries to avoid the Puppy. More importantantly, however, the Puppy now has a real friend with the lesson being that it's not awful to be different than others if one has friends and the rest respect you.

Publications

Since its inception, the tale was published many times by "Melody" on a gramophone records and, later, on a CD. Audiotrack includes not only the film songs, but also the rhymes narrating the plot. Some singles are included into special children audio-collections.

At the end of 1990s, the tale was reborn on a theater stage as a performances loosely based on the film was staged in St. Petersburg Marionette Theater, in Moscow Chamber Music Puppet Theater "on a Peter lines". Also a musical featured in one on of the Krasnoyarsk night clubs.

A computer video-game "Birthday of the Blue Puppy" was released by Fargus.

Ambiguous meaning of the tale

In the early 1990s, Yuri Entin was under constant pressure over his film. This is because the word "goluboy" acquired an additional meaning and became strongly associate itself with homosexual orientation (especially among the teenager audience). The quote "Blue - blue - we don't want to play with you!" and "I'm hurt by evil fate, ah, for what I'm so slate ?" caused a strong gay connotations years later. The movie was made in 1976, however, and Yuri Entin points out that he never thought of such an association when the film was made.

In the original work of Hungarian writer Dula Urban the Puppy was black and in a Soviet tale by Entin Puppy featured in a "non-traditional" color.

Voice cast

* Mikhail Boyarsky as a "Pirate"
* Alisa Frejndlikh as "Blue Puppy"
* Aleksandr Gradsky as a "Sailor"
* Andrei Mironov as a "Black Cat"

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212969/ Blue Puppy] at IMDB
* [http://www.animator.ru/db/?ver=eng&p=show_film&fid=2707 Blue Puppy] at Animator.ru