'Umka is Looking for a Friend' (1970)
Opening thoughts: Absolutely adore the first 'Umka', more often than not Soyuzmultfilm delivered big on charm, emotional impact, beautiful visuals and memorable characters and the first 'Umka' delivered on all four brilliantly. Had no idea until just last week (when recently revisiting Soyuzmultfilm's output again) that there was another 'Umka' outing, 'Umka is Looking for a Friend', and was desperate to see it. Also hoping that it would have everything that made the first so great, it certainly sounded like it did.
'Umka is Looking for a Friend' didn't disappoint in any way. It has every ounce of the charm and emotional impact of the first 'Umka' and has everything that made that as great as it was. Comparing them, they are equally fantastic in their own way while also for similar reasons. It may not be one of Soyuzmultfilm's most ambitious works, one of the ones adapting famous Soviet stories and family literature, ones revolving around pre-existing music or ones that have a political emphasis. It is as said above one of the Soyuzmultfilm efforts to keep things simple and all the better for it.
Good things: Everything. For one thing, 'Umka is Looking for a Friend' looks absolutely beautiful. The traditional animation is very beautifully rendered, the colours and backgrounds are elegant, moving very smoothly from one frame/scene to the next, and the characters move very convincingly. The music accompanies the story very sensitively, the distinctive Soviet style of it is sumptuous and not overpowering.
It's extremely well written too and target audience doesn't come into question. It isn't hard to follow while also not being simplistic, making it ideal for people of all ages. As said, keeping things simple was a good idea as it is a kind of story where any more would have felt too much. It also flows well, when seeing it with English subtitles it's quite poetic and meaningful as well without going overboard on the schmaltz.
The story is immensely charming and tenderly told, there is a very strong emotional core here while not being over-sentimental or too serious. It is also genuinely sweet without being sugary, complete with some very relevant and relatable values. The ending really did have me in tears. All the characters are engaging and have personalities that aren't too thin and are easy to identify with. Really identified hugely with Umka, having been in this situation more than once before, it is not a nice position to be in.
Closing thoughts: Concluding, wonderful, very sweet and very touching.
10/10.
