Music by Rodion Shchedrin, it was first performed in Moscow in 1959.

In 1961, “The Little Humpbacked Horse” was filmed and was subsequently released commercially in the 1980’s in the format of VHS tapes.

Currently, two companies, VAI and Kultur, release the same title in DVD format.

In terms of content, they are exactly the same.

The DVDs are also supposed to be of comparable video quality, since the same master tapes have been used in the productions.

Cast:
Queen Maiden: Maya Plisetskaya
Ivan: Vladimir Vasiliev
King: Alexander Radunsky
The Little Humpbacked Horse: Annya Scherbinina

Synopsis:

The Little Humpbacked Horse is a colorful and comical tale.

This story is about a Russian boy named Ivan who lives on a farm with his father and two older brothers.

These two older  brothers believe Ivan is simple-minded and therefore never want to include Ivan in anything that they do.

Because there are crops being destroyed on the farm in the nighttime, the father asks the two older brothers to go out after dark and watch the field for him.  Instead of staying awake, the brothers fall asleep and take no notice of what happens in the field.

When Ivan goes to the field to look for his brothers, he sees an enchanted white horse leaping across the field.  He grabs the tail of the horse and refuses to let the enchanted creature go.  The horse begs Ivan to set her free.

In return, the magical creature grants Ivan with the gift of three horses.

Two of them are beautiful steeds and the third one is a little humpbacked horse.

The enchanted horse tells Ivan that he can sell the beautiful steeds if he prefers but advises him to keep the little humpbacked horse at his side always as the humpbacked horse will remain to be his most loyal friend forever.

After the enchanted horse is gone, a firebird appears in the sky and drops a feather.

The little humpbacked horse warns Ivan not to pick up the feather as the feather could bring bad luck.  Unfortunately, Ivan doesn’t listen and rushes off chasing the feather.

Meanwhile, the two brothers wake up.  Upon noticing the beautiful steeds, they decide to steal and sell the creatures in a market outside the palace of the king.

Upset by the disappearance of the steeds and his brothers, Ivan set off with the little humpbacked horse on a journey to find the brothers.

When he locates the brothers, the brothers are just about selling the steeds to the King.  Because nobody but Ivan can tame the steeds, the King demotes the existing chief of the royal stables and makes Ivan the new chief.

The former chief is angry about the demotion and he vows to take revenge.  When he notices the firebird feather that Ivan possesses, he decides to take the feather and report to the King of Ivan’s possession.

The King is fascinated by the feather.

As the feather reminds the King of a painting of firebirds that he owns,  he decides to touch the painting with the firebird feather.  All of a sudden, all the creatures in the painting, including a beautiful woman (the Queen Maiden), come to life.  Although the creatures are only alive for a very brief moment, the King is struck by the beauty of the Queen Maiden.

Seeing this as an opportunity to seek revenge, the former chief suggests the King to order Ivan to look for the Queen Maiden.

With the help of the little humpbacked horse, Ivan locates the Queen Maiden and manages to kidnap her back to the palace.

When the King sees the Queen Maiden, he asks her to marry him.  Knowing that she cannot refuse and say no to the King, the Queen Maiden tells the King that she’ll only marry him if he can find her the one and only precious ring that has been kept at the bottom of the sea.

The King again orders Ivan to do what seems to be the impossible.

With the help of the little humpbacked horse, Ivan goes underwater and seeks assistance from the water sprites and fishes.  A rockfish finds the ring at the bottom of the sea and brings it to Ivan.

Ivan returns to the palace with the precious ring.

Since the Queen Maiden is now in love with Ivan, she knows she must come up with a plan to change her fate.  She tells the King that if he really wants to marry her, he’ll have to immerse himself in a bath of boiled water to restore his youth.   Foreseeing the danger of the boiling temperature, the King once again orders Ivan to immerse himself in the boiled water.  Because of the magic that the little humpbacked horse performs, Ivan is not only protected but also undergoes a transformation that makes him appear younger and more good-looking.

Unaware of the magic being performed by the little humpbacked horse, the King thinks Ivan’s transformation is solely due to the magic of the bath of boiled water.  He ends up throwing himself into the searing water and boils himself to death.

Because the King never comes out of the boiled water, the Queen Maiden is set free.

Ivan ends up in marriage with the Queen Maiden and both the couple and the little humpbacked horse live happily ever after.

Other Information:

The length of the video is about 84 minutes.

