Museum of Animation

There’s one place in Moscow where you can immerse yourself into the world of animation and see how cartoon stories get animated, how these drawings come alive, start to move, and become an exciting story on the screen. The Moscow Museum of AnimationRussian: Moskovskiy muzey animatsii or Московский музей анимации gives you the opportunity to discover all about this process with over five thousand unique exhibits, modern halls equipped with interactive stands and fascinating excursions. It even offers you an opportunity to be the director of your own cartoon!

THE MUSEUM’S EXHIBITION

Normally, the VDNKhRussian: ВДНХ’s Recreation Centre hosts the Museum’s exhibition, but it has been temporarily relocated to the Izmailovo KremlinRussian: Izmaylovskiy Kreml or Измайловский Кремль due to reconstruction (estimated to last until the end of 2016). The museum’s exhibition is divided into two sections: the National Animation Hall where the huge heritage of the SoyuzmultfilmRussian: Союзмультфильм animation studio is on display, and the Foreign Animation Hall. The third hall is dedicated to the general history of animation focusing on the very first techniques used for “making objects come alive”.

The history of the museum dates back to 2006, when the legendary artist Leonid Shvartsman officially inaugurated the first exhibition in Moscow and started building the collection, which has now achieved international status. Starting in 2010, the museum has been actively collaborating with the world’s leading animation studios and enriches its collections on a regular basis by doing so.

The National Animation Hall displays sketches, drawings, sets and even jointed dolls that were once used to created popular cartoons at Soyuzmultfilm. This animation studio was founded in 1936 and produced several dozen cartoons annually. The museum takes special pride in the table of the renowned artist Svetozar Rusakov, the creator of Wolf and Hare from the Nu, PogodiRussian: Ну, погоди! animation series. Visitors will also see technical equipment and tools used by camera men at that time, authentic documents, awards and personal belongings. Of particular interest are phrases and sketches of CheburashkaRussian: Чебурашка, A Kitten Who Said Woof, The Snow Queen, The Bremen Musicians, among others.

Showcases in the Foreign Animation Hall provide visitors with interesting information about popular foreign cartoons, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Legend of Aang, Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse, The Pink Panther and many more.

Modern animation is on view in the Contemporary History Corridor. You will meet characters from Masha and the BearRussian animated series and learn a lot of exciting stuff about modern independent animation studios.

EXCURSION PROGRAMME

The museum offers visitors an extensive excursion programme ranging from traditional Soyuzmultfilm guided tours to exciting 1.5-hour immersions into the world of animation in the museum’s magic atelier. Visitors are told all the ins and outs of the animation making process, its techniques and the demanding work of artists and actors. Only here will you get an idea of how much effort was put into creating every popular cartoon. Just think: it takes 24 still image frames to make one second’s worth of animation. If you participate in the master classes, you can move characters around and make backgrounds, thus creating each frame of your future cartoon. A very short (about 40 seconds long) animated film is the result of the joint effort of all participants.

The Museum of Animation is a great place to have fun with kids, and adults will also enjoy immersing themselves in the world of childhood. The important thing about this museum is that it not only sends us back to that colourful cartoon world, but also tells us about those who contributed to its creation, including graphic artists, animators, directors and actors. After all, when watching a cartoon, we enjoy the result of a difficult but exciting creative process!

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