Top 10 BEST Soviet movies for kids

1. ‘Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors’ (1963)

In this fairy tale, a disobedient girl named Olya steps through a mirror in her parent’s apartment and finds herself in a fairy tale world, where she meets her alter ego – Yalo (which, in Russian, is an anagram of Olya). In this world, all the names are palindromes or anagrams: The king is called Yagupop (reverse of Popugay - ‘parrot’), and his chief ministers are Abazh (an anagram of zhaba – ‘toad’) and nushrok (anagram of korshun – ‘vulture’). Olya and Yalo encounter evil and come up against various obstacles when they try to rescue a boy named Gurd (reverse of droog - ‘friend’) from being executed.

When she returns home safely, Olya tells her grandmother that she has looked at herself as others see her and will behave well from now on.

You can watch it here.

2. ‘Welcome, or No Trespassing’ (1964)

In a Young Pioneer summer camp, strict administrator Dynin follows the rules (even the absurd ones) to the letter and expels Young Pioneer Kostya for a minor misdemeanor. But, the boy doesn't leave the camp and, instead, secretly lives under a stage platform, where his friends come to visit him. At the same time, the entire camp is getting ready for a concert on the occasion of Parents' Day…

Elem Klimov's comedy faced considerable censorship, owing to its excessive satire (the film even made fun of corn, the cultivation of which was particularly favored by Nikita Khrushchev). But, Khrushchev himself really liked the movie and it was his personal decision to allow the film to go on general release. Today, it is one of the most popular movies among those who grew up in the USSR and is probably one of the funniest comedies about Young Pioneer camps.

You can watch it here.

3. ‘Morozko’ (‘Jack Frost’) (1965)

The movie, adapted from a folk tale about ‘Morozko’ (‘Father Frost’), is somewhat reminiscent of the Cinderella story. A wicked stepmother doesn't like Nastenka, her husband's modest and beautiful daughter from his first marriage. At the same time, she indulges the whims of Marfushka, her own spoiled daughter, whom she wants to marry off to the handsome Ivan, who, however, has taken a liking to Nastenka.

The stepmother orders her husband to take Nastenka to the woods in winter and leave her there to freeze to death. But, the girl is rescued by Morozko, who, while prowling in the forest, asks the modest Nastenka, who is dying of cold: "Are you warm, young girl?” and is surprised to receive the reply that she, in fact, is.

In 1965, the film won the Grand Prize at the Venice International Film Festival in the children's and youth films program and, subsequently, it was awarded an All-Union Film Festival prize back home.

You can watch it here.

4. ‘Ma-ma’ (Rock'n'Roll Wolf), 1976

This musical was loosely based on a fairytale about a wolf and seven young goats. While the mother goat is out, the wolf kidnaps her kids and demands a ransom. Stars of Soviet cinema Lyudmila Gurchenko and Mikhail Boyarsky play the main roles.

In 1977, the movie, which was a Soviet-French-Romanian co-production, won the Silver Cup special jury prize at the Children's Film Festival in Venice.

You can watch it here.

5. ‘The Adventures of Buratino’, 1976

This two-part cult musical was adapted from Aleksey Tolstoy's story 'The Golden Key or the Adventures of Buratino', which was, in turn, a loose retelling of Carlo Collodi's 'The Adventures of Pinocchio'. It has to be said that, unlike his Italian “cousin”, Buratino's nose doesn't grow longer when he lies.

A whole constellation of famous actors played in the film – from Vladimir Basov and Rolan Bykov to Rina Zelyonaya. The music for the film was, meanwhile, written by celebrated cinema composer Alexey Rybnikov.

You can watch it here.

6. ‘The Adventures of the Elektronic’, 1979

In the USSR, Professor Gromov invents a robot with artificial intelligence called ‘Elektronic’. It looks like an ordinary boy and goes to school, where it demonstrates remarkable knowledge and a fast learning ability. Elektronic even starts to have feelings and makes friends with the other children, but is kidnapped by a gang of criminals who want to use him for their villainous ends.

The three-part musical film achieved cult status and the songs from it became incredibly popular. One of the most famous was 'Winged swing' with lyrics by Yuri Entin and music by composer Yevgeny Krylatov.

You can watch it here.

7. ‘The Story of Voyages’, 1982

In a made-up princedom, there lived a boy named May, who possessed the magical ability to find gold. But, every time he used it, he would get a headache, so, his sister Marta forbade him to do it and they lived as paupers. One day, a robber named Gorgon kidnaps the boy, in order to exploit his superpowers, so the brave sister sets out in search of her brother. However, she only manages to find him after 10 years of searching.  

Alexander Mitta's film, shot jointly with Czechoslovakia and Romania, combines elements of fantasy and fairytale, but with a serious philosophical subtext. For this reason, it is frequently classed as a film for adults.

You can watch it here.

8. ‘Adventures of Petrov & Vasechkin, Usual & Incredible’, 1983

Two friends who are in the Young Pioneers – the bold Petya Vasechkin and timid Vasya Petrov – are both in love with their classmate Masha Startseva. Each of them tries to demonstrate his talents to her and to assert himself (not infrequently at the expense of the other).

'Petrov and Vasechkin' became one of the favorite films of all Soviet Young Pioneers. The two-part comedy is full of music and songs and also theatrical productions, in which the children take part. There was a sequel to the film – 'Vacation of Petrov and Vasechkin, Usual and Incredible' – which came out in 1984.

You can watch it here.

9. ‘Mary Poppins, Goodbye’, 1983

The musical that made the works of British author Pamela Travers about the unusual nanny Mary Poppins famous throughout the USSR. She is firm, but fair, can talk to birds and is brilliant at bringing up children, who regard her with the utmost regard.

The lead part was played by Natalya Andreychenko, for whom the vocals were performed by Tatyana Voronina. The flick gave the USSR several immortal hits, the most famous of which was 'Wind of change'.

You can watch it here.

10. ‘Visitor from the Future’, 1984

Schoolboy Kolya Gerasimov accidentally travels a hundred years forward in time. He walks around the Moscow of the future and meets a pretty girl named Alisa Seleznyova, who happens to be a professor's daughter.

The five-part science fiction series is based on the novella 'One Hundred Years Ahead' by Kir Bulychev. It was first screened in cinemas during the school holidays and was an immediate success with young audiences. The whole country was in love with Alisa Seleznyova and the song 'Beautiful yonder, don't be cruel to me!’ became an all-time hit. 

You can watch it here.

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