Soviet Animation and the Thaw of the 1960s

Laura Pontieri teaches Russian and Soviet cinema at the University of Toronto.

"[E]xamines film animation during the post-Stalin period of liberalization.April-June 2013"—COMMUNICATION BOOKNOTES Qtly"Given the centrality of the Soviet experience to the history of animation, Soviet Animation . . . is highly recommended to all graduate students and professionals in the field of animation studies . . . Particularly welcome for the readership of this interesting book will surely be the abundant colour illustrations supporting the analyses."—Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television"Scholars and students of Soviet cinema have long lamented the lack of English-language texts on Soviet animation, one of the richest and yet least studied fields of Russian and Soviet culture. Laura Pontieri's small but excellent volume goes a long way to fill this niche. . . [T]his book is an important contribution to the fields of Soviet cinema and Russian and Soviet culture.72.4 October 2013"—Russian Review"Laura Pontieri's book is a welcome addition to the field of animation studies. . . The book's huge strength lies in the readings of the individual films — and that alone is a great achievement."—Slavonic & East European Review

• IntroductionChapter 1. From Propaganda to Children's Films: The Earliest Beginnings and the StalinEra of Soviet AnimationChapter 2. Russian Animation of the Thaw in its Socio-Political and Cultural ContextChapter 3. Case Studies: Early 1960sChapter 4. Russian Animation in the Second Half of the 1960s: Between the Khrushchev's Thaw and the Brezhnev StagnationChapter 5. Conclusion: The Beginning of New TendenciesBibliography/Filmography