4 Awesome Soviet/Eastern Bloc Counterparts of American Cartoons
68When you read the Eastern Bloc, what comes to mind? Probably communism, oppression, poor living standard, propoganda, and Stalin. That's typical because most westerners were taught about all the hardships and negative things of communist countries. Classrooms taught about political movies meant to brainwash the masses into believing that the government was the best in the world and that America were capitalist pigs. But what about their cartoons?
The truth is cartoons from the Eastern Bloc were awesome. They were original, sweet, positive and always taught a good lession. Unlike American cartoons, which embraced slapstick comedy, cartoons from communist countries found other ways to entertain their audiences. Many of them have become a part of their country's culture and aren't associated with their oppressing government.
Because they were state funded, talented cartoonists had more room to be original. Their work was meant to entertain, not outdo another. You can definately see the difference between the cartoons of today in these countries and the ones back then.
Snoopy - Reskio
Snoopy is the cute, house flying pet beagle of Charlie Brown who stole the show in the Peanuts comic strips. When you think of Peanuts you're probably going to think of Snoopy lounging with that little bird of his. According to Wikipedia, "At its peak, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of 355 million in 75 countries, and was translated into 21 languages". Now that's impressive.
Snoopy has a couple famous alter-egos. With a a helmet, goggles, scarf and on his doghouse, he'd become a WWI pilot battling in a dogfight. Another famous alter-ego was "Joe Cool" where'd he just put on sun-glasses and lean against the wall.
In Poland...
There's Reksio, the adorable farm dog who could outclever Snoopy any day. I'm not saying Snoopy is stupid, but while he is pretending to have differents jobs for the Lolz and getting kicked out of buildings, Reksio is working. He has pigs to feed, chickens to manage and other dogs to keep in check. Sure, going to the beach with your owner is fun and all but first all the animals need to be safe in their barn.
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner - Nu Pogodi("Just You Wait")
In the desert plains of some barren land in America, a coyote who spends all his money on Acme merchandise has stolen the hearts of millions. How? By failing miserably at catching a really, really fast bird AKA the Road Runner.
Giving the typical "cat and mouse" routine a new twist, Wile E. Coyote is a--you guessed it--coyote who relies on machines and elaborate plans that 100% of the time blow up in his face( and sometimes literally). While the Road Runner is just an innocent bird who just wants to eat and run. Sometimes he tries to stop him, but a majority of the time Coyote fails without the help of others.
In the Soviet Union...
A flamboyent wolf tries to catch a hare which I don't know if it is a girl or a little boy. The creater has said that the cartoons didn't have any deep, symbolic meaning to them and it was just about a wolf failing to get the innocent guy. But still, critics did speculate that it might be have been supportive of the gay cause.
Disney's Winnie the Pooh - Vinni Puh
If you don't live under a rock, I'm sure you've probably seen Disney's version of Winnie the Pooh. The most famous of A.A. Milne's books, Disney's Winnie the Pooh has spawned numerous TV series and movies, including one that just came out in the U.S.
In the Soviet Union...
Their adaption to the books has a much more macho and philosophical version of Winnie the Pooh.
Sure he sounds like he's been sucking helium, but If these two were to fight over who's going to get the last jar of honey, Soviet Pooh would kick Disney's butt. If Soviet Pooh wants honey, he gets it. He's not going to passively wait until he gets in a honey withdrawel psychotic state. No, he's too busy wondering about the mysteries of life better than most philosophy majors.
Oh, and Piglet owns a gun. Just thought you'd like to know.
Disney Animated Cartoons, Looney Tunes, all Cartoons with Anthropomorphic Animals - Krtek(The Mole)
Children love cartoons animals. Whether they talk, outsmart people, wear pants, live in the forest, live in the city, or live in the ocean these characters have a special place in the hearts' of millions. There's Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo, and Woody the Wood Pecker just to name a few.
All of them have become an important part our culture. There are theme parks dedicated to them, planes with their faces on them, holiday decorations and so much more. Go up to anyone and ask "What's up Doc?". They're not going to inform you that they don't hold a doctorate.
In Czechoslovakia(present day Czech Republic)...
Krtek is a mole, who lives in a hole in the forest. Now before you say,"WTF? How is this compared to Bugs Bunny?" know this: the cartoon plays in 80 countries worldwide.
This adorable mole is a heavy Disney influenced animal who goes on adorable adventures where he does nice and adorable things.(Did I mention he's adorable?) The first episode was narrated, but generally the characters don't talk besides sounds expressing their emotion and small phrases like "Hello".
Also, a 7.5 foot statue of Krtek was on board of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on May 16, 2011.
