Igor Kovalev's story: how a Soviet animator created iconic cartoons in Hollywood - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
Bu məqalə Google Translate servisi vasitəsi ilə avtomatik olaraq rus dilindən azərbaycan dilinə tərcümə olunmuşdur. Bundan sonra mətn redaktə edilməmişdir.

Igor Kovalev's story: how the Soviet animator created iconic cartoons in Hollywood

Few of the Russian Simpsons viewers, even those who know this series well from the first episodes, have seen the name of Igor Kovalev in the credits. The Soviet multiplier, having left the Soviet Union, made a dizzying career in Hollywood, having subdued foreign producers with the psychedelic work “His Wife is a Chicken”. Kovalev had the opportunity to work on serials for Nickelodeon, and then returned to the Russian cinema.

His story told the publicationMy friend".

The end of 80's was the beginning of a new era. The old world order was cracking at the seams, and the first cooperatives and private companies appeared in the USSR. Among those who fell into the new trend were young animators Anatoly Prokhorov, Alexander Tatarsky and Igor Kovalev, who opened in the building of the abandoned Moscow Church of the Three Saints on Kulishkah the first in the Soviet Union private animation studio - “Pilot”. Kovalev and Tatarsky gained popularity even before its discovery - as the creators of the cartoons that became hits in the USSR “Plasticine's crow","Wings, legs and tails" and "The investigation lead Koloboks».

In 1990, a fund sponsored by the company Disney, invited Kovalev and the Polish animator Jerzy Kuchu to the USA - for a series of shows of his cartoons with performances in front of students of relevant universities and employees of American studios. During that trip, Igor met Gabor Choupo, an American cartoonist and businessman who had escaped from socialist Hungary in the 70s.

After two years of living in the United States, Chupo and his wife, designer Arlene Klasky, founded an animation company. Klasky csupo and began to actively recruit a team of bright multipliers, painted in new styles for the Hollywood animation industry.

“Igor, the doors of my studio are open for you. Let's negotiate money, ”the businessman offered to Kovalev during one of their first meetings.

The Soviet animator refused at first, but after the psychedelic author’s cartoon “His Wife Chicken” created by him at the festival in Ottawa in October 1990, Chupo made a new offer.

“Irina, I changed my mind! - He shouted into the phone to his wife Kovalev during a phone call to Moscow. “Tell Igor that I will increase the amount by one and a half times!”

“It was a difficult decision,” admits Kovalev. “The country was going through very difficult times, but the main reason for my agreement was different. Gabor promised: “I will give you the opportunity to continue making original cartoons.”

Under the terms of the contract, in the US, Igor was expected to receive a substantial fee at that time - 700 dollars per week, medical insurance for the whole family, as well as an advance payment for buying a car and renting apartments. In August, 1991, a practically non-English-speaking Soviet multiplier, left his “Pilot” studio and went to Hollywood, suggesting that his career in Klasky csupo last only a year and a half.

Igor still remembers his first day in Hollywood. He flew to Los Angeles with his wife, little daughter and father-in-law, a well-known lawyer, Heinrich Padva, who had his own business in the United States.

“I didn’t have a culture shock or anything similar either during the first trip, or when I flew there to start work in Hollywood,” Kovalev recalls. - Yes, I saw a lot of differences from life in the USSR: credit cards, clothes, in general, a different culture in general - this, of course, was unusual, a little surprised, but nothing more. The main thing for me was that I immediately understood: I am not afraid. ”

On the first working day, Igor learned that he was only the sixteenth employee. Klasky csupo - a small studio at that time, with only two animated series launched on the air and a small package of orders for the development of design and advertising.

Communicating without deep knowledge of the English language was difficult, but still in Moscow, in preparation for the move, the Soviet multiplier learned the basic words and basic terms used in animation. Scraps of phrases, with the help of facial expressions and gestures, he had difficulty, but communicated with other employees.

During the study tour of the office Klasky csupoarranged for Kovalev by new colleagues, he saw the yellow men who were drawn by the studio's animators. “I can do it!” Said Igor, pointing his finger at them. So the Soviet multiplier got on the Simpsons.

In the team already hit at the time of the series, called on his third season, he became one of the unspecified in the final credits animators involved "layout"- drawing the highlights of the scenes. After multipliers Klasky csupo completed their work on creating the “Simpsons” picture, the fruits of their work were sent to South Korea, where the animation of the series was created under the supervision of American supervisors. Then everything was packed and sent back to the US for shooting and dubbing the show. Similarly, the process of creating all the projects Klasky csupo.

Animator from the USSR worked on the Simpsons just one season. In 1992 year Klasky csupo lost the show, Gracie Films (the company that develops the Simpsons) was unhappy with the salaries, capabilities of the studio and the producer that Chupo appointed. In turn, Gabor was furious that the team creating the Simpsons, Matt Groening, was trying, in his words, to lobby for his appointment.

