The original story is not one of my favourites admittedly, but it is interesting enough and its message has always been admirable and is still relevant. When it comes to Russian/Soviet animation, it doesn't get much better than Soyuzmultfilm, a studio that quickly became a personal favourite for nearly a decade. Their best work is visually stunning. And have stories that are charming, imaginative and full of atmosphere with some memorable characters and when adapted enhanced by the visuals and often the music as well.
A great job is done with their version of 'The Fisherman and His Wife'. Mikhail Tsekhanovsky was a very good director who was responsible for some fine work. 1950's 'The Tale of the Fisherman and the Goldfish' is a great effort for him with so many outstanding things, but there is a preference for the more charming and more emotional impactful 1954's 'The Frog Princess' (which was also quite dark at times) and especially 1962's 'The Wild Swans' (that story is one of my favourites), the latter of which one of the studio's best in my view and one of my favourite Russian animations overall.
While nearly everything is done brilliantly, the original story has a big trap of making the wife's greed too overdone to the point of her being near-villainous. That was something present here.
However, the fisherman is a lot more likeable and easy to root for. It was easy to feel sorry for him. Like in the original story, the fish is the most interesting character and all the characters are well characterised. The animation is wonderful. It is full of rich colour and atmosphere, sometimes dark. The characters are well designed and there are some lovely intricate details in the backgrounds.
Music is never bombastic or overused, with some intimacy and an unmistakable Russian sound. The writing flows well and the charm is definitely there. The story doesn't feel too thin or padded and is faithful in detail and spirit while including its own touches. It is very easy for messages to be too heavy-handed or muddled, it's neither here and this message is easy to overdo. It's hardly out of date today, and attitudes towards it have both moved on and still the same depending on the person.
In conclusion, great but not one of my favourite Tsekhanovsky or Soyuzmultfilm works. 9/10.
