The Cockroach - Final Project for Russian Film 1

For my final project I have chosen to adapt a screenplay for the poem, The Cockroach, by Cornei Chukovsky. This screenplay will be created for an animation, which draws from the traditions established by the Soyuzmultfilm, namely Fyodor Khitruk, Winnie-the-Pooh; Yuri Norstein, Hedgehog in the Mist; and Cheburashka.
Soyuzmultfilm is an animation studio that created a wonderfully rich, and diverse variety of cartoons in the Soviet Union. The early years of the studio were, like most of the arts at that time, tightly controlled by the authorities. The brief, initial experimentation with animation by the studio were put to an end, and a Disney style cell based animation became the standard. The animated adaptations of Cornei's stories that I have been able to find on Youtube were created in this style.

As an example, The No-Water Boy, is about a boy who is so dirty that nothing wants to come in contact with him. His bed clothes, dishes and furniture all take flight. The fantastic imagery and personification of everyday objects make animation a perfect medium to reinterpret the story. The rolling rhyming flow of the original, (or at least my English translation), has been well preserved.

The No-Water Boy

The quilt
Ran away!
Away flew the sheet!

And the pillow,
Like a frog,
Leaped down the street!

I reached for the light -
The light, too,
Took flight!

And my book
'Bout Duck Ned
Shuddered,
And sped
Way under my bed!



I would like to bring a similar approach in preserving the character of the writing to my adaptation of The Cockroach. The anapaest metre which is used by Chukovsky to create that bumping rolling rhythm has been translated quite literally to animation in No-Water Boy by opening with bumping rolling balls, leaping toys, flying dishes, all in combination with a changeable high, tempo melody. The opening of The Cockroach presents a similar opportunity in it's description of the various animals, driving, riding, and rolling towards the gathering at the lake.

The Cockroach (1922)

Part 1

Here comes a pike
Riding a bike.

Followed by a cat- all black-
On a scooter front-to-back.

Next, five mosquitoes come into sight,
Flying along on a yellow kite.

Then arrives Mousie Mollie
On a limping, smiling collie.

And a stork astride a mare,
And a bear in a wheel-chair.

Little rabbits, soft and huggy,
Come riding in baby buggy.

A frog does a funny trick,
Diving down from a broomstick.

Camels, horses, and donkeys
Come carrying monkeys.

A white unicorn
Trots, blowing a horn.

Slowly along the road
Hasten a turtle and a toad.

"Be careful! Don't crush the ants,"
A hippo warns the elephants.

To the picnic they all come,
Munching candy and cake,

In a very merry mood,
For a day at the lake.

Then suddenly they grow numb and still!
Who's that coming down the hill?!

A fierce and dreadful Roach!
A mean cock-cock-Cockroach!
"Don't you dare to approach!"
He roars, he rages:

"I'll lock you in cages!
And swallow you ALL
Like one tiny meatball!"

"Or with a twitch of my mustache,
I'll turn you all to succotash!"

The birds- they shudder!
The beasts - they flutter!

The poor crocodile
Forgets how to smile!

The hungry wolves, in their alarm,
Though meaning no evil or harm,
Right then and there they sup,
Gobbling one another up!

And a terrified lady dog,
Falls into a faint
On a prickly hedgehog!

Alas! Not one dares to fight,
Every bird and beast take flight!

The Lobster, backing up a mile,
Murmurs with a bitter smile:

"I, too, have a long mustache,
I, too, can make succotash. ..."

The Cockroach continues to roar,
The Lobster backs up some more.

Now the Lion climbs a hill;
From there he speaks his royal will:

"We must regain our happy land!
Against the brute we'll take a stand!"

"And to the warrior who fears not this foe,
Who this monster will overthrow,
To him I'll give a juicy bone
And the finest pine cone!"

The creatures in one eager crowd,
Surge forth and cry out loud:

"We do not fear this nasty foe,
With tooth and claw
We'll lay him low!"

And they all rush to do battle-
Birds, fish, fowl, and cattle.

But the Roach moves his mustache
And bellows: "SUCCOTASH!"

One and all they beat a retreat.
The enemy they don't defeat!

Into the fields and woods they dash-
Terrorized by the Roach's mustache!

The Lion shouts: "What a disgrace!
Come back! Come out and show your face!
Pin the enemy with your horns-
Bulls, rhinoceros, unicorns!"

But each in his hiding place stays,
And wails: "Horns aren't cheap these days..."
And our skin is precious too-
What you ask we cannot do!"

Caught in nettles the crocodiles twitch,
And the elephants get caught in a ditch.

Lo! All that's heard now
Is the flow of tears;
All that's seen now
Is the trembling of their ears!

And the shark, scared and pale,
With the flick of his tail,
Slithers into the lake-
Not like a shark, like a snake!

While the cunning little skunk
Already packs his trunk.

