Flame Burns in the Igloo (1956) User Reviews

An enchanting folktale

[Rectangular_businessman · 8/10 · 7 March 2024]

Another classic Soviet short I had the chance to discover thanks to the Animated Classic Showcase dub released during the 90s, which along with Stories from my Childhood, was my first contact with the beautiful works from Soyuzmultfilm.

This short in particular was one of my favorite animations from that collection, keeping a vivid memory of the story and the characters, perhaps due its adventurous tone and mythological elements, which always fascinated me since I was a kid.

Now that I've had the chance to see it in its original language, I must say the dub feels a bit cheesy in comparison, with its change of the background music (Why so many dubs from the 90s and 2000s were so insistent in replacing the original score from foreign productions with some generic melodies?) and uneven voice acting, but I'm still thankful it allowed me to discover so many marvellous gems during a time when those marvellous gems would have been completely impossible to find in this side of the world.

An interesting look at Siberian Yakutat mythology

[Angel_Meiru · 28 May 2004]

V Yarange gorit ogon (The Flame of the Arctic) is a rather interesting animated feature about an old mythological tale from the Yakutat Eskimo clan of the Russian far east.

It starts out with the mother and puppy trying to wake up her twin children (one boy, one girl, go figure ^_^) to help out around the place. While mother goes hunting, the children end up teasing each other and playing with their dog. All that is about to change when their mother is kidnapped by the Ice Mother, an evil goddess of winter storms. Do the children cower back and wait for mom to get home? Of course not! They are on a mission to save mother, with the help of a sun god, Northern light warriors and some animal friends.

"Flame of the Arctic" is a beautifully made Russian cartoon based on the obscure mythology of the natives of Siberia. Worth a look indeed.