"Rusalochka" (Русалочка) ("The Mermaid") is a 1968 U.S.S.R. animated short adapting Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Little Mermaid".

Production

A 29-minute production of Soyuzmultfilm, with a screenplay by Alexander Galich and directed by Ivan Aksenchuk, the short film is voiced by Roza Makagonova, Anatoly Papanov, Vladimir Troshin, Lidia Koroleva, Nina Guliaeva, and Julia Youlskaya. The music is Alexander Lokshin. The executive producer is Fedor Ivanov.

Sypnosis

This version follows the Hans Christian Andersen's in which the mermaid falling victim of unriquired love has to kill the prince and as in the japanese anime version can't bring herself to do it thus turning to sea foam, the difference though, is that somehow her spirit is lifted into the air given her the chance to have an inmortal soul.

Film version (1979)

A film of Czech production, directed by Vladimir Bychkov, with Vyctoriya Novikova as the little mermaid and Valentin Nikulin.

Synopsis

In this version, the mermaid does not have to give up her voice to the sea witch, but instead exchange her beautiful long hair for a pair of human legs. In order to return home to her family under the sea, someone has to kill the prince and/or sacrifice himself for her sake in which case she'll appear as only a memory to the prince while everyone else has forgotten she existed.A very eirie version indeed.

References

• Russian Animation in Letter and Figures