Anapoda

Directed by Yuriy Norshteyn and written by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya and Yuriy Norshteyn.

Description: To my shame I have to admit I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t gotten around to watching this fully, just skipped through a few scenes, was impressed, so I’m just going to throw in a comment from IMDB that makes a good case: “Using a mix of puppet, cutout, and cell animation, Yuri Norstein made in Tale of Tales a heartbreaking, tenderly poetic meditation on Russian history as well as one of the most stunningly beautiful animated films ever. Very hard to get, but don’t miss a chance to see this film.”. Apparently this was also named the greatest animated film of all-time by the 1984 Animation Olympiad jury held in conjunction with the 1984 LA Olympics.

IMDB link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0079986/

Directed by Yuriy Norshteyn, written by Sergei Kozlov .

Description: This is yet another wonderful piece of russian animation, and it has that specific feel to it too. It is the story of a little hedgehog that embarks on a journey to see his friend, the bear, but gets lost in the fog and has to face his fear of the unknown, while enjoying the momentary company and assistance of a friendly dog, an strange owl and a helpful fish. This is a very cute and touching piece of animation that brings back memories of childhood experiences and quests for new and unknown things. Make sure to share this with the kids, they will surely enjoy it.

IMDB link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0073099/