Absolutely love Soyuzmultfilm's output, their work is often so fascinating and so beautiful in animation, music and atmosphere. Their storytelling when especially adapting fairy tales and folk tales does so well taking me to another world. Which is evident in for example the work of Lev Atamanov, responsible for the likes of two of Soyuzmultfilm's masterpieces 'The Snow Queen' and 'The Scarlet Flower'. So hopes were high for 'The Yellow Stork'.
Those high hopes were very much met, if not completely exceeded. While it is not quite one of Soyuzmultfilm's best efforts, it has more than enough to show why they delivered such high quality near consistently. It also has more than enough to show how great Atamanov was as a director and it is to me one of his better works in one of his most consistent periods. Simply put, it is a beautiful animation, very charming, inspiring and in a way brave.
Other Soyuzmultfilm animations move me more and have the extra something, but really there is nothing obviously wrong with 'The Yellow Stork'.
It is beautifully animated first and foremost. Especially the landscapes and the backgrounds, which are nothing short of incredible. The fluid, expressive movements for the characters also impress, as do the quite stunning but suitably subtle use of colour. The music never comes over as bombastic or too constant, instead it is used with restraint and elegance with inspired flute writing, lush orchestration in a way that's distinctively Russian and this is meant in a good way, while also having energy and edge. Being a huge fan of Russian music and with music being a big part of my everyday life, for a celebration of music as intended 'The Yellow Stork' is quite a triumph.
Furthermore, 'The Yellow Stork' also works beautifully as a celebration of freedom, apparent in the stork's predicament. Something that is/was relatable to anybody in the past, present and future. Considering the time and what was going on then, it was quite brave of Soyuzmultfilm and Atamanov to do something that did not support oppression (which there was plenty of at that time in Russia). Yet it does so without being too overt and do a story that is slight but rich in charm and is easy to be inspired by. The characters engaged and didn't come over as stereotypes, the stork was very rootable.
Concluding, just great. 9/10.