After the loss of the Simpsons sole major customer Klasky csupo American children's channel remained Nickelodeon. Initially Nickelodeon He specialized in reruns of other people's projects and his own game shows, but in 1991, he very successfully launched his first animated series on the air, making him one of the most popular cable TV brands in the United States and around the world. Among the first big victories Nickelodeon in the market of serial animation was the series "Rugrats"(" Oh, so these kids ") - the debut own show of the company Arlene Klaski and Gabor Chupo. A cartoon about babies living in the world of their fantasies, invented by the studio owners together with screenwriter Paul Jermaine, has become a super hit all over the world and has been a flagship project for many years. Nickelodeon.

At the time of appearance in Klasky csupo Russian animator, the work on the first season of “Oh, these kids” is already over, but only three episodes were broadcast - and the bosses Nickelodeon they decided to give green light to continue the series. The channel took a long time, but eventually extended the contract. By the time the studio team began working on the new season, Igor was already relatively fluent in English, and Chupo nominated him for three episodes. So began the cooperation Kovalev with Nickelodeon. Gabor increased his fee to 1500 dollars a week.

At various times, in addition to Kovalev, about ten Russian animators collaborated with the Hollywood studio, many of whom (former employees of the Pilot studio) found themselves in her team thanks to Igor’s patronage. Despite the fact that at the turn of the millennia within American society, stereotypes of the Cold War period were actively used, the multipliers with the Soviet background practically did not encounter their manifestations in Klasky csupo. According to Kovalev, the other employees of the studio loved their Russian colleagues, but he also notes that a special attitude to them by the co-owner of the company may have played a role.

“Oh, I love this Russian team so much! They are awesome, educated, talented. When Igor first appeared in my office, I immediately understood what kind of talent was here. I knew a lot about him, I saw films at festivals. I looked at him and understood: a legend works alongside, ”said Chupo in the Russian documentary series The Magic World of Animation, or Animation of the World.

In 1992, Choupo brought Igor a piece of paper with strange creatures painted on her and the concept of a new show for Nickelodeon: the story of little monsters - students of the academy in which they learn to scare children. Gabor wanted a new project called "Aaahh! Real Monsters”(“ Aah! Real Monsters ”) was similar to“ The Koloboks are Investigating ”, and appointed Kovalev as Director-Supervisor, making the Russian animator, in fact, the show runner of the series. Igor led the work of multipliers, acted as a pilot of the pilot series and personally flew to South Korea to control the creation of her animation.

The series "Ahh !!! Real Monsters "went on the air on the eve of Halloween 1994, and became one of the main hits in history Nickelodeon. New production show Klasky csupo loved by children all over the world. A team of six scriptwriters worked on the first season of the series. They organized brainstorming sessions, made the core of each episode, and then read the script with the animators, after which they created a picture.

“It was a real creative process, we all felt - something special was born!” Recalls Igor, however, he immediately notes that after the first season the team of “Real Monsters” has changed significantly and, in his opinion, the quality of the series has plummeted.

“I don’t remember what was the reason for the changes, but they didn’t bring anything good. I finally left the show before it was closed. Gabor threw me on the show "Duckman“We created for the channel USA Network with a talented artist Everett Pek. As for the Real Monsters, Zhenya Delyusin, Andrei Svislotsky and other Russian animators worked on this show until the very end, and I was the director of one of the final episodes, but at that time was no longer a supervisor. To be honest, at that time it was so uninteresting to me that I hardly even watched the last, fourth season. ”

At the end of 90's, the success of “Oh, those kids” inspired Nickelodeon, Paramount and Klasky Csupo on the creation of a full-length cartoon on the series called "The Rugrats Movie"(" Karapuzy "). Thanks to international awards and high ratings, which received projects with Kovalev, his authority within the company was very high, and it was he who, together with American Animator Norton Wardine, who had been at the origin of the children, was chosen as a film director. Nickelodeon, Paramount and Klasky Csupo invested a million dollars in the 24 project and attracted a number of world stars to its voice acting.

“While working on the film, I collaborated with a huge number of popular actors and musicians,” recalls Igor. - We recorded Iggy Pop, Busta Rhymesbass player Red Hot Chili Peppers - Flea and Lenny Kravitz. Twice I talked on the phone with David Bowie. He was supposed to write the final song for the film, but the track he created was so depressing that it was completely unsuitable for a children's cartoon. We had to refuse to cooperate with him. “Oh guys, don't apologize. I just do not know how to write children's songs, “- said Bowie during telephone conversations. I remembered David as a kind, polite man, which, unfortunately, I can not say about Whoopi Goldberg, which was invited by producers to voice one of the roles. She frankly rude to me and Norton. We were late for recording her cues due to the protracted negotiations with Nickelodeon - And Whoopi inflated scandal from scratch. When the star calmed down and left the recording booth, we met, but I was so outraged by this rudeness that I began to troll it frankly, pretending to be a Russian idiot:

— Igor Kovalev.

“Nice to meet you,” Goldberg said and fell silent.

- Excuse me, but what is your name? — I asked, pretending that I was seeing her for the first time.

“Whoopi... Whoopi Goldberg...” answered the surprised Hollywood star.

According to the Russian director, the cartoon turned out to be extremely unfortunate.

