Adventure, history, family. To say that I was waiting for this cartoon, means nothing to say. And I heard about it in 2018 after a short teaser, which frankly did not go to most viewers, and I believed in this project of the Soyuzmultfilm studio - and my hopes were not just justified, they even surpassed them. Five years of waiting was definitely worth it. And here is my brief opinion for you - the Swiss campaign of the legendary commander. And despite my delight, there were both deserved advantages and repulsive disadvantages in the cartoon, which I will definitely tell you about right now.
So, the well-deserved advantages:
1. The cartoon script will tell us the story of two heroes. Grishka, a groom serving a St. Petersburg merchant and secretly in love with his charming daughter and the invincible and legendary Russian commander Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, who was ordered by Emperor Paul the First to march against the French in Northern Italy and then in Switzerland. Grishka will have to fight for his beloved and perform feats in the campaign, and Suvorov will have to consolidate his glory and get new victories for Russia. Since the cartoon is intended for children, there is no blood and tightly twisted scenario turns here. We are simply told the story of the formation of a hero who discovers new qualities in himself on this journey, and another hero defeats his most dangerous and insidious enemies by performing impossible feats. The finale turned out to be colorful and predictable, but filled with patriotism and love for their land, for their Homeland, for their Fatherland! Although the characters' images are hackneyed, but here they work.
2. Humor is surprisingly high-quality and funny, although there are not very many jokes as such, but they all work exactly as needed. References to Soviet cinema and Russian classical literature were very pleasing. Some things were successfully beaten, but the roots were clearly visible. Maybe some of the jokes looked too pretentious and too "modern", but they work, the neighbors in the cinema will not let you lie (yes, for once I got out to the cinema). In short, if you want to laugh, then do not miss this cartoon.
3. Battles - Swiss and part of the Northern Italian hikes are shown well (taking into account the children's age limit, of course). Fights between Russian soldiers and French, volleys of guns from both sides, unimaginable maneuvers in the mountains of Switzerland, the Devil's Bridge. But especially memorable is the honor and courage of Russian soldiers and officers who, in the most difficult conditions, defeated a vastly superior enemy, and the author of these victories was the brilliant Suvorov. Even the form of the parties to the conflict is reflected correctly.
4. History - if we forget about some alterations and obvious mistakes of the creators, then the cartoon managed to plunge the viewer into the end of the eighteenth century with its class barriers, French revolutions, the society of that time and heroes with feats of arms, whose names were known not only by Russia, but also by the whole of Europe. Uniforms, weapons, clothes - everything is made very similar and does not cause complaints.
So, the repulsive cons:
1. Three-dimensional animation - don't get me wrong, it's good here, and looks much better than the animation from the 2018 teaser, and if it took four years to polish the animation, then I'm only glad of it. I'm serious now - the picture pleasantly surprised me. Although some backdrops had big problems, and this is a fact that nothing can hide, since the cartoon has already been released. I just love the classic two-dimensional animation and I am for all cartoons to be in 2D. Although here they made an intersperse of classic animation, which looks good, and it would be better if they made the whole cartoon in this way.
2. Historical mistakes - the map of Russia at the beginning of the cartoon is given within the boundaries of the beginning of the eighteenth century, but in fact it was 1799, Poland was no longer a separate country. Another map in the second half of the cartoon features the country "Germany", although in those years it did not exist yet, and in those lands there was the Holy Roman Empire (an ally of Austria and Russia in the war against France). The main villain is written off from a real person, but the circumstances of his service are greatly distorted in favor of the script. And the campaign itself ended only by the highest order of Emperor Paul the First, due to the betrayal of Austria.
A little bit about the main characters:
1. Grishka (voiced by Anton Makarsky) is a groom serving in the family of a St. Petersburg merchant, in love with his beautiful daughter. A shy, though sometimes reckless guy who happens to be an officer in the Swiss campaign of Field Marshal Suvorov, who will have to perform more than one feat and defeat the enemies of Russia. A completely typical hero, whom you empathize with from the very beginning to the very end, and the beautiful voice of Anton Makarsky only enhances this effect.
2. Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (voiced by Konstantin Khabensky) is a field marshal of the Russian army, the hero of Kinburn, Rymnik, Focshan, Warsaw, Izmail, Ochakov, and ahead of him are victories at Trebbia, Novi, Adda, crossing the Alps, the Devil's Bridge and the battle in the Mutenskaya Valley. The most famous Russian commander of that time, who, at the end of his life, will have to make several more glorious victories and finally glorify his name in the history of not only Russia, but the whole world. And then a new officer Grishka arrives to him, who has become a good assistant and a reliable friend. And the voice of Konstantin Khabensky sounded very charismatic here and inspired happiness and pride for his compatriot Suvorov.
And I also liked the songs!
Be sure to go to the cinema for this cartoon, because it is without exaggeration a high-quality work of domestic production, worthy of being on a par with the best modern patriotic cartoons, for example with "Fortress: Shield and Sword" and to be loved by both children and adults. And whether this cartoon will pass the test of time, we'll see, but I really hope so. And I will definitely review it, because he deserves it.
As a result, we have a good modern Russian patriotic cartoon, with a good script, high-quality humor, battle scenes, bright characters and pleasant voices that voiced all this.
My rating is 8 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!