Due to the age of the film, there are some video imperfections but the overall picture quality is acceptable.

Comments:

Because I adore the legendary Maya Plisetskaya, I purchased the DVD when it was first released.

Maya Plisetskaya was in her mid-thirties when she danced in this production.  Her jumps and turns were strong and she made all the difficult ballet movements look simple and easy.

Vladmir Vasiliev was only in his early twenties when this production was filmed.  He infused his Russian folk dance with so much energy that it’s a pure joy to watch him perform.

The dances in the underwater scene, in my opinion, are beautiful.  The costumes are traditional yet pretty.

Related Links:

• YouTube – Plisetskaya Vasiliev Little Humpbacked Horse (vaimusic.com).
• YouTube – The Little Humpbacked Horse.

As I’m waiting to receive a copy of the most recent release of Don Quijote from the National Ballet of Cuba, I decide to re-familiarize myself by watching an older production of ballet performance of Don Quixote.

The DVD that I have is a 1978 production by the Bolshoi Ballet.  (Audio: Mono, Picture Quality: OK)

It’s a ballet in four Acts:

Choreographer: Alexander Gorsky, after Marius Petipa

Cast:
Kitri/Dulcinea: Nadezhda Pavlova
Basil: Vyacheslav Gordeev
Don Quixote: Vladimir Levachov
Sancho Panza: Vasiliy Vorokhobko

Background History:

Don Quixote is a ballet first performed in Moscow in 1869, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa with music by Ludwig Minkus. It’s the first ballet Minkus composed for Petipa.

Synopsis:

Don Quixote is an old man who is always fascinated by stories in the medieval times.  Because he’s so taken with stories of medieval knights, he begins to believe he is a real knight himself.  In search of exciting adventures, he travels around with his servant, Sancho Panza.

In one of his adventures, Don Quixote arrives in a market square where people are dancing and having a great time.

Kitri, a daughter of an innkeeper, is in love with Basil, a barber in the market square.  However, her father has other plan in mind and has offered her hand in marriage to a rich and pretentious man named Gamache.

When Don Quixote meeets Kitri, he believes she is his beloved Dulcinea, a beautiful princess in his fantasy, and therefore supposes his duty to protect Kitri from any forms of harm and mistreatment.

Meanwhile, Basil comes up with an idea to marry Kitri.  Pretending he is devastated by the upcoming marriage of Kitri and Gamache, he stuns everyone in the market square and stabs himself with a knife.  Because he appears dying, he manages to trick Kitri’s father into granting him the permission to marry his beloved.

The ballet concludes with a happy ending where Kitri and Basil celebrate their wedding with Don Quixote, Sancho Panza and the villagers.

Other Information:

Nadezhda Pavlova was born in 1956.  At the time of this production, she was 22 years old.  She was married to Vyacheslav Gordeev in 1975.

Comments:

This Bolshoi version is by far (from the few performances that I’ve seen) the one that has the most number of lifts being carried out by Basil.

What I also like about this DVD is its bonus section.  It has scenes (black and white) from Plisetskaya’s Don Quixote in the 1960s.

Related Links:

• YouTube – Nadezhda Pavlova Kitri/Dulcinea Variations Don Quixote 1978
• YouTube – Nadezhda Pavlova Vyacheslav Gordeyev Don Quixote Pas de Deux
• YouTube – Nadezhda Pavlova dances Don Quixote (vaimusic.com)

When Akeelah and the Bee was released last year, I bought the DVD and it has since become one of the most invaluable assets in my DVD collection.

Unlike many movies that feature aggression and offensive combats, Akeelah and the Bee presents the warmer side of human connections.

Here, we find the illustration of trust among good natured people, the inspiration to overcome fears despite human vulnerabilities, as well as the honorable qualities to maintain fairness within the settings of a competition.

If you have children who are scared of rejection and therefore choose to downplay their talent and intelligence, this movie Akeelah and the Bee will help them to accept their unique strengths and regain their self-confidence.

As I watch this movie, I notice a prominent theme that keeps on reminding me of another film called Peaceful Warrior – It is the journey, not the destination, that makes our lives more interesting. We are transformed not because of the rewards in our lives but rather through the process of enjoyment and willingness that we seek as we choose to deliver a better version of ourselves.

If you enjoy stories that are uplifting as well as inspirational, you’ll love this movie Akeelah and the Bee. I hope you’ll watch it, enjoy it and cherish it!