Hedgehog in the Fog

Hedgehog in the Fog (Russian: Ёжик в тума́не, romanized: Yózhik v tumáne, IPA: [ˈjɵʐɨk f tʊˈmanʲɪ]) is a 1975 Soviet animated film directed by Yuri Norstein^[1] and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow.^[2][3] The Russian script was written by Sergei Grigoryevich Kozlov, who also published a book under the same name.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (March 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:Ёжик в тумане]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ru|Ёжик в тумане}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Belarusian. (May 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Belarusian Wikipedia article at [[:be:Вожык у тумане]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|be|Вожык у тумане}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

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Hedgehog in the Fog
Hedgehog in the Fog on the 1988 USSR stamp
Directed by	Yuri Norstein
Written by	Sergei Grigoryevich Kozlov
Produced by	Soyuzmultfilm
Starring	Aleksey Batalov Maria Vinogradova Vyacheslav Nevinny
Narrated by	Aleksey Batalov
Cinematography	Alexandr B. Zhukovskiy
Edited by	Nadezhda I. Treshchyova
Music by	Mikhail A. Meyerovich
Release date	October 23, 1975 (1975-10-23)
Running time	10 min. 29 s.
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

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In 2006, Norstein published a book titled Hedgehog in the Fog, listing himself as an author alongside Kozlov.^[4]

The Hedgehog (voiced by Maria Vinogradova) goes to visit his friend the Bear Cub to drink tea with raspberry jam and count the stars. The road along which the Hedgehog moves passes through deserted fields and forest thickets. In the early evening fog, the world seems mysterious, and outlandish images appear before the Hedgehog every now and then. Among them is an eagle-owl looking into a well, a snail suddenly turning into an elephant, a bat with a frightening wingspan, and a dog returning the bundle of jam to the Hedgehog when he loses it. Hedgehog is particularly impressed by a white horse, whose blurred silhouette appears several times in the haze.

Through the fog, the voice of the Bear Cub is periodically heard calling out to the Hedgehog. Hurrying to answer the call, the hero falls into the river. His savior is a mysterious "someone" who takes the Hedgehog to the shore. Having finally arrived at the Bear Cub's house, Hedgehog listens to his friend (voiced by Vyacheslav Nevinny), who says that he has already blown up the samovar on the porch for evening tea, collected juniper branches "so that there is smoke", and moved the wicker chairs to be more comfortable. He remarks that the Hedgehog is the only one he can really count the stars with.^[5][6]

• 1976—Frunze All-Union Film Festival: Hedgehog in the Fog "best animated film"
• 1976—Tehran Children's and Youth Film Festival: Hedgehog in the Fog "best animated film"
• 2003—Tokyo All time animation best 150 in Japan and Worldwide: Hedgehog in the Fog "No. 1 Animated film of all the time"

The fog effects were created by putting a very thin piece of paper on top of the scene and slowly lifting it up toward the camera frame-by-frame until everything behind it became blurry and white.^[7]

Soviet-era children's animation and literature was faced with the task of producing politically acceptable content. Anthropologist Serguei Oushakine (Sergey Ushakin) recognizes this atmosphere of indefinite deferment in the animation, stating: "The main thing is the work of imagination, or more precisely, the terror and pleasure with which it is linked. The final scene of pleasure, to which these various phantasmal and/or realistic experiences should indeed have led, is not included in the plot."^[8] This is evident through the hedgehog's anxiety and fixation on the horse, even after he succeeds in meeting the bear for tea.

An English dub of the film was made for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom for Christmas in 1998. A few changes were made, with strawberry jam replacing raspberry jam.

Hedgehog in the Fog was ranked No. 1 in a poll at the 2003 Laputa Animation Festival where 140 animators from around the world voted for the best animated films of all time.^[9]

Hayao Miyazaki, acclaimed animator of Studio Ghibli, stated that he drew his inspiration from many animators including Yuri Norstein (a framed portrait of the owl from the film is included at the Ghibli Museum).^[10][11]

Since January 2009, the main character (the Hedgehog) from the film has a statue in the city center of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.^[12]

The film was spoofed in the third episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, "Spies Reminiscent of Us", in 2009.^{[13][user-generated source]}

The opening ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Olympics referenced this work, mentioning it in a list of signature Russian accomplishments and artists, including Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Sputnik.^[14]

The series Kikoriki has an episode called Chiko in the Fog, reminiscent of Nornstein's cartoon in its composition and style.

The 16th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends, "Memories in the Mist!" is inspired by this work.

The Cartoon Network Studios' series Summer Camp Island has an episode called "Pepper and the Fog", which is a tribute to the film.

• History of Russian animation
• List of stop-motion films
• List of films considered the best