Part 2

To the Cockroach they all yield-
He's now lord o'er wood and field.
He struts about among them,
Rubbling his tummy,
Looks at their young ones
And thinks: "How very yummy!"

Gazes at the little ones with greed,
Orders super to be brought to him with speed!

"I want no beans or corn,
But flesh of baby unicorn;
Other youngsters as well-
Those with a savory smell."

The poor, poor parents
Are in distress.
Their dear babes
They hug and caress:

For what mother could give up her child,
Her baby tame or her baby wild?!
So that the monster could devour
Her precious crumb, her little flower!

So mommies and daddies moan and cry
As they bid their infants good-bye!

And the monster is secretly cursed:
"May the glutton blow up!
May he burst"

But now we see another picture:
The Kangaroo, that nimble creature-
Leaps, leaps- she's at the Roaches hill,
And for a moment all are mute
As she points to the mustached brute:

"A monster?! Where?!
A Giant?! There?!

"It's a roach, a roach, a wee-bit roach,
A wee-little beetle you fear to approach.
Look! It's a midge a mite,
A bug that can't even bite!

For our trouble we're to blame!
What a shame!
What a shame!"

The Hippo then comes forth
With slow pace and a worried face,
Muttering in an anxious way:

"Please go away, go away!
Your words will make him very mad,
He may think of something very bad!
Go, Kangaroo, Kangaroo,
Go, go back to your zoo!"

Then the Hippo falls still,
Surprised by a sudden trill...
"Cheek-chee-reek, cheeky-reeky,
Cheek-chee-reek."
And from behind a bush
They see it peek.

Hop-hop-hop- comes the reckless fellow,
A gay and carefree little Sparrow.
And right there, on the Roach's hill,
With his cheeky-reeky trill,
Peck, peck, peck-
NO MORE ROACH!
Not a smidgen, not a speck!

He's swallowed in a flash,
All of him and his mustache!

Part 3

What joy! What glee!
All the creatures again are free!

The Sparrow is praised and
On loving paws it's raised-
There's a parade,
A celebration,
A masquerade!

The mules bray a song,
Hippo strikes a gong.

To honour the Sparrow, a path is cleared:
The goat sweeps it with his beard.

The sheepish sheep
Don't sing but hum,
The bold baboon
Beats a drum.

And from the roof the joyous bats,
Wave their hankies and their hats.

But when the elephants start to prance,
To clap and stomp a happy dance,
The orange moon shakes loose-
And falls right on a big Moose!

Like a pinwheel it falls from the sky,
Now all is dark- save the firefly!

WHAT TO DO?!

The Monkeys who are no fools,
With hammers, nails, and other tools,

In a row make a trek,
Up the Giraffe's long, long neck.

To the sky the moon is nailed,
The Monkeys bow as they're hailed.

Again the moon sheds its light,
Again the world is friendly, bright.


Tarakanishe / Тараканище
Uploaded by nilov

Here is an animated version produced in 1963. It like The No-Water Boy was created using cel animation. Both animations also refer back to their story versions in the dialogue; however, in Tarakanishche a role has been created for Chukovsky himself as a sort of narrator. Chukovsky and his stories enjoy a level of recognition that can be compared to Dr. Seuss in North America. In Russia it would be almost impossible not to be aware of the original stories while watching the animations. While this creates some richness in itself, viewers would already have some memories and impressions associated with the stories, certain other basic devices of story telling are lost, such as surprise, or the ability to develop the plot as the story teller thinks fit for his audience and medium. In that respect it is fortunate for me that my audience, largely unfamiliar with Chukovsky, would not have the same expectations.

I mentioned earlier several animations that I find inspiring for various reasons. The first I will look at is Vinni-Pukh, or Winni-the-Pooh. It like the first two animations uses a cell technique, and is an adaptation of a well known story. It follow the original story quite closely. What I find most interesting is the style of drawing used for the animation, especially the background. It is much more abstracted than we expect a children's animation to be. While at the same time it recreates what we can imagine ourselves, or children to be able to draw. The drawing is completely flat, and looks as though it was created using pencil crayons and markers. The contrast between the characters and their surroundings gives the impression that we are watching our own drawings or musings coming to life.



The last two animations I would like to look at have been created with two different techniques. I find myself torn between these to techniques in imagining how my screenplay would be realised. Cheburashka was made using a "claymation" technique, that is three dimensional objects placed within a set, and characters that have been made from malleable substances, such as plasticine, which can be slowly moved and photographed. The use of a set also allows for the use of film techniques such as lighting and camera angle. I also like the idea of being able to use ready-mades, like toys, as props.



Hedgehog in the Mist was created using a cutout animation technique. This very beautiful animation uses layers of glass, lighting, and flat, paper doll-like characters to achieve it's effect. I would not borrow stylistic elements from this animation, but rather, I think the technique on a simplified scale would be appropriate.