Anatoliy Savchenko(1924-2011)

Savchenko Anatoliy Mikhaylovich is Soviet and Russian animator and illustrator of children's books. Among the most famous works of Anatoliy Savchenko are Moydodyr - Wash 'til Holes (1954), Junior and Karlson (1968) and Karlson Returns (1970), Return of the Prodigal Parrot (1984). Anatoiy Savchenko was born in Novocherkassk, USSR. The first animated films that made a strong impression on young Anatoliy, the future animator, saw back in the 1930s. From the age of 17 he took part in the Great Patriotic War in the infantry troops, and was wounded in the leg in battles in the North Caucasus. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War and a number of medals. Demobilized in 1947. Almost immediately after the demobilization, Anatoliy Mikhaylovich left for Moscow and on the first attempt entered the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography, having received the highest possible ratings for drawing, painting, and composition. VGIK Savchenko graduated in 1953. After graduating from the institute, Anatoliy Mikhaylovich got a job placement at Soyuzmultfilm, where he worked as a production designer for 37 years, until his retirement in 1990. The first cartoon, in the creation of which the aspiring animator took part, was the The Forest Concert (1953), to work on which he was invited by Ivan Ivanov-Vano. Together with the director Boris Stepantsev Anatoliy Savchenko created a large number of his cartoons. Among the works of the tandem are Petia and Little Red Riding Hood (1958), Vovka in a Far Far Away Kingdom (1965), The Nutcracker (1973). In total, Savchenko's track record has about 25 cartoons. The last work of Anatoliy Savchenko was the cartoon 'Courage of the Parrot Kesha', created by him together with Elizaveta Zharova after a 20-year break.