< NON-COMPETITION PROGRAMRETROSPECTIVE OF CARTOON MUSICALS TIMED TO ANIMATION DIRECTOR INESSA KOVALEVSKAYA’S 90TH BIRTHDAY.>

Animation director and screenwriter, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Inessa Kovalevskaya is best known for the first Soviet cartoon musical The Bremen Town Musicians. Her other cartoons once adored by so many Soviet children include The Boat, In the port, Chuchelo-Myauchelo, The Tale of a Priest and His Servant Balda, and many more. Inessa Kovalevskaya made a total of around 30 cartoons.

Inessa Kovalevskaya celebrated her 90^th birthday on March 1, 2023. The famous cartoonist has devoted her life to the children of her country and created a multitude of iconic cartoons. Released in 1969, Kovalevskaya’s hit The Bremen Town Musicians turned out a small but very important revolution in the Soviet animation art: from then on a cartoon was no longer just a fascinating story, it was also songs. The tunes and lyrics from The Bremen Town Musician, The Lion Cub and the Turtle, and Chuchelo-Myaouchelo are passed on from generation to generation, and there’s hardly a collection of children’s song favourites without the all-time hit Chunga-Changa. All these songs are embedded in our cultural code.