Watch Animated Soviet Propaganda – Part 2 – Fascist Barbarians (2007) Documentary Online


Unearthed from Moscow’s legendary Soyuzmultfilm Studios (est. 1935), the 41 films in ANIMATED SOVIET PROPAGANDA span sixty years of Soviet history (1924 – 1984), and have never been available before in the U.S.

The set is divided thematically into four discs, all dealing with different subjects of the Soviet propaganda machine.

PART 2 – FASCIST BARBARIANS

KINO-CIRCUS (1942)
Hitler is caricatured and lampooned in three blackout skits. The Russian stage emcee looks like Charlie Chaplin, but we’re told he’s a caricature of the famous Russian clown Karandash.

FASCIST BOOTS ON OUR HOMELAND (1941)
Horrible, inhuman Nazi invaders are eventually repelled by noble Soviet planes. Standard stuff not that much different than our own wartime cartoons; all that’s lacking is a sense of humor.

THE VULTURES (1941)
More of the same. Nazis are pigs and carrion birds.

FOUR ANTI-HITLER NEWSREELS (POLITICAL SATIRE) (1941)
Quick animated lessons, showing the need to crush the Germans and defeat their treacherous spies. A positive episode lauds cooperation with the English “Tommy” ally. It’s the only time in any of the shows that a country other than the USSR is praised.

TO YOU, MOSCOW (1947)
A color ode to the 800th anniversary of the founding of Moscow, celebrating its defeat of invaders through history and the miracle that it still stands.

THE ADVENTURES OF THE YOUNG PIONEERS (1971)
Young Pioneers are essentially Red Boy Scouts. Three enterprising Russian kids (one is a girl) withstand the Nazi invaders, hoisting a Red Flag over the German headquarters. They’re saved from a firing squad by a noble Soviet tank commander. Character-building “fun” for small kids.

THE PIONEER’S VIOLIN (1971)
Small kids also need a good dose of bittersweet Russian misery, it seems. Beautiful, frightening animation shows the only survivor of a Nazi attack to be a child. Ordered to play his violin, the Young Pioneer refuses, and then decides to play a rebellious tune that infuriates his captors. Strong enough to mark a sensitive child for life.

VASILYOK (1973)
More interesting animation highlights this odd tale of a boy searching for his grandfather, lost in the war. The old man returns, in spirit, in the form of a warship bearing his name. What ordinary grand-dad can compete?

A LESSON NOT LEARNED (1971)
Creative techniques elevate this story of a Nazi war criminal protected by the Allies and encouraged to run for public office in West Germany. The ‘angel’ of Hitler follows him everywhere. Since history bears out parts of this show, it’s more effective than many of the others.

ATTENTION! WOLVES! (1970)
A scary, semi-abstract story of the West encouraging the raising of ‘Wolves’ — feral children representing the threat of Neo-Nazism, come back as strong as ever. Ends with a genuinely frightening montage of war atrocities.

TALE OF A TOY (1984)
An artsy, difficult-to-follow and disturbing blend of animation, newsreel and stop-motion collage work. Images of Spanish and German Fascism destroy the notion of Don Quixote, just for starters.

WE CAN DO IT (1970)
American Generals and Capitalists hatch an evil black bird from a Nazi egg, threatening lovers and children the world over with nuclear doom. But the peace-loving pacifists of the world unite to defeat the monster. Even in “pacifist” propaganda, it’s apparently important to demonize the USA. Oddly, the giant black bird bears some similarities to our old Sci Fi film The Giant Claw.