The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda

This animation, based on a folktale by. Alexander Pushkin, tells the story of a lazy priest who hires a energetic young worker, who only asks payment in simple food and the opportunity to strike the priest on the forehead. Once the priest realises how strong the worker is, he sends him on seemingly impossible tasks to get out of the deal. The worker, it turns out, is cleverer than he looks.

The moral here is somewhat confused (Don't be cheap? Don't be lazy? Don't underestimate people?), but perhaps something is lost in translation, as the entire film is sung (by one actor doing all the voices), and the original folktale is in verse.

Like many Soviet era animations, the visual style matches what was being done in America at the time, in this case a very 70s Saturday morning cartoon look (reminiscent of Scooby-Doo). There is even a strange talking animal sidekick.

This is a fun, but not particularly special animation. Harmless enough.