Laughing with antiquity in Soviet animation

Paulouskaya, Hanna (author)

Satirical and parodic animation – one of the prominent genres in Soviet film production – frequently drew on classical antiquity. Greek and Roman mythology provided not only narrative frameworks but also culturally familiar symbols through which animators could ad­dress social vices, ideological contradictions, and collective anxieties. This paper examines four case studies produced in Georgia, Latvia, Russia, and Ukraine: one from 1936 and three from the late 1960s and 1970s. These films either adapt specific ancient myths or engage more broadly with the idea of ancient civilization, demonstrating the diverse strategies through which classical heritage was appropriated across different Soviet republics. Although antiquity itself is never the object of satire, the comic effect relies on a shared cultural repertoire, including the audience’s general familiarity with mythological themes. By juxtaposing the 1936 production with films from the 1960s and 1970s, the study traces the shifting functions of classical material in Soviet animation and highlights the medium’s capacity to negotiate contem­porary concerns through humorous reworkings of the ancient past.

• Language: English
• Keywords: classical reception studies, Soviet animation, satirical films, Greek and Roman mythology, parody
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 29.12.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 205-231
• Numbering: Letn. 7, št. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180434
• UDC: 821.124+821.14
• ISSN on article: 2670-6210
• DOI: 10.4312/clotho.7.2.205-231
• COBISS.SI-ID: 269489667
• Publication date in RUL: 09.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Clotho
• Publisher: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani, University of Ljubljana Press
• ISSN: 2670-6210
• COBISS.SI-ID: 300877824

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Smejanje z antiko v sovjetski animaciji

Abstract

Satira in parodija v animiranem filmu – ki je bil eden pomembnejših žanrov v sovjetski filmski produkciji – sta pogosto črpali iz klasične antike. Grška in rimska mitologija sta zagotavljali ne le pripovedne okvire, temveč tudi kulturno prepoznavne simbole, s katerimi so animatorji lahko obravnavali družbene slabosti, ideološka protislovja in kolektivne strahove. Članek obravnava štiri primere, posnete v Gruziji, Latviji, Rusiji in Ukrajini: enega iz leta 1936 in tri iz poznih 1960­ih in 1970­ih. Ti filmi bodisi prilagajajo določene antične mite bodisi se posvečajo širši ideji antične civilizacije, pri čemer prikazujejo raznolike strategije odnosa do klasičnega izročila v različnih sovjet­skih republikah. Čeprav antika sama po sebi nikoli ni predmet satire, temelji komični učinek na skupnem kulturnem repertoarju ter na splošni prepoznavnosti mitoloških tem s strani občinstva. S primerjavo produkcije iz leta 1936 s filmi iz 60. in 70. let 20. stoletja razprava sledi spreminjajočim se funkcijam klasičnega izročila v sovjetski animaciji in poudarja zmožnost medija za obravnavo sodobnih vprašanj prek humornih predelav antične preteklosti.

• Keywords: klasična recepcija, sovjetska animacija, satirični filmi, grška in rimska mitologija, parodija