SMF Animation

22/02/2022

Here’s to art that comes from the heart🥰 Today we are lifting the veil of mystery to show what’s happening behind closed doors at SMF Animation Studio. SMF family consists of professional renowned animators working in a variety of genres, using stop-motion, puppet, plasticine, clay, and hand-drawn techniques along with 2D and 3D animation🌟

We are proud of our creative and technical excellence that gives us an opportunity not only to preserve rich traditions and tell engaging stories with authentic characters but also remain tech-forward on the latest animation techniques😉

17/01/2022

We are happy to announce that SMF Animation Studio’ International partner Cyber Group Studios has secured a new deal with ABC Australia for broadcasting the Squared Zebra TV-series in Australia.🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

🎶The musical animated series ‘Squared Zebra’ have been produced under our newly-created French and Russian joint label Cyber Soyuz Junior. It tells the story about an unusual inhabitant of the African jungle and her friends, each of whom has a distinct personality. Designed for preschool audiences, the film teaches acceptance of oneself and others through friendship and creativity.

Watch full trailer: https://youtu.be/qQkr_bY45uA

12/01/2022

It is always interesting to find out which cartoons influenced the work of famous directors and animators, inspired and kept them in the profession. Who would have thought that the turning point for Hayao Miyazaki's career was the Soviet cartoon ‘The Snow Queen’❄️ in 1957, directed by Lev Atamanov and produced by SMF Animation Studio.

Hayao’s work as an animator at Tokyo's Toei Doga studio tired him, he became disillusioned with the industry and was going to look for himself in other areas (this is long before the first 🎞‘Laputa: Castle in the Sky’ and the founding of Ghibli). But in 1964 the trade union of the company where he worked then held a screening of the Soviet cartoon ‘The Snow Queen’, which radically changed the ideas of the future great director about animation. Here is what Miyazaki writes about this in his book:

✍🏻«If I hadn't seen ‘The Snow Queen’ back then at an organized screening from the company's union, I honestly doubt I would have continued my work as an animator.»

He became obsessed with this cartoon. When one of his friends taped the sound from the film, Miyazaki borrowed it and listened to it again and again. And in 2007, the Ghibli Museum hung a poster with ‘The Snow Queen’ and the signature from Hayao: "My destiny and my favorite film."

It is ironic, that Miyazaki disliked the Disney cartoons, but the production designer of ‘The Snow Queen’ Leonid Shvartsman, on the contrary, was especially inspired by Disney’s ‘Bambi’🦌. And later Miyazaki found appreatiation for American animation.

Interestingly, if ‘The Snow Queen’ had not melted the heart❤️ of the great animator and director, we would not have met ‘Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea’, ‘Princess Mononoke’ and a huge layer of Japanese animation that brings so many emotions and colors to our everyday life.

31/12/2021

SMF Animation Studio is wishing you all the joy of the season. Have a Happy New Year!🎄

28/12/2021

🚀In 2023 SMF Animation Studio is delivering a post-apocalyptic odyssey ‘The Formula for Water’, featuring a girl on an epic journey to save her kidnapped scientist father who has created a machine that can restore the world’s drinking water reserves.
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🤩The film’s visual style was developed by a team of animators who have worked on ‘Maleficent’, ‘The Lion King’, ‘Gravity', ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’.
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🌐We are looking for co-production, distribution and broadcast partners for this feature film. For more information, please, visit our website - smfanimation.com

26/12/2021

🎞Animated TV-series ‘Coolics’ premiered at MIPCOM 2021.

