User Reviews

Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Yuriy Norshteyn's 'Seasons' is a delicate stroll through the Russian wilderness at different times of the year. Each season has its own unique beauty to offer us: in autumn, falling deciduous leaves spiral majestically towards the ground; in winter, a bitter snowfall gives way to a settling of millions of intricate, soft, white snowflakes; in spring, an outburst of fresh growth provides the landscape with a flourish of colour.

This wordless nine-minute stop-motion animated short was written precisely for Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's well-known work, 'The Seasons' (more specifically, I do believe, his piece entitled 'October: Autumn Song'), and the music certainly complements the images, calming us with its soft and delicate tones. The animation itself is intricately crafted, and it is so surprise to discover that co-director Yuriy Norshteyn would go on to direct what I consider to be the single most stunning piece of animation of all time, 'Skazka skazok / Tale of Tales (1979).'

The backgrounds and landscapes are decidedly breathtaking; though the two white horses and their human counterparts (our main protagonists) are not entirely convincing at times, I thought that this added a certain classical charm to the overall tone of the film.

"Seasons" is one of the most beautiful and captivating animated shorts ever made. In only 9 minutes, Ivan Ivanov Vano and Yuriy Norshteyn (Director of great animated short films like "Hedgehog in the Fog" and "Tale of Tales") are able to shows us one of the most enchanting and wonderful worlds ever seen in the world of cinema.

Just like "Fantasia", here Ivanov-Vano and Norshteyn are able to turn classic music into animation. And the result is flawless, having a dream-like beauty without comparison. Every single frame of this short is a work of art, having the same level of perfection of Tchaikovsky's music used here. But personally, I don't think that somebody have to like classic music in order to see the greatness of this little masterpiece.

I highly recommend "Seasons" to anyone.

10/10 (I would give it 11 stars if I could)

Soyuzmultfilm's vast output has given me great pleasure for nearly a decade now and it is a shame that a lot of their output is much worthier of more credit than it has at the moment. It is rare to find a studio where what has been seen of theirs, which is a vast majority in my case, has never been average or less. With their best work being as close to perfect as Russian animation gets. That's refreshing when one sees at least one misfire with most studios and some studios that don't even have a single good effort and their best being average at best.

1969's 'Seasons' is in the top half of Soyuzmultfilm's work, and of the work of director Ivan Ivanov-Vano (really like to love what has been seen, which is a vast majority, of his work), yet sadly among their most under-valued it seems. It is gorgeously animated, very delicate and very charming and anything that contains the music of one of Russian's greatest composers (my personal favourite actually) Tchaikovsky immediately has me sold.

One of 'Seasons' biggest assets is the animation, which is nothing short of stunning. Loved the varied and richly textured colours, the complex attention to detail in the backgrounds, the depiction of the beauty of Russian nature (some of the most beautiful) and how it fitted so well with the characters' psychology. When it comes to visuals and music, it is difficult to better Russian animation and cinema's depiction of winter especially. Tchaikovsky's music is sublime on its own and fits perfectly for all four segments, especially spring and winter with the former being suitably quaint and lushly orchestrated and the latter having much mystery and pathos.

There are a wide ranging mix of emotions in 'Seasons', joy in summer and loneliness in autumn being most striking. Found myself very touched and charmed throughout. The story may basically be four segments tied together, but it captures the psychology of the young couple so well, has a lot of emotion and has a sense of going on a plausible and relatable journey in characterisation (which matures more and more as the story progresses) and emotion. Matched perfectly by the visuals and music.

A wonderful job too is done celebrating the seasons, summer is just so joyful, in a way that is so distinctively Russian (meant in a very good way) and Russian nature is so movingly and affectionately depicted with much charm, poignancy and nostalgia. Going from charmed in spring to being an emotional wreck by the time winter comes. The young couple are easy to relate to from the get go, especially if there is anybody who has been there (haven't been myself but have seen it happen with most of my family), and their relationship and actions resonate. That it's wordless works in its favour, showing the beauty of telling such a lot without having to say anything which is something that impresses me all the time and actually wish was done more.

In conclusion, truly beautiful. 10/10