Yevgeniy Migunov
Yevgeny Migunov | |
---|---|
USSR | |
Died | 1 January 2004 Moscow, Russia | (aged 82)
Occupation(s) | Animator, artist |
Yevgeny Tikhonovich Migunov (Russian: Евгений Тихонович Мигунов; February 27, 1921 — January 1, 2004) was a Russian artist, cartoonist, book illustrator, animation and art director, screenwriter, inventor, educator and memoirist. He is regarded as one of the leading innovators during the Khrushchev Thaw who contributed significantly to both traditional and stop motion animation.[1]
Early years
Yevgeny and his sister Nina were born in Moscow into a family of Tikhon Grigorievich Migunov, a low-ranking official in one of the ministries, and Maria Konstantinovna Migunova. Yevgeny was diagnosed with cerebral palsy of his left leg and remained lame throughout his life, hiding it and compensating by various activities. His mother blamed obstetrician for hitting the nerve. Following her sudden death in 1928 Tikhon Migunov married her sister, Zinaida.[2][3][4]
In 1928 Migunov graduated from the P. N. Lepeshinsky Experimental School-
With the start of the
Animation
After the war
On September 1943 VGIK returned to Moscow. Same year Migunov and his classmates joined Soyuzmultfilm and finished their first cartoon — Stolen Sun (considered lost today). In 1945 Migunov and Sazonov worked as art directors on the first traditionally animated Soviet feature The Lost Letter by the Brumberg sisters. In 1946 they helped Mstislav Paschenko to restore The Song of Happiness short from scratch.[5] It became the first Soyuzmultfilm work to receive an international award (a bronze medal for the best animated film and a special award "For Humaneness" at the 8th Venice International Film Festival).[9]
Migunov also developed educational and methodological programme for animation courses under Soyuzmultfilm and taught character design. The 1948 release of the short comedy film Champion with art direction by Migunov was the first ever cartoon where
In 1951 the short When New Year Trees Light Up directed by Paschenko, with art direction by Migunov, was chosen as the best children's movie at the 7th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (it competed against feature motion pictures).[1][11] Following years Migunov turned into one of the leading innovators at Soyuzmultfilm.
Khrushchev Thaw
In 1953 a puppet division was relaunched at Soyuzmultfilm. Next year Migunov made his directorial debut with the first post-war stop motion animated film Karandash and Klyaksa — Merry Hunters inspired by the popular Russian clown Karandash and his dog. He basically reinvented the whole production process by designing a device for shooting in statics, with a horizontally moving camera and attachable ball-jointed dolls. He also suggested to use latex for puppet faces. Together with the mechanic Semyon Etlis they organized technical base, constructed and patented all devices which have been used by directors ever since.[10][12] Migunov also wrote the screenplay and did the singing part since Mikhail Rumyantsev (Karandash) claimed he had no ear for music. The film turned very successful, and a sequel was in plans when Rumyantsev suddenly filled a complain letter, claiming he wasn't attached to do the voiceover. Migunov then left puppet animation.[12]
In 1957 he directed a traditionally animated short Familiar Pictures based on the sketches by a stand-up comedian Arkady Raikin who also made an appearance. It became the first radical shift from "realistic" animation towards magazine caricatures due to Raikin's satire which didn't fit the art direction of that time. It wasn't long until other animators followed the example, developing their own distinctive styles.[10]
Among Migunov's unreleased projects was the first Soviet satirical animated anthology series Dyatel (Woodpecker) where he implemented cutout animation, split screen and other experimental techniques; it later served as a bases for Fitil and Happy Merry-Go-Round. The screenplay for World! World! World!!! was approved in 1959, but also didn't air. According to the film historian Georgy Borodin, it was a principally new approach to auteur animation tried only years later.[4][13]
By 1960 his relationship with the studio management escalated. His last project based on two poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky led to a scandal: it was presented as a storyboard with the director's screenplay written in the margins which was against the rules. Migunov lost his temper and was immediately fired from Soyuzmultfilm.[10]
Illustrator
