SOYUZMULTFILM
THE BLUE BIRD After M. Maeterlinck
Written and directed by VASILY LIVANOV
Art director MAX ZHEREBCHEVSKY
Composer GENNADI GLADKOV
Camera Mikhail Druyan, Sound Georgiy Martinyuk Cutter Lidiya Kyaksht
Background art Boris Sadovnikov Dir ass Natalya Kotovshchikova
Assistants: T Fedorova, E Novoselskaya N Nikolayeva, R Bukmayeva N Nayashkova
animators Gennady Sokolsky, Yana Volskaya, Anatoly Abarenov, Youry Kuziurin, Youry Butyrin, Joseph Kuroyan,
Valentin Kushnerev, Natalia Bogomolova, Oleg Safronov, Violetta Kolesnikova, Boris Butakov, Sergei Dezhkin, S. Zhutovskaya, Kirill Malyantovich
artists Anna Atamanova, Stanislav Sokolov, L. Chalaya, Z. Zarb, A. Solovjov, D. Anpilov, Ye. Balabanova, S. Kuznetsov
Actors: L. Akhedzhakova, L. Gnilova, R. Zelyonaya,
V. Kenigson, Yu. Yakovlev
Moscow State Choir and The Children Choir "Sputnik"
State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography Conductor V. Vasilyev
Executive producer Lubov' Butyrina script editor Arcady Snessarev
- Don't beat him!
- Don't beat him! He's just hungry.
- I'll tear his skin off!
Get away, or you'll get a trashing too!
- Take this, please. Is it enough?
- Do you want to have the Blue Bird?
Take it. It's yours. It's my gift to you.
- Remember, my boy.
You're holding a priceless treasure - the Blue Bird.
The Blue Bird can't be bought or sold. It might be only given.
Only given...
- You're not allowed in, understand?
If you want, wait for me here.
- But what did you go there for, mom?
- I've put flowers on their grave.
- I do remember granddad too. He liked to play violin.
And grandma always told me tales. - But I don't remember them at all.
- Mom, why have they died?
- Good night.
- Good night, mommy. - Good night, mom.
- Are you sleeping? - And you?
- I want to tell you a secret. But don't reveal it to anyone!
- Look, mom has forgotten to switch the lamp off!
- Just a moment.
- Oh! It still lights!
- What's that? - I don't know. Let's go and find out.
- Well?... What?...What?
- What, what... Nothing to hear.
- Don't you have the Blue Bird?
- Grandma! Grandad!.. So they're alive!
- Grandma, Granddad! So you actually haven't died?
- What are you saying! Just listen to him. He's using unintelligible expressions.
"Died"! What's that?! Some new word, eh? a new cult thing?
- Granddad... Grandma... - How have you grown up!
And who's that girl? Who's she? Isn't that our granddaughter?
- Yes, it's our granddaughter. When we left her, she was just a baby.
- Ohhh! How she looks like me!
- Well, that's only your imagination. She looks like me.
- Yes? - Yes!
- Bro! Who are you talking to?
- Don't you see them? Granddad and grandma.
- There's nobody there. Only old things, plus it's quit dark.
And granddad with grandma have died many years ago.
- There! You're always doing this!... - Don't be angry at your sister.
She can't see us. Because we only come to life in memories.
And she has no memories of us. She doesn't remember.
- I'll tell everything to mom.
You've promised to show me the Blue Bird, but now you're making fun of me!
There!
- Where,...where's my Blue Bird?
- Tell me, why do you hold the Blue bird in a cage?
- Because it's mine. - Yours?
- Yes. - No, you're wrong!
The Blue Bird belongs to everybody!
To all who are kind, honest and brave.
It must fly over the Earth in freedom!
- But it was a gift to me! And I'm happy with it...
- How can you feel happy on your own, if other people are unhappy?
- But if I'll let it go, I'll become unhappy too.
- Who knows, who knows...
- When you're keeping happiness only for yourself, it's easily lost.
- Do believe us, we did spent a long time living... - Indeed, a long time.
- Hurry down!
- My little friend!
I love, love, love you!
And you I love too! You too!
- Give me back the coin. It's mine, it's my coin.
- Am I satisfied? I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied.
Now I wish to make you happy with my company.
You will be my guests.
- We cannot, we're searching the Blue Bird.
- The Blue Bird? But I'm searching the Blue Bird too.
- Why do you need it?
- You'll learn that now.
- Please.
- What's that?
- It's my War.
The two biggest ones have died,
but now I'm growing a third one, and the generals I've bought
advise me to feed my little one with the Blue Bird.
They promise that the new war will grow incredibly huge then
and will conquer the entire world for me.
The entire world.
But I can't buy that darn Blue Bird anywhere!
- I'm afraid! I want to go home!
- Just a moment. I'll give you sweets, and you'll forget everything.
- But the Blue Bird... - Rubbish, rubbish.
If I already can't obtain it with my money, you will not be able to find it even more.
Don't obstruct me! Otherwise, for your own well being, I'll use violence.
- Don't take it! Don't take anything from this table.
Or you'll never find the Blue Bird. The Blue Bird...
- You're seeking the Blue Bird? There isn't one here.
- We've gotten so hungry! - You got hungry?
Take this. Have some bread.
- How sweet! I have never eaten anything tastier than this bread.
- And me too! - And me!
- Listen! Listen! Listen!
The Night conceived a black deed.
It's her that sent her sidekick, the Cat,
to steal the Blue Bird from you... the blue Bird...
Today before sunrise
Night wants to sell the Blue Bird to the fat Rich man.
If you don't prevent that, the Rich man will throw the Blue Bird into the War's jaws...
...into the War's jaws...
and an irretrievable disaster will happen to the Earth.
Hurry on!...
Hurry on!... Hurry on!...
You'll be assisted by...Fire...
...Water...
...Bread...
They all are ancient helpmates of man
and will serve you faithfully.
Farewell!..
- Hurry on, human!
We all will follow you, because you carry the light.
- Leave me be!
It's my bird! I bought it!
- No! It can't be bought.
It must fly over the Earth in freedom.
The End Subs by Eus, November 2015, free after a translation by Pashka Geraskin