Inessa Kovalevskaya facts for kids

Inessa Alekseyevna Kovalevskaya (Russian: Инесса Алексеевна Ковалевская; born 1 March 1933) is a famous animation director from the Soviet Union and Russia. She worked at a well-known studio called Soyuzmultfilm. She is especially known for her musical animated films, like The Bremen Town Musicians. Inessa Kovalevskaya is also a member of ASIFA, which is a group for people who make animated films around the world. In 2002, she was honored as a Merited Art Worker of the Russian Federation for her amazing contributions to art.

Becoming an Animation Director

Inessa Kovalevskaya was born in Moscow. Her father was a very important person, a major general in the army and a historian. He also led big military and social academies.

Because of some difficult times, Inessa faced challenges getting into Moscow State University. But with help from her father's friend, she started studying at another university. She also took art and drama classes. Later, she studied to become a theater director and then a theater historian. She finished her studies in 1958.

After graduating, Inessa worked as an editor for films in Moldova. This meant she would check films before they were shown to make sure they were suitable. In 1961, she was asked to work at Soyuzmultfilm, a famous animation studio. However, she soon left to attend special courses for film directors and screenwriters. In 1964, she officially joined Soyuzmultfilm as an animation director.

Inessa had loved music since she was a child. Her dream was to direct musical films. Her first short film, Automaton (1965), used stop-motion animation. This is where objects are moved slightly between each photo to create movement. But she soon switched to traditional animation, which is drawing each frame. This allowed her to use many different kinds of music in her films. She often worked with a talented team: composer Gennady Gladkov, songwriter Yuri Entin, and actor/singer Oleg Anofriyev. They helped bring her musical ideas to life.

The Famous Bremen Town Musicians

In 1969, Inessa Kovalevskaya created her most famous film, The Bremen Town Musicians. This cartoon was inspired by the classic story by the Brothers Grimm. However, it also had modern elements like rock and roll music and a hippie style, which was quite new and daring for the time in the Soviet Union.

The film's release faced some delays. A record with all the songs was supposed to come out first, but the record company, Melodiya, held it back for nine months. The songwriter, Yuri Entin, even had to pretend to have the director's signature to get the record released! When it finally came out, it was a huge hit, selling 28 million copies across the country. The songs became incredibly popular.

Some people in charge of films were not happy about the film's success, especially how many records were sold. But the film was eventually approved and released. It became a massive success, turning into a cultural sensation. It helped make musicals popular in the Soviet Union and launched the careers of everyone involved.

The government even thought about sending the film to a festival in Berlin. But at the last minute, they changed their minds. Inessa Kovalevskaya later wrote that this was not because of censorship. Instead, another animator used their influence to stop the film from being nominated, so their own work could be chosen. Because of this, The Bremen Town Musicians was not shown at any festivals, and Inessa started having problems at the studio.

When the same team asked her to direct a sequel, she said no. The sequel, On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians, was directed by Vasily Livanov in 1973. Inessa said she didn't like the original idea for the sequel and suggested adding a new character, a private investigator. But she later found out the film was already being made with a different director.

Later Musical Films

Even after The Bremen Town Musicians, Inessa Kovalevskaya kept making musical short films. She focused on creating cartoons for very young children. Films like Katerok (or Little Motorboat) (1970), The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda (1973), How the Lion Cub and the Turtle Sang a Song (1974), At Port (1975), and Chuchello-Meowchello (1982) also became very popular. Their songs were released as records and were often sung by pop artists.

Starting in 1976, she began directing "musical fantasies." These films were based on famous music pieces by Russian classical composers like Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Mikhail Glinka. These educational films, such as Children's Album and Kamarinskaya, were shown on TV to teach children about classical music. In 1993, she adapted music by Edvard Grieg into a film called The Gnomes and the Mountain King.

During the 1990s, Inessa Kovalevskaya played an important role in managing Soyuzmultfilm. She worked hard to protect the studio from people who wanted to harm it.

Besides directing, Kovalevskaya also wrote the stories (screenplays) for many of her cartoons. She wrote for radio shows and published several fairy tale books. She also wrote a book about her experiences making The Bremen Town Musicians. In 2002, she was recognized as a Merited Art Worker of the Russian Federation. In 2015, she received a special award at the Icarus National Animation Award.

Selected Filmography

See also

• History of Russian animation