Winnie the Putin!
Bizarre Soviet version of AA Milne classic hits British screens after nearly 50 years
HE’S missing the mischievous demeanour, the dots for eyes and the trademark too-small red T-shirt but this, believe it or not, is Winnie the Pooh – Soviet style.
With a rusty hue, large eyes and dark brown face and extremities, he is a very different looking character from the one brought to life by the Walt Disney cartoons.
His name is Vinnie Pukh and he was created by filmmakers under the Communist regime for three animated films made between 1969 and 1972. Now the Russian bear is about to make his debut in Britain, in a special version of the 1969 film with voices provided by a stellar cast that includes Sir Derek Jacobi, David Suchet and Miriam Margolyes.
The Russian films were made after the Walt Disney studio – which had purchased the rights to Pooh from the estate of author AA Milne, who wrote the original Pooh stories – granted the Soviets permission for an adaptation in a rare gesture of Cold War detente.
Disney has given permission for the new film to be shown at a festival of Soviet animated films in London in February next year.
Sir Derek will be the narrator, while Poirot star Suchet plays Ia – or Eeyore – and Miriam Margolyes is Sova, or Owl. The voice recordings began last week and will take months to complete.
Still to be cast are Vinnie Pukh himself – who, like the original, loves ‘hunny’ – and Pyatachok, or Piglet. But neither Christopher Robin nor Tigger exist in the Soviet version, which was made by animator Fyodor Khitruk.
The popularity of Khitruk’s films earned him praise from thenSoviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who awarded him the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, and he was also honoured as an official People’s Artist of the USSR. Hollywood studio Bill Melendez Productions is behind the new version and, after the festival screening next year, they hope to give it a wider showing on the big screen and on British television.
Overseeing the film is animation director Dave Bossert, a veteran of the Disney studio. Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, he said: ‘If you were to take a couple of painters and stand them in front of a tree, each one would interpret the tree differently in their painting. ‘The style of the film is very different to anything we’ve seen. ‘When people watch these they will probably be surprised at how beautiful and innocent they are.’
There’s no Christopher Robin… or Tigger