All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov (VGIK)
N.G. Patsis "Multimedia Director Masterclass" Pedagogue - O.S. Gornostayeva
Graduation film by Yelizaveta Manohina
The Adsent-Minded Wizard (based on a story by Evgeny Schwartz)
Once upon a time there lived a scientist,
a real good wizard named Ivan Ivanovich Sidorov.
And he was such a great engineer
that he could quickly and easily build machines
as big as palaces
and as small as hand watches.
His machines could sweep floors
and chase away flies,
and grind coffee beans, and play dominoes.
His favorite machine was the size of a cat
but it followed its master like a dog
and was as smart as a man.
Though Ivan Ivanovich was a very good person,
he was very absent-minded.
Sometimes he would go out wearing two hats at once,
or even forget that he had a meeting that evening.
At times like these the machine would help him a lot.
One day Ivan Ivanovich went for a walk in the woods
The smart machine was running behind him,
ringing in its bell and having fun.
Suddenly they heard hooves pounding
and wheels creaking.
And they saw a little boy riding towards them
bringing grain to the mill.
The wondrous machine started growling;
it had never seen a horse before.
The boy stopped the cart
and started asking questions:
"What is this machine? How is it made?"
and so Ivan Ivanovich explained.
The boy was amazed
"You are just like a real wizard."
"Something like that," said Ivan Ivanovich.
"Can you turn my horse into a cat?"
"Why not? This," he said, "is a magic glass!
"One, two, three."
And suddenly instead of the horse
the boy saw a harnessed cat.
The machine screamed out:
"You forgot that your magic returning glass is being repaired!"
And the boy started crying:
"How will you turn my cat back into a horse now?"
Ivan Ivanovich said: "Don't cry,
it's still your horse only in a form of a cat.
In a month I'll return it to normal."
When they returned to the village of Murino,
everybody big and small came to see the wondrous cat.
The cat was brought home.
And it started living just like a normal cat
Drinking milk, chasing mice and sleeping on the stove.
And in the morning they would harness it
and the cat would work like a horse.
The wondrous machine often visited the cat
and taught it how to "meow".
The machine said that it does not do for a cat to talk like a horse.
And so a month passed.
Then one night, Ivan Ivanovich got his magic glass.
That day the horse became a horse again.
In the night it would easily climb the roof
just like a cat and wander up there till dawn.
And the wondrous machine would
still visit to tell the horse about its life
and the horse would tell the machine about its own.
And they understood each other
like the very best friends.
The End
directors Yelizaveta & Polina Manohina
screenwriters Vladimir Ogorodnikov, Yelizaveta & Polina Manohina
painters Larisa Fedotyeva, Yelizaveta & Polina Manohina, Mariya Kulagina
animators Yelizaveta & Polina Manohina
production director (manager) Marina Golovina
sound Dmitriy Suvorov
narrator Yuriy Vasilyev
The film uses the music of Paul Lawler - Magic Spells
(c) VGIK, 2011 subs - ?, rev. by Niffiwan 2025.10