After Migunov left animation, he focused on art and illustrations. He produced filmstrips for the Diafilm studio, drew cartoons and caricatures for the Krokodil satirical magazine, as well as children's magazines Murzilka, Merry Pictures (ru), Pioneer and newspapers such as Vechernyaya Moskva, Pravda and Literaturnaya Gazeta.[4][14]
He also spent many years working at the
Yevgeny was also among the designers of Misha, the Russian Bear mascot of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. After Victor Chizhikov finished the main sketch, Migunov prepared 21 series of images for artists, designers and advertisers. They utilized many different artistic techniques and featured Misha greeting guests, holding the Olympic torch and taking part in various sport disciplines.[17]
Last years and death
Since 1997 Migunov had been working on Kir Bulychov's collection of works. He prepared hundreds of illustrations and sketches, yet the project resulted in two thin books, and many drawings were left unpublished. In 1999 he survived a stroke and lost ability to draw, but remained in control of the coloring process.[4] He also left many notebooks with memoirs about his youth, the people he had encountered, theoretical notes and essays on art and animation.[18] He called them his "major life accomplishment" and expressed hope that they wouldn't be lost. To this day they've been only partly published by several film-related magazines and blogs.[13][15]
Yevgeny Migunov died on 1 January 2004 and was buried at the Miusskoe Cemetery in Moscow.[19] He was survived by his wife Nina Romanovna Karavaeva (married since 1945), also an animator at Soyuzmultfilm who left the studio along with him, and her daughter from the first marriage Elena Nikolaevna Zarubina.[12][20]
Filmography
- Actress (1942) - opening sequence (uncredited)[8]
- Stolen Sun (1943) – art director
- The Lost Letter (1945) – art director
- Winter Tale (1945) – art director
- The Song of Happiness (1946) – art director
- Merry Garden (1947) – art director
- Quartet (1947) - art director
- Champion (1948) - art director
- An Elephant and an Ant (1948) – art director
- Polkan and Shavka (1949) – art director
- Mister Wolk (1949) – consultant (uncredited)[15]
- When New Year Trees Light Up (1950)
- A Grandpa and a Grandsonny (1950) - art director
- Who's First? (1950) - art director
- Forest Adventurers (1951) - art director
- Magic Shop (1953) - art director
- Karandash and Klyaksa — Merry Hunters (1954) – director, art director, screenwriter, voice
- A Pipe and a Bear (1955) - art director
- What Kind of Bird Is This? (1955) - director, art director, songwriter
- Familiar Pictures (1957) - director, art director
- To the 6th World Festival (1957) – director, art director, screenwriter
- A Song About Friendship (1957) – art director
- Poem of the Sea (1958) – director, art director (animated sequences)
- Exactly at Three Fifteen... (1959) – director, art director, screenwriter
- Oversalted (1959) – screenwriter
- World! World! World!!! (1959) – screenwriter (unfinished)
- S. Marshak (1960) – director (animated sequences)
See also
References
- ^ a b c Sergei Kapkov (2006). Encyclopedia of Domestic Animation, pp. 434-436
- ^ a b Yevgeny Migunov, Georgy Borodin. 1941: Volunteer Corps Odyssey memoirs at the Krokodil community published in the Kinograph magazine №18, May 2007 (in Russian)
- ^ ISSN 0235-8212(in Russian)
- ^ a b c d e f Andrei Scherbakov-Zhukov. Migunov who was capable of everything article from Novaya Gazeta, 3 March 2011 (in Russian)
- ^ a b c Ivan Ivanov-Vano (1980). Frame by Frame. — Moscow: Iskusstvo, pp. 113-134
- VGIKwebsite
- ^ Migunov Yevgeny Tikhonovich at the People's Deed database (in Russian)
- ^ ISSN 0235-8212(in Russian)
- ISBN 978-5-458-30516-7
- ^ a b c d The Stars of Russian Animation. Film 4. Eugene Migunov by Irina Margolina and Eduard Nazarov, 2012 (in Russian)
- ISBN 5-91105-007-2
- ^ ISSN 0235-8212(in Russian)
- ^ a b Georgy Borodin. Yevgeny Tikhonovich Migunov. 1921-2004 article at Animator.ru (in Russian)
- ^ Diafilms by Yevgeny Migunov at the National Children's Digital Library (in Russian)
- ^ ISSN 0235-8212(in Russian)
- ^ D. Andreev. Interview with Yevgeny Migunov from the Volga Region Railwayman newspaper, 20 December 1989, p. 4 at the History of Fandom website (in Russian)
- ^ Georgy Borodin. Olympics at animascreen: Mishas of Yevgeny Migunov article at Animalife.ru, 13 February 2014 (in Russian)
- ^ Georgy Borodin, Andrei Scherbakov-Zhukov. Notes by "perjurer" article from Novaya Gazeta, 3 March 2011 (in Russian)
- ^ Evgeniy Migunov's tomb
- ^ Obituary at Animator.ru, 23 October 2005 (in Russian)