Staff Articles 

Where Japanese and Soviet Animation Meet: How Снежная Королева Influenced Studio Ghibli Films

Sammy Jennings

Growing up, nothing made me happier than going to the movies to see the newest Disney animation film. I remember one day when I was around seven years old, I went to the theater and saw a new kind of animated film. I knew it wasn’t Disney; this style seemed to be very different from the style I was used to, and I was sure I hadn’t ever seen anything like it. The movie was called Ponyo. The story is about a young boy in Japan, named Sōsuke, who catches a magical fish named Ponyo, who falls in love with him and turns herself into a little girl to stay with him. Ponyo’s father, king of the sea, misses her and floods the city in order to get her to come back. Sōsuke and Ponyo embark on an adventure to find his mother and save the city from Ponyo’s angry father and to keep Ponyo from turning back into a fish.

The unique storyline, foreign sounding names, and vibrant visuals created a completely new experience for me. Like many American children, I was always excited to watch more films produced by Studio Ghibli in Japan, and I still watch them as an adult. There’s nothing quite like an animated film from Studio Ghibli to remind me of this nostalgia.  

Imagine my shock when I found out that some of my favorite animated films would have never existed if it weren’t for Soviet animation. This is because the man behind Studio Ghibli’s vivacious storytelling almost quit animation early in his career. This man is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki credits his successful animation career to one Soviet-era film by Lev Atamanov, called, Снежная Королева, translated as The Snow Queen (1957). After seeing it at his first animation company, he wrote, “Had I not one day seen The Snow Queen during a film screening hosted by the company labor union, I honestly doubt that I would have continued working as an animator.” Miyazaki called the film his destiny, going on to become one of the most influential animators in Japan and the world.

What makes both the Soviet animation and Studio Ghibli style so special is the ability to convey mature themes through a child’s lens. One of these themes is existentialism, which may seem too heavy to American watchers, especially since we’re used to Disney’s lighter themes. Other examples of Soviet animation which portray existentialism are Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) and The Tree and the Cat (1983). Two other popular Studio Ghibli films by Miyazaki are My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Spirited Away (2001). All of which discuss feelings of loneliness, grief, love, feeling lost, and the relationship between humans and nature. However, these concepts are not glamorized or sugarcoated in any of these animated films. In an interview, Miyazaki described his style and his talent of portraying reality through a truthful yet whimsical lens. He said, “Anime may depict fictional worlds, but I nonetheless believe that at its core it must have a certain realism.” 

There are many concepts and characters throughout Miyazaki’s movies that could have been drawn from The Snow Queen. For example, the protagonist in this film is portrayed by a young girl named Gerda, who is courageous, kind, and determined in her quest to save her friend from the evil Snow Queen. Many of Miyazaki’s films have been known to feature a young girl with the same characteristics. Miyazaki even credited the scene where Gerda speaks to the river and employs it to help her. The connection to the natural world and the soul-searching quest that Gerda embarks upon can be shown in almost every Studio Ghibli film directed by Miyazaki.

Although these animated films are intended for children as the primary viewers, both The Snow Queen and Ponyo exhibit mystical and unearthly characteristics. The mix of nostalgia, curiosity, and gentleness portrays a unique sense of realism in a way that American animation isn’t usually able to attain. It feels more authentic, spiritual even; perhaps this is why late Soviet animation and Miyazaki’s films have captured so many children and adults throughout the world.

Sources:

Natalya Abramova. Классик по имени Лёля в стране Мультипликации. Pg. 18-19. https://www.labirint.ru/books/336143/

Hao. “Inspirational World Building: Creativity & Life Lessons from Hayao Miyazaki.” Balance The Grind, July 2, 2020. https://balancethegrind.co/lessons-learnt/creativity-life-lessons-from-hayao-miyazaki/.

“Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki Reveals His Inspiration,” June 9, 2022. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/studio-ghibli-hayao-miyazaki-inspiration/.

“The Soviet Cartoon That Saved Hayao Miyazaki’s Career.” Substack newsletter. Animation Obsessive (blog), August 2, 2021. https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/hayao-miyazakis-favorite-film.

Translation of Marina Tsvetaeva’s «В Париже»

William Walton

At the end of the fall semester, after finishing Professor Gorbunova-Ford’s Intro to Russian Literature course, each student received a Russian novel or compilation of poetry. In my case, I received a book of Marina Tsvetaeva’s works, which I enjoy flipping through and using to practice my literary comprehension. The other day, I opened a random page and read Tsvetaeva’s 1909 poem «В Париже» and was struck by the poem’s beautiful imagery of Belle Epoque France—a window into an optimistic time overshadowed in history by the ensuing tragedy of the First World War. I hope to share this compelling image that personally moved me with others familiar and unfamiliar with Tsvetaeva’s work.

«В Париже»

Дома до звезд, а небо ниже,
Земля в чаду ему близка.
В большом и радостном Париже
Все та же тайная тоска.

Шумны вечерние бульвары,
Последний луч зари угас.
Везде, везде всё пары, пары,
Дрожанье губ и дерзость глаз.

Я здесь одна. К стволу каштана
Прильнуть так сладко голове!
И в сердце плачет стих Ростана
Как там, в покинутой Москве.

Париж в ночи мне чужд и жалок,
Дороже сердцу прежний бред!
Иду домой, там грусть фиалок
И чей-то ласковый портрет.

Там чей-то взор печально-братский.
Там нежный профиль на стене.
Rostand и мученик Рейхштадтский
И Сара — все придут во сне!

В большом и радостном Париже
Мне снятся травы, облака,
И дальше смех, и тени ближе,
И боль как прежде глубока.

“In Paris”

Starlit houses, and sky below,

Earth dazed in the nearness.

The same secret longing though

In Paris, so vast and joyous.

The evening boulevards noisy,

The last ray of light dies,

Couples, paired round me,

Fierce lips, insolent eyes.

I’m alone. It’s sweet to rest

My head on a chestnut tree.

As in far Moscow, my breast

Throbs to Rostand’s poetry.

Paris at night, painful strangeness,

Dear the heart’s ancient folly!

I’m going back to violets, sadness,

A portrait of someone kind to me.

There that gaze, pensive, a brother,

There that mild profile, on the wall.

Rostand, L’Aiglon that martyr,

And Sarah – in dream I find them all!

In Paris, so vast and joyous,

I dream of clouds and grass,

Laughter, shadows, ominous,

And the pain that will not pass.

Citation:

Kline, A. S. (Trans.). (2010). Marina Tsvetaeva. Tsvetaeva, Marina (1892–1941) - Twenty-Four Poems. https://www.poetryintranslatio