«The Bremen Town Musicians, ” „Three from Prostokvashino, ” „Nu, pogodi! , ” „The Hedgehog in the Fog”—cartoons that live in the memories of millions. Behind these memories is Soyuzmultfilm—a studio that today preserves its legacy while searching for young talent among animators. We spoke with the studio’s CEO, Boris Mashkovtsev, about how the industry is changing, why animators need soft skills, and why even the most creative work cannot succeed without marketing.
In your opinion, what was the «golden age» of animation? What is happening with it today, and how do you foresee its evolution in the next 5–15 years?
When people discuss the creative output of Soyuzmultfilm, they usually refer to the «golden collection, ” which comprises films from the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, the studio was staffed by the second generation of directors—artists who had worked as layout artists or animators in the 1930s and 1940s, who by the 1960s had gained directing education and began creating their own masterpieces.
Nevertheless, it strikes me that every generation at Soyuzmultfilm undergoes a renewal, and sooner or later, it reaches its own peak—its own „golden age.“ I want to believe that this peak will come with the current generation, which began forming at the studio in 2017. Perhaps, we simply aren’t noticing it because it has already arrived. After all, the fact that Soyuzmultfilm is once again the leading studio in our country after a quarter-century of relative obscurity—isn’t that a sign of a golden age?
As for evolution, I believe that with changing technologies, we are going to witness not just an evolution, but a small revolution. Animation is an art form that is highly dependent on technology, yet, independent of it, it always remains an art created by people.
We will feel even fiercer competition from amateur content, which becomes increasingly high-quality with each passing generation and captures more of our audience’s time. Therefore, in the coming years, we will see an entirely different form of competitive struggle: professionals will not be the only ones competing for audience attention—the viewers themselves will become producers or co-creators of films.
