# Melnitsa Animation Studio

Melnitsa Animation Studio (Russian: Студия анимационного кино «Мельница», "melnitsa" meaning "windmill") is one of the largest animation studios in Russia. Deutsche Welle called the studio the Walt Disney of Saint Petersburg. Alongside its animation projects, Melnitsa has an effort devoted to creating digital special effects for both animation projects and live-action films.

## History

The studio traces its roots to several animated projects in the late 1990s, including television commercials, the short film Die Hard by Konstantin Bronzit (Grand Prix of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, 1998), and the animated series "Global Bears Rescue" and "Technology", created for Poseidon Film Distributors Ltd.
In 1999, Melnitsa was formally established with backing from STV Film Company's Sergey Selyanov and led by Aleksandr Boyarsky. STV Film Company retains a 50% share of the studio. The newly formed studio's first project was Adventures in Oz (Приключения в Изумрудном Городе) for NTV-film (НТВ-кино), a four-part animation released in 2000.
In 2001, Melnitsa released its first 3D-animated project - the short film Good Morning (С добрым утром) by Denis Chernov. In 2002 Melnitsa released two short films by the famous animator and director Konstantin Bronzit: There Was an Old Lady for Scholastic Entertainment and the 3D-animated film The God.
In 2000, Melnitsa began work on the feature-length animated film Little Longnose (Карлик Нос) directed by Ilya Maksimov, based on the fairy tale of Wilhelm Hauff. The film premiered on March 20, 2003, reportedly becoming one of the first Russian animated feature film released to theatres in nearly 40 years.
On December 23, 2004, the feature film Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey (Алёша Попович и Тугарин Змей) was released, directed by Konstantin Bronzit. The film was completed on a $4 million budget, and took in about $1.7 million at the box office. This marked the beginning of Melnitsa's "The Three Bogatyrs" trilogy, and two more films were planned over the next several years.
In January 2005, at the 10th Open Russian Festival of Animated Film in Suzdal, the new short film by Konstantin Bronzit premiered, called Cat and Fox (Кот и Лиса). Bronzit's film, based on a national Russian tale, was part of the huge government-sponsored project by Moscow-based Pilot studio called "Gora Samotsvetov" (Гора самоцветов). The project, when complete, will consist of 52 13-minute films based on fairy tales from all of Russia's nationalities.
On March 15, 2006, the second film in the "3 Bogatyrs" trilogy was released, called Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych (Добрыня Никитич и Змей Горыныч), directed by Ilya Maksimov. It came on the heels of the animated blockbuster Prince Vladimir, which was released on February 22, 2006.
Luntik, an animated series launched in 2006, gathered a total of over 2 billion views on YouTube.
The third film in the trilogy, Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber (Илья Муромец и Соловей Разбойник), was released on July 7, 2007, grossing $10 million on a $2 million budget and setting a record for Russia's domestic animation industry, later surpassed by the studio's Three Heroes on Distant Shores earning $26 million in 2012. The 2013 film Three Warriors On Far Shores again established a new record for Russian animation, grossing $31.5 million. The release of Krepost in 2015 led to some controversy in Poland, as it depicted a 17th-century battle between Russian and Polish armies.
The studio's 2007 short film Lavatory – Lovestory was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, followed by a nomination for We Can't Live Without Cosmos in the same category during the 88th Academy Awards in 2016.

## Filmography
### Short Film

| Year | Production |
| 2021 | Boxballet |
| 2019 | He Can't Live Without Cosmos |
| 2015 | We Can't Live Without Cosmos |
| 2007 | Lavatory Lovestory |
| 2003 | The God |

