Review - The Humpbacked Horse

I have to admit that when I first saw the link and thumbnail to The Humpbacked Horse, I was expecting a really corny Russian cartoon. Wow, was I ever wrong. It was a little strange to see the subtitles in English rhyme, but that aside, it actually was a really beautiful piece. I was unaware just how popular of a tale this was. Looking up an image for this review, I found all sorts of artwork from fanart to statuettes, paintings, and even a ballet! Currently, this one is one of my favorite Russian movies.

The story is about a boy named Ivan (yeah, popular name). He’s considered the young and foolish brother in a family of three. Ivan and his brothers go to the fields and find that something has trampled the corn, so Ivan is told to keep watch. He finds a magical horse. The mare gives him a gift of two stallions, with which he could do as he pleased, and a small, long-eared, humpbacked horse that he must never part with.

Basically, a series of events play out like a domino effect, taking Ivan from a peasant farmer all the way up to a servant of the Tsar. The Tsar’s advisor (I suppose) is very jealous of Ivan and wants to see him destroyed. It’s pretty hardcore, since he wants the kid DEAD. Seriously, this story is just messed up. Not only is the advisor constantly setting Ivan up for failure, but the Tsar himself is overbearing and just scary. He looks like a sweet old Santa, but with the sweetest voice, he’s threatening to impale the kid and rip his skin off his bones and yank him to pieces if he does not deliver on the lies the advisor has told of him. Luckily, Ivan still has his magical humpbacked horse to take him on these outlandish and magical adventures. He’s able to protect Ivan and guide him in completing task after task after task issued to him relentlessly by the Tsar.

I’m not going to give away the big climax, but I will say that it plays out as a very solid story. The movie also has some singing, but not an annoying amount. Ivan sings most of the interludes, and I have to admit that he has a very sweet voice that brought about some nostalgia. It was a satisfying piece to watch and enjoy and this would be something I would hunt down for my own video library. It reminded me a lot of something like The Last Unicorn with it’s smooth, old school animation (of course, it was released in the 1970’s, so obviously, it’s old school), and seamless storytelling. I’m not sure what it was I was expecting from this film, but it certainly wasn’t what I got. It was worth the watch for the story and for all the colorful décor of the film, with designs and color schemes from a different culture entirely.

If you get a chance to watch this one, definitely do so. It’s interesting enough for the young audience and has a special something about it that can appeal to the nostalgia of an older audience. I felt younger watching it. Definitely, check it out.