‘Coolics’ is an 2D adventure-comedy series for 6 to 8 year old children based on the comic book by the Russian publisher Bubble Comics. It is about a team of young cadets in the ‘Space Academy’ whose mission is to search for superpowered creatures on different planets to help protect the universe from the forces of Evil.
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💬“ ‘Coolics’ is a truly innovative project not only for the SMF Animation Studio, but for the entire Russian animation industry. This is the first experience of creating an animated series based on comics. Together with Bubble we were trying to deliver a simple truth, being a superhero does not mean having superpowers at all. It is enough to be able to show kindness, courage and responsiveness, to take care of friends and the world around us. These are the core values of our classic animation films - the continuity of generations is especially symbolic for us in the year of the 85th anniversary of the legendary film studio,” said Yuliana Slashcheva, chairman of the board of directors at SMF Animation Studio.
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🔝We have already produced seven 11-minute episodes and are planning to work on 45 more episodes.
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📺The platforms that have sales rights are Pay TV, S-VOD, A-VOD, Inflight. The TV series is originally in Russian language which is being dubbed in English as well. ‘Coolics’ is currently under production with more than 75 per cent of the project already financed.

Chasing a sentinent asteroid through space, alien hamster and squirrel accidentally give superpower to a cat and a dog from Earth and proceed together to the...

24/12/2021

Wishing you a magical and Merry Christmas from all of us at SMF Animation Studio!🎄✨🎁

20/12/2021

📺'Multilandia' - is an SMF ANIMATION STUDIO TV-channel for kids broadcasting Russian and foreign animated series and feature films, educational and development programs, music for children and their parents.

🤹🏻‍♀️Multilandia TV-shows cheer up and give kids smiles, tell interesting and exciting stories and contribute to their harmonious development.

➡️Learn more: https://multilandia.tv/

16/12/2021

⭐️SMF ANIMATION STUDIO is participating in MAFF DUBAI 2021
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On December 17th, SMF Animation Studio will be screening its short films at Moscow Animation Film Festival held in Dubai. A program consists of the following titles including “The Princess and the Bandit” that has been selected for the Young Audience short films section
at the Annecy International Animation Festival 2021:
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🎞P*k P*k P*k
🎞The Sled
🎞Moroshka
🎞Good Heart
🎞Vivat Musketeers
🎞Two Trams
🎞Splyushka
🎞Warm Star
🎞The Witch and the Baby
🎞The Game
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👉🏻For more information visit - https://maff.moscow

13/12/2021

🎶‘Rockoons’ - a music driven preschool show featuring a charming group of racoons, each of whom personifies one of the musical notes, performing songs in a wide variety of genres - from folk to latin to rock 'n' roll.

Watch full trailer:

Seven playful racoons named after seven musical notes perform different musical gigs using things in unusual ways.Learn more: https://smfanimation.com/rockoons

08/12/2021

🐧‘The Adventures of Lolo the Penguin’ is an animated film originally released as a trilogy in 1986. The film was a co-production between Japan and the Soviet Union.
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🇯🇵In 1973, Takeo Nishiguchi, a producer of children's feature films in Japan, came to Moscow and was deeply impressed by the Soviet animation. In 1980, he offered the USSR State Committee for Cinematography a co-production of a feature film. To launch the project Nishiguchi chose a plot that was universal for both sides - the USSR and Japan. The USSR was represented by ‘Soyuzmultfilm’ and ‘Sovinfilm’ studios as well as Japan has picked ‘Aist Corporation’ and ‘Life Work Corporation’ for this title.
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🤝The artists from the USSR were responsible for animation while Japan has sponsored the project and provided the necessary equipment and technology that were required for the filming.
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📽During production the Japanese side has realized that the USSR techniques varies from their animation process. They have also discovered that the perforation of the Soviet films is significantly different from the foreign one, that’s why the Japanese company Fujifilm, where the cartoon was filmed, had to develop a special negative🎞.
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🗓The whole production of a trilogy took 8 years.

30/11/2021

🇸🇬Each year the Asian TV Forum & Market asiatvforum brings together thousands of attendees, content sellers and buyers from across the world to provide exciting insights, unleash opportunities and forge new partnerships for the Asian markets across an international platform.
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This year we participate in the ATF Online+. The digital extension of ATF will keep you connected to SMF Animation Studio representatives until June 2022.

🗓When:
1-3 December 2021 at the Marina Bay Sands (Singapore)
1 December 2021 - June 2022 (Online)
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🧑‍💻Register for the ATF Online+ at www.asiatvforum.com
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See you all at the ATF Online+