### Full length

| Year | Title cartoon | Director | Author(s) script | Production Designer | Budget | Box Office |
| 2003 | Little Longnose Карлик Нос | Ilya Maksimov | Aleksandr Boyarsky | Aleksandra Averianova | $2,5 million | $569 837 |
| 2004 | Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey Алёша Попович и Тугарин Змей | Konstantin Bronzit | Aleksandr Boyarsky Maksim Sveshnikov Ilya Maksimov Konstantin Bronzit | Ol'ga Ovinnikova | $4 million | $1 730 000 |
| 2006 | Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych Добрыня Никитич и Змей Горыныч | Ilya Maksimov | Aleksandr Boyarsky Maksim Sveshnikov Ilya Maksimov | Ol'ga Ovinnikova | $4,5 million | $3 620 000 |
| 2007 | Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber Илья Муромец и Соловей-Разбойник | Vladimir Toropchin | Aleksandr Boyarsky Maksim Sveshnikov | Oleg Markelov | $2 million | $9 739 679 |
| 2008 | The Tale of Soldier Fedot, The Daring Fellow | Lyudmila Steblyanko | Lyudmila Steblyanko Roman Smorodin | Anastasia Vasil'eva | — | $2 586 097 |
| 2010 | How Not to Rescue a Princess Три богатыря и Шамаханская царица | Sergey Glezin | Aleksandr Boyarsky Ol'ga Nikiforova | Elena Lavrent'eva Oleg Markelov | $2,5 million | $19 010 585 |
| 2011 | Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf Иван Царевич и Серый Волк | Vladimir Toropchin | Aleksandr Boyarsky Rostislav Khait Leonid Barats Sergei Petreykov | Marina Kudryavtseva | $3 million | $24 830 497 |
| 2012 | Three Heroes on Distant Shores Три богатыря на дальних берегах | Konstantin Feoktistov | Aleksandr Boyarsky | Lidiya Savina | $3,5 million | $31 505 876 |
| 2013 | Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf 2 Иван Царевич и Серый волк 2 | Vladimir Toropchin | Vladimir Toropchin Aleksandr Boyarsky Svetlana Sachenko | Svetlana Degtyarёva | — | $20 962 988 |
| 2015 | Three heroes. Horse Course Три богатыря. Ход конём | Konstantin Feoktistov | Aleksandr Boyarsky Svetlana Sachenko | Svetlana Degtyarёva | $3,5 million | $19 390 136 |
| 2015 | The Fortress Крепость. Щитом и мечом | Fyodor Dmitriev | Aleksandr Boyarsky | Oleg Markelov | — | $1 176 906 |
| 2016 | Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf 3 Иван Царевич и Серый волк 3 | Darina Schmidt | Rostislav Khait Leonid Barats Sergei Petreykov | Svetlana Degtyarёva | — | $10 271 463 |
| 2017 | The Three Heroes and the Sea King Три богатыря и морской царь | Konstantin Feoktistov | Aleksandr Boyarsky Svetlana Sachenko Alena Tabunova (idea) | Andrei Yakobchuk | $4 | $14 134 274 |
| 2017 | Fantastic Journey to OZ Урфин Джюс и его деревянные солдаты | Vladimir Toropchin Fyodor Dmitriev Darina Schmidt | Aleksandr Boyarsky Darina Schmidt | Anatolii Sokolov | — | $3 068 073 |
| 2017 | Three Heroes and the Princess of Egypt Три богатыря и принцесса Египта | Konstantin Feoktistov | Aleksandr Boyarsky Svetlana Sachenko | Andrei Yakobchuk | $3.5 million | $12.6 million |
| 2018 | Three Heroes. The Heiress to the Throne Три богатыря и наследница престола | Konstantin Bronzit | Maksim Sveshnikov Vadim Sveshnikov Konstantin Bronzit | Yuliya Maslova Daria Ivanova | $2.5 million | — |
| 2018 | Sadko Садко | Maksim Volkov Vitaly Mukhametzyanov | Alexander Arkhhipov Dmitry Novoselov Slava Se | Aleksei Motavin | | |
| 2019 | Fantastic Return to OZ Урфин Джюс возвращается | Fyodor Dmitriev | Aleksandr Boyarsky | Aleksei Korobkin | | |
| 2019 | Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf 4 Иван Царевич и Серый волк 4 | Darina Schmidt Konstantin Feoktistov | Rostislav Khait Leonid Barats Sergei Petreykov | Daria Ivanova | | |
| 2020 | The Barkers: Mind the Cats! Барбоскины на даче | Elena Galdobina Fyodor Dmitriev | Aleksandr Boyarsky Aleksandra Shokha | Oleg Markelov | $2 million | $951 075 |
| 2020 | Horse Julius and the Big Races Конь Юлий и большие скачки | Darina Schmidt Konstantin Feoktistov | Maksim Sveshnikov Vadim Sveshnikov Aleksandr Boyarsky | Andrei Yakobchuk | $2.4 million | $4 875 202 |

### In Production
#### Full length

| Year | Title cartoon | Director | Author(s) script | Production Designer | Start of production |
| 2021 | Three Heroes and a Horse on the Throne Три богатыря и Конь на троне | Darina Schmidt Konstantin Feoktistov | Aleksandr Boyarsky Aleksandra Shokha | Daria Ivanova | 2021 |

### Serial cartoons

| Year | Title cartoon | Directed by of the animated series | The main authors of the script | Production Designer | Number of seasons | Number of series |
| 1999—2000 | Adventures in the Emerald City Приключения в Изумрудном городе | Aleksandr Makarov (1-2) Ilya Maksimov (3) Denis Chernov (4) | Evgeny Markov (1-2) Mikhail Bartenev (3-4) Andrei Usachyov (3-4) | Yuriy Solovyov (1-2) Ilya Myshkin (3-4) | 1 season | 4 |
| 2006—present | Luntik Приключения Лунтика и его друзей | Darina Shmidt Elena Galdobina | 2008-2015 | Ekaterina Salabay | Darina Shmidt Fyodor Dmitriev Elena Galdobina Mariya Domogatskaya Anna Sosnora Alexandr Mal'gin Svetlana Sachenko Tatiana Gorbushina | Marina Komarkevich (1-2 seasons) Tatiana Klein (2-6 seasons) Irina Fёdorova (5-6 seasons) Vita Tkachёva (7 seasons: series 2012) Ekaterina Maksimenko (since 7 seasons) | 8, in production 9 season | 500+ |
| 2011—present | The Barkers Барбоскины | Elena Galdobina Ekaterina Salabay | Elena Galdobina Fyodor Dmitriev Konstantin Feoktistov Vadim Smolyak Anna Sosnora | Lyudmila Steblyanko (1-100) Alesya Barsukova (91-130) Marina Makarova (131-212) | 14 seasons | 212 |
| 2018—present | Little Tiaras Царевны | Konstantin Bronzit Elena Galdobina Darina Schmidt | Darina Schmidt Fyodor Dmitriev Aleksandr Sinitsyn | Andrei Yakobchuk | 2 | 52 |