Kievnauchfilm Artistic Collective for Fictive Animation
THE OLD MAN AND THE ROOSTER (based on a Ukrainian folk tale)
screenwriter Zhanna Vitenzon director Tsezar Orshanskiy
art director Eduard Kirich camera Aleksandr Muhin
sound Viktor Gruzdev animator I. Borodavko
artists V. Shatilo, A. Muhina, L. Krashchina
assistants Ye. Dyomkina, I. Sergeyeva montage Yu. Srebnitskaya
script editor Svetlana Kutsenko production director Ivan Mazepa
Once upon a time there lived an old man and a rooster.
They lived in perfect harmony
and were never apart.
They even went to pick mushrooms together.
And everybody in the village knew
that where the old man went, there the rooster went also.
But suddenly one day, the old man had a thought:
a horse pulls a cart,
a cow gives milk,
a hen lays eggs.
Everybody's useful.
But my rooster... What good is he to me?
And the old man became annoyed.
Oh, you blabbermouth!
All you do is scream at night, but you are of no use to me!
No use at all!
That's right. And don't come home.
No point in letting you eat bread for free.
The rooster wandered off wherever his gaze led him.
He began to grieve.
The world is an uncomfortable place for a homeless creature.
And worst of all, he'd never see his old man any more.
The old man will not pat him on the comb,
won't praise him for his ringing song...
"What is there for me to live for in the world?" thought the rooster.
I'll be gone,
then let the old man cry. But it'll be too late!
Or... I'll just up and go...
Far, far away, forever.
What's this?
Money.
But... what does a rooster need money for?
Nothing at all.
Oh. Money?
Money!
Now I can return home.
I'll bring the money to the old man,
it'll make the the old man happy, so I'll finally be useful!
Meanwhile the old man was beside himself.
What have I done?
I chased away my only friend.
When he sang, it brought joy to my soul.
When he spread his tail, there would be beauty in the house.
What misfortune.
Where does he wander at night now,
alone? Maybe he's in trouble.
I will go and look for him.
I brought you two coins, so as to no longer eat bread for free.
Forgive me, old man, for my offence.
I'm sorry.
Sing for me, please, Roosty.
I'm so bored without your voice.
And with those two coins, the old man bought at the fair
for his cockerel some of the choicest, most golden grains.
The End
Kiev Studio of Popular Science Films 1984
Subs by Eus (2025.01), rev. Niffiwan (2025.08) animatsiya.net