"Zakoldovannyy malchik" or "The Enchanted Boy" is a Soviet 43-minute movie from 60 years ago, so actually it came pretty early in the golden years of Russian animation. But despite its age, the story is one that got picked for films on many other occasions. It is the story of young Nils Holgersson who gets shrunk in order to learn a important message about life. Now I saw these Soviet films often have a rating that is too high here on IMDb and this one is not an exception. It is not a great film, but also not a bad one. The animation is good, the story is good and the voice acting is good as well. Maybe they could have done without a couple less significant scenes and kept this one at 35 minutes max, maybe 30, and I really would have liked it. Nonetheless, it is a decent watch overall just nowhere near the best in terms of Soviet animation. Worth a watch, but not a must-see.

Being on a roll with viewings of Russian/Soviet animation, The Enchanted Boy really stood out in how beautiful and heartfelt it is. The animation is traditional in style and is coloured with such warmth and atmosphere. All the characters and backgrounds are well-drawn as well. Anybody looking for good music will not be disappointed, it is never bombastic nor is it dull, it is simple and understated yet also charming and quietly haunting in equal measure as well as being distinctively Russian-sounding. It is very easy to be touched by and identify with the story, which is told with such heart, the morals and lessons Nils learns are important and are dealt with in The Enchanted Boy a subtle and not preachy way. The characters all engage, Nils is not the most likable of characters to begin with but as he grows in character on his journey he becomes much more so. The voice acting is appropriately noble, especially from Valentina Sperantova as Nils and Erast Garin as Martin(the most memorable of the supporting characters). All in all, enchanting and heartfelt, really lives up to its name. 10/10 Bethany Cox