Morozheni pesni

This short animation is a Pomors folktale by Stepan Pisakhov. Set on the shores of the White Sea in far north Russia during the cold winter months, the film presents a world where it sometimes gets so cold that words freeze as soon as they come out of your mouth. The story focuses on a German merchant who buys frozen songs from the people and shows them to a packed concert hall in Germany.

This is a well crafted animation, with a visual style that matches the folktale storytelling. The music is fun, with the main theme the Merchant plays being The Beatles' Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da melody, played on Russian folk instruments.

A fun and good looking animated short, that tells a unique story in a unique setting.