Hedgehog in the Fog
Hedgehog in the Fog is a 1975 Soviet animated film directed by Yuri Norstein, produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow. The Russian script was written by Sergei Kozlov, who also published a book under the same name. In 2006, Norstein published a book titled Hedgehog in the Fog, listing himself as an author alongside Kozlov.
Plot
sets off for his evening visit to his friend Bear Cub. Every evening the two meet to have tea and count the stars. On this day, Hedgehog is bringing Bear Cub some raspberry jam as a special treat. As Hedgehog heads out, a sinister-looking eagle-owl stalks him.As he walks through the woods, Hedgehog sees a beautiful white horse standing in a fog. As Hedgehog watches, the horse disappears. Curious as to whether the horse would drown in the fog, Hedgehog decides to explore the fog for himself. As he travels into a valley, the fog is soon so thick that Hedgehog loses his way.
Believing he has spotted the white horse, Hedgehog instead discovers a leaf floating down with a snail riding on it. Hedgehog tries to touch the snail, but it mysteriously floats away and disappears. Another shadowy creature is so large and frightening that Hedgehog runs away, only to be startled by a black bat. All the while, the white horse is seen in glimpses. Finally Hedgehog spots the largest shape of all. Setting down his jam, he picks up a stick and pokes the large object to find it is a hollow tree. Suddenly he realizes he has lost his jam and searches frantically for it, only to find himself surrounded by the owl, the bat, and the shadowy elephant. He becomes more and more confused and frightened until a friendly dog emerges from the fog and returns the jam to Hedgehog.
Hedgehog attempts to find a way out of the fog, but falls into a river. He is resigned to let the river take him where it will when a mysterious voice asks what is wrong. The voice's owner takes Hedgehog to shore, where Hedgehog finds himself back in the woods, free of the fog.
Resuming his journey, Hedgehog runs into Bear Cub, who has been searching for his friend. At first Bear Cub scolds Hedgehog for being so late that the tea is cold and the fire has burned down, but eventually Bear Cub admits that he was worried that something had become of Hedgehog and that there would be no one with whom to watch the stars. The two sit by the fire and drink their tea. Bear Cub talks on and on about how glad he is to have found his friend, but Hedgehog stares in silence at the stars, wondering what became of the white horse.
Creators
| Role | Name |
| Director | Yuri Norstein |
| Writer | Sergei Kozlov |
| Art Director | Francheska Yarbusova |
| Animator | Yuri Norstein |
| Camera Operator | Alexandr Zhukovskiy |
| Composer | Mikhail Meyerovich |
| Sound Operator | Boris Filchikov |
| Script Editor | Natalya Abramova |
| Voice Actors | Aleksey Batalov Narrator Maria Vinogradova Hedgehog Vyacheslav Nevinny Bear cub |
| Film Editor | Nadezhda Treshchyova |
Awards
- 1976—Frunze All-Union Film Festival: Hedgehog in the Fog "best animated film"
- 1976—Tehran Children's and Youth Film Festival: Hedgehog in the Fog "best animated film"
- 2003—Tokyo All time animation best 150 in Japan and Worldwide: Hedgehog in the Fog "№1 Animated film of all the time"
Production
Role in Soviet animation
Soviet-era children's animation and literature was faced with the task of producing politically acceptable content. Anthropologist Serguei Oushakine recognizes this atmosphere of indefinite deferment in the animation, stating: "The main thing is the work of imagination, or more precisely, the terror and pleasure with which it is linked. The final scene of pleasure, to which these various phantasmal and/or realistic experiences should indeed have led, is not included in the plot." This is evident through the hedgehog's anxiety and fixation on the horse, even after he succeeds in meeting the bear for tea.Legacy
Hedgehog in the Fog was ranked in a poll at the 2003 Laputa Animation Festival where 140 animators from around the world voted for the best animated films of all time.Since January 2009 the main character from the movie has a statue in the city center of the capital of Ukraine, Kiev.
The film was spoofed in the third episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, "Spies Reminiscent of Us", in 2009.
The opening ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Olympics referenced this work, mentioning it in a list of signature Russian accomplishments and artists, including Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Sputnik.