It is a performances centric movie

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I would like to explain the popularity of this Animation. It's a Romantic and Adventurous story. And it is a legendary Musical for children made a bit in style of Rock musical. Especially its Sequel – the 2 part. That's why You won't find ordinary dialogues. The story of main characters is told through their songs which were written also with lots humor and subtle irony. Probably this (the language barrier) could be the main obstacle which could prevent unfortunately to apprehend and feel this animation fully . The graphic is rather laconic and made a bit in abstract and avant-garde style. But the Main thing for which this animation and its Sequel are estimated so High is its Music and general Mood created by the Songs which were performed by legendary singers Oleg Anofriev in 1st part and Muslim Magomaev in Sequel. They are known by heart by lots of people in Former USSR and Russia. Lots of generations were brought up on them. Even special Vinyl Disks for kids were released. A Spoiler- Some Details about How it was made.The most curious thing-the Surprise which you will discover in the End is that ALL Characters except Princess were dubbed by One Actor – Oleg Anofriev.It was a musical attraction and a Know-How of Anofriev. It was His special Talent and Gift. He could do absolutely everything from his voice. He could Sing beautifully and at the same time he could imitate different timbres: from high and almost childish voice till smth in style of Joe Cocker or Garou with some sexy hoarseness in his voice. So afterwards he has written lots of Soundtracks to different animations and movies in his special Style and they also became very popular. In Sequel of this animation which also became a Great Hit another Legendary performer appears. A Soviet Star –Muslim Magomaev. He metaphorically took "the challenge" of Oleg Anofriev and repeated his Musical Trick by performing the part of three main Characters including Troubadour.Another curious thing is that it was made by Russian Sherlock Holmes , by Vasily Livanov who played this Role in Russian Movie- adaptations of Conan Doyle. He is not only a prominent actor but also has created animations, films, lyrics, scenarios, etc He has lots of talents. And another funny thing is that the image of Princess (from her "little red dress" till her appearance) was inspired greatly by future wife of a Poet – Yuri Entin who wrote the lyrics to these animations . So, if you' re interested in Art of Acting, if you enjoy different musical and vocal experiments, if you're not afraid of Russian Language this animation is for You. :)

This is my favorite Russian cartoon. I don't understand very much Russian, but I do like Russian films. I have loaned my DVD copy of this cartoon to some of my friends, and both families LOVED it! The first family was American, and they had a lot of trouble believing that the cartoon was made during Communism! They don't know any Russian, but they loved watching the cartoon. The lady told me that her husband saw the title for the second part of the cartoon, and claimed that the title meant, "They went that-away!!!" Their younger son thought it was very cool and wished his friends could have seen it.The other family had adopted children from Russia, who are quite young, so I thought the kids might like to see it. They enjoyed it, but the little girl wondered why there weren't any words, and her daddy explained that the words were in the song.What I like best about this movie is the fact that one of my very favorite Russian singers, Oleg Anofriev, is one of the principle voices. Overall, it is a very pretty movie. Anyone who likes a good cartoon or who is learning Russian, must watch this Soviet classic!

This is a wonderfully done cartoon; every song is superb and catchy, highly recommended for those who don't even speak the language since every piece of dialogue is part of a song anyway, and you don't really have to know Russian to appreciate those.

Bremenskiye Muzykanty is an excellent children's/family animation story. The characters are universal and endearing, instilling a sense of diversity (a young man, a rooster, a cat, a dog and an ass) and cooperation. The story is universal, playing on a theme of its time: Freedom from rule by authority; And existentialism.Artistically drawn. Set in Victorian Europe (Bremen is in Germany).In the Soviet Union, where I grew up, this story was widely available on records and extremely popular with children and adults alike. It was occasionally shown on state run television. It was so loved that the toys of the characters appeared in toy store windows after its release.I always loved it, but thought I would never see it again. A few years ago I found a video tape version and a CD of the story in New York. I now play it for my new-born.I recommend it very highly.