Have always been fond of the 1001 Arabian Night tales, with Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sinbad being the best known characters of the collection(s) and their stories the most adapted (variably and generally to be taken on their own terms rather than as straight up adaptations). Also, and that fact is most likely very well known by now, love Russian/Soviet animation and consider Soyuzmultfilm to be the quintessential studio for it, their body of work consistently good and more.
1959's 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' is an interesting version of the Ali Baba story, and, while Soyuzmultfilm did far better before and since and it is not flawless by any stretch, it is not a bad version at all. Quite the opposite, the impressive elements are a good many and the changes 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' has compared to the original story are not really a hindrance. Actually think that changes were inevitable. Soyuzmultfilm don't come off too badly too.
Inexperience does show in the visuals for the characters, their lack of expressions was almost creepy in places and they do look a little crude, especially the rather restricted face movements. The pace/momentum is not always there, the slower moments feeling on the creaky side in particularly the early portions.
Some of the writing was a bit stilted.
Yet somehow, 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' did have a charm to it. Despite how my problems with it made it sound like it was bad. While the characters lacked refinement, the sophistication was there in the beautifully detailed and quite vivid backgrounds. Eduard Kolmanovsky's music score is the very meaning of lush and the voice acting is dynamic without being too theatrical.
Despite the pacing being flawed in places, the story captures the general spirit of the original tale and of the Arabian Nights in general beautifully and does generally charm and entertain. The ending here is different and significantly less grim, but to be honest the latter parts of the story are somewhat too grim for animation at this point. Managing to do so without feeling tacked on or too pat, or at least too much. Of the characters the most interesting character is actually not Ali Baba himself or the Captain of the Forty Thieves, but actually the slave girl who is also this time the hero/heroine of the story.
Altogether, a little disappointing but with a good deal to be impressed by. 7/10
