Scarecrow-Scaremeow (Чучело-мяучело, 1982) by Inessa Kovalevskaya

1. Admin 2022-11-21 23:15:25 (edited 2022-11-21 23:33:40)

I've said this in a PM to Тихон, but I'll write it here as well, in case anyone has any ideas:

Though it's clever, I'm not sure that "Scarecrow-Scaremeow" is the best translation of the title (Чучело-мяучело). I don't think the "Scarecrow" bit is really the essential thing - the main thing is that it should be a nasty name you can yell at some cat that you don't like, but which can also be a ridiculous term of endearment (e.g. as at 4:30, when the kids are delighted to find the cat in their basketball swing, they call it the same name). It should sound natural in English, something ANYONE would think up on the spur of the moment to badmouth a cat they don't like (or, as at 4:30, find a bit ridiculous). Preferably something that already exists in English, like "sourpuss" (but without the implication that the cat is a grumpy one).

But I can't think of any alternative right now, myself.

--

As for the cartoon itself, I think it's kind of typical of Kovalevskaya's work - on the plus side, optimistic, happy, with a catchy tune; on the other hand, no depth in either story or characters, with the title character drawn with huge cutesy eyes (the style Tatarskiy wrote quite a few words in disapproval of in his 1986 essay "Making Animation"). I don't really like most of her films, but she was an important "voice" in Soviet animation for a few decades. One of the extreme ends of the spectrum, you might say (if we were to make an analogy to food, Kovalevskaya's films would be the most like candy. The more sugary sort of candy).

I've said this in a PM to Тихон, but I'll write it here as well, in case anyone has any ideas:

Though it's clever, I'm not sure that "Scarecrow-Scaremeow" is the best translation of the title (Чучело-мяучело). I don't think the "Scarecrow" bit is really the essential thing - the main thing is that it should be a nasty name you can yell at some cat that you don't like, but which can also be a ridiculous term of endearment (e.g. as at 4:30, when the kids are delighted to find the cat in their basketball swing, they call it the same name). It should sound natural in English, something ANYONE would think up on the spur of the moment to badmouth a cat they don't like (or, as at 4:30, find a bit ridiculous). Preferably something that already exists in English, like "sourpuss" (but without the implication that the cat is a grumpy one).

But I can't think of any alternative right now, myself.

As for the cartoon itself, I think it's kind of typical of Kovalevskaya's work - on the plus side, optimistic, happy, with a catchy tune; on the other hand, no depth in either story or characters, with the title character drawn with huge cutesy eyes (the style Tatarskiy wrote quite a few words in disapproval of in his 1986 essay "[url=https://niffiwan.livejournal.com/9422.html]Making Animation[/url]"). I don't really like most of her films, but she was an important "voice" in Soviet animation for a few decades. One of the extreme ends of the spectrum, you might say (if we were to make an analogy to food, Kovalevskaya's films would be the most like candy. The more sugary sort of candy).

Year	1982
Director(s)	Kovalevskaya Inessa
Studio(s)	Soyuzmultfilm
Language(s)	Russian
Genre(s)	Musical/Opera
Animation Type(s)	Drawn (cel)
Length	00:09:38
Wordiness	8.93
Animator.ru profile	Ru, En