“Believe me, neither I nor Norton consider“ Karapuzov a “masterpiece”, ”he states, noting that part of the fault lies with Nickelodeon and Paramount. Companies overly interfered with the creative process, but the directors were able to save some of their ideas.

“When they demanded to change something, we nodded, agreed, but did not alter anything, and during the next meeting, they first demonstrated the new material and only then it was supposedly changed. Inspired by the amendments to the premiere scenes, representatives Nickelodeon and Paramount sometimes they forgot about the old ones and after the re-show they approved it, not realizing that they were still in front of the same, rejected material! ”, Kovalev recalls with laughter.

The premiere of "Karapuzov" took place on November 8 1998 of the year in Los Angeles. After the first weekend rental, the whole team Klasky csupo lurked in anticipation of the box office results, which eventually surpassed all the wildest predictions: 27 million dollars. Subsequently, this amount grew to 140 millions, and “Karapuzy” became the first “non-Disney” cartoon and the first ever Soviet or Russian filmmaker to collect more than one hundred million dollars in the world box office. Overjoyed by the box office results, Chupo immediately gave Igor money for a new author's cartoon.

The same year Klasky csupo moved into a huge building on Sunset Boulevard, previously owned by the company Mercedes. Gabor personally designed the new studio. Straight lines, acidic, slightly swollen colors - everything, as Chupo loved. After changing the location Klasky csupo became the third largest animation company in the USA. The studio staff consisted of more than four hundred employees, and immediately four of its new series (“The Wild Family Thornberry”, “Rocket Power”, “As Ginger says” and the spin-off “Oh, these kids” - “Kids have grown up”) for five years in turn appeared in the grid Nickelodeon and the morning broadcast of CBS (one of the most popular free US channels). But at the beginning of zero, the situation changed dramatically.

In 2002, during negotiations with Viacom - the media giant who owned Nickelodeon since its founding, Arlene Klasky (co-owner Klasky csupo and the wife of Gabor, who was already at that time) provoked a conflict, demanding that the studio start receiving part of the profits from the episodes of the TV shows it produced for the channel. However, after the conclusion of a new contract with Viacomholding holding ordered from Klasky csupo only 20 new episodes of serials for Nickelodeon for a year against 76 two years earlier. Due to financial problems the company went to the bottom.

“I’m sure if Gabor really wanted this, he would have saved Klasky csupo- says Kovalev, who was engaged in those years in the last seasons in the history of “Oh, these kids”, pilots of two TV shows that were not aired for you, “You are an animal” and “Citizen Tony”, as well as author cartoons. - The main problem was that Chupo was tired of the animation. The time has passed when I saw him with burning eyes, who resorted to me with a shout: “Igor, I have an idea!”. Gabor wanted to make movies (in 2007, his directorial debut was released - the film “Bridge to Terabithia”), galleries and music. Chupo decided that after he retired, the company would be led by Klaski, but unfortunately this was a mistake. Arlene is a sweet, kind woman, she always treated me and my family perfectly, but in everything that concerns business, alas, she was absolutely incompetent, and under her leadership the company instantly collapsed. Despite this, I take off my hat in front of Arlene - she is the mother of “Oh, these kids”. It was Klaski who came up with the idea that became the foundation of the company's success, but if Gabor had not been involved in this project, everything would have gone to hell. Klasky csupo was a very interesting phenomenon. It is a pity that such a beautiful studio is in fact no more, but it means that the stars have risen so much. ”

Created by Arlene Klaski and Gabor Chupo, the company exists today, but the production of its last major project - “Kids have grown up” was discontinued back in 2006, at the same time Kovalev left the studio. Animator switched to cartoon networkwhere he directed a pilot episode of a chernushnogo cartoon series for adults - “The Drunken Crow Show” and about a year later began teaching at the California Institute of the Arts.

The Russian-American director returned to Moscow in 2011 after Timur Bekmambetov met him in Los Angeles and offered to head the series “Alice Knows What To Do” - his new animation project Bazelevs according to the books of the Soviet science fiction writer Cyrus Bulychev.

“It was a difficult time,” recalls Igor. - My mother was seriously ill in Kiev. I was looking for a job in Russia to be closer to her, and therefore I agreed. ”

Today, he acts as a consultant for the team of the future continuation of "Alice" - the full-length cartoon "My Super Pop.

Summing up his American career, Igor says that he is proud of the Klasky csupo the author’s animated cartoon “Milk”, its participation in “The Simpsons”, “Duckman”, “The Drunken Crow Show” and the first seasons of “Real Monsters”, I am very glad that I was part of such a huge project as the full-length cartoon “Karapuzy”.

Read also on ForumDaily:

A director from Russia talks about moving to Los Angeles, the language barrier and a good life

Reddit Creator Alexis Oganyan: The Success Story of the Armenian “Internet Mayor” from Brooklyn

The history of Muscovite, who moved to Los Angeles and became a producer

Hollywood cartoons Our people
Subscribe to ForumDaily on Google News

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis. 



 
1073 requests in 0,923 seconds.