Once Upon a Dog

Once Upon, a Dog (Once Upon a Time, There Lived a Dog, Russian: "Жил-был пёс" (Zhil-byl Pyos)) is a Soviet animated short film adapted from the Ukrainian folk tale, Sirko.[1][2]

Once Upon a Dog
Zhil-byl Pyos
GenreAnimated cartoon
Directed byEduard Nazarov
Country of originSoviet Union
Original languageRussian
Production
ProducerSoyuzmultfilm
EditorYelena Mikhaylova
Running time11 minutes
Release
Original release1982 (1982)

The cartoon won the first place at the 1983 International Film Festival in Odense and a special prize at the 1983 festival in Annecy.[3]

Plot

The day comes when an old watchdog becomes useless but the masters, being kind, decide not to drive him away. However, they become exasperated when the Dog is indifferent during a burglary. The Dog is kicked out and sprints to the forest, where he is left to fend for himself, alone, homesick and hungry. Too slow and unaccustomed to hunting prey, the Dog despairs and contemplates hanging himself from a tree. Tragedy is averted when he encounters an old wolf whom the Dog used to chase. The Wolf commiserates with the Dog, and the two hatch a plan. The next day, the Wolf stages a kidnapping of the baby belonging to the Dog's former masters. The Dog "rescues" the unharmed child and is welcomed back to the khutor (the farmstead). Winter comes and one evening the Dog hears the howl of the Wolf. The Dog remembers to repay the Wolf's kindness. He helps the Wolf enter the house where there is a wedding in progress and fetches him different kinds of food from the table. Becoming tipsy from the effects of a large meal, alcohol and a warm house, the Wolf starts to howl his "song." The wolf howls and is discovered, but the quick-thinking dog saves him by 'chasing' him from the house. The Wolf thanks the Dog and the aging friends bid farewell.

The story reveals the problem of becoming old and useless. It appeals to everyone's ability for mutual readiness to help, despite past history.

Credits

The cartoon repeatedly features the Ukrainian folk songs "Oy tam na hori" ("Oh, there at the mountain") and "Ta kosyv batko, kosyv ya" ("My father and I were mowing") performed by "Drevo" folk choir from Kriachkivka village of Pyriatyn District, Poltava Region. The Dog was voiced by Georgi Burkov and the Wolf by Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. Animators – Anatoly Abarenov, Natalia Bogomolova, Sergey Dezhkin, operator – Mikhail Druyan, sound producer – Andrey Filchikov.

A steel monument to the Wolf was placed in 2005 in Tomsk and a copy was made in 2007 in Angarsk.[4] The monument is unofficially called "Monument to Happiness".

Notes
  1. "Keyframeonline.com". Archived from the original on 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
  2. "Sirko : a Ukrainian folk tale, a dual language book in English and Ukrainian | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  3. "Russiancinema.ru". Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  4. About the monument to the Wolf in Angarsk
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