Am not hugely familiar with the work of Mikhail Kamenetsky. Of the work of his seen prior to this, the one that stood out most to me was 1959's 'Beloved Beauty' (or 'My Breathtaking Beauty'), but of the ones seen what stood out about them were their atmosphere and the beautifully old-fashioned and atmospheric visual style. Another selling point in seeing 'Wolf and Calf' is that it comes from Soyuzmultfilm, speaking as a big fan of their work and have been for nearly a decade.
1984's 'Wolf and Calf' is another gem of theirs and is to me it is one of Kamenetsky's best. Better than the still great 'Beloved Beauty' in its own way, it's simpler than that and a lot lighter in tone but to me 'Wolf and Calf' delivers more on the charm factor, the visuals look more refined and the characters have more likeability. It may not be one of all time greats of Soyuzmultfilm's work, and not one of its most important and ambitious but it delivers on everything that makes me love the studio so much.
'Wolf and Calf' looks absolutely lovely for one thing. It doesn't try to do anything too complicated, but still does have elaborate ambition, especially the meticulously detailed backgrounds and the puppet designs. It may be old-fashioned, but in a way that is done so charmingly that to me it was easy to fall in love with it. The music is lively and beautiful to listen to.
Do know some people that felt that the dialogue was too much, for me it wasn't a problem. It moved things forward at least and made things easy to understand without dumbing down. It was also sincere and never cloying and none of it came over as filler-like. The story is very simple but is incredibly charming and heart-warming, with no signs of dullness or sickly sweetness. Never does it feel too childish and coherence is never an issue.
The characters are all engaging and likeable, with no exceptions (the calf grows in both looks and personality), and the voice acting is expressive and not at odds with the characters, also never sounding too theatrical. The moral isn't laid on too thick or too obvious, also one that one can relate to easily.
In all, absolutely lovely. 10/10.
