I don't want to study, I want to get married. The very idea of making something like movie-fiction based on four fairy tales by Andersen is quite curious. In a single plot they were sewn organically. Every story has been rethought. But, alas, it was possible, perhaps, only with the fairy tale “Road friend”.
A troll in a black mask immediately fascinates the eye. You can only see his beautiful eyes and hear a deep, sad voice. He reminded me of the goblin king Jared of The Labyrinth, who had grown up and experienced grief and loss. His beloved princess is also beautiful and sad. Their dialogue about love is so sincere and yet exquisite. And you are really afraid that the Prince, so hungry for the blood of his rival, will follow the original fairy tale and bring the bride the head of Troll. True, the finale of the story is somewhat spoiled by the course a la “Scarlet Flower”. And those skeletons rising from the dead -- well, yeah, it's perfect, nobody got hurt. However, the creators of Shrek will come up with the desired outcome in due time ... and, of course, out of purely female solidarity, I am happy for the Second Princess, although the true appearance of her fiancé is far from Apollo - the likeness of the robot Werther from the "Guest from the Future", everything is better than a troll.
Reworking the “most incredible” on the idea is also not bad. But by execution, it's some wild thrash. A decent portrait of the princess did not draw (no, it does not look like the idea of the authors that it was never shown, it looks like a shortage of a good artist in the state), the mime is clearly not Marcel Marceau (although of all, perhaps the best), the balleroon can not twist a decent tour, and the combined shooting with a fouet, which wraps the dancer in the ground - just a shame, instead of the poet - a talentless declamator of the textbook palindrome. As far as the Prince's invention is concerned, well, only card tricks with card guessing are more primitive in execution. But the worst part is Drachun. Such unnatural laughter and intense rudeness in a Soviet film somehow do not expect, it is shameful to see this talentless “game”. So completely merged the observation of life that, sometimes, narrow maidens, no matter how do not wriggle from themselves sublime natures, are given to the first “alpha male”, all the advantages of which are impudence and strength.
The other stories were worse. The first one was remodeled, but the morality was brought out, in my opinion, disgusting. In the first, the Prince, you see, despised the princess who was ready to give up her gifts. What better way to offer her gifts for kisses? You don't like body trading, don't go to brothels. If the First Princess was really a burnt slacker, it’s fine, but she’s just a fool, brainless and does not understand anything about life at all. The Prince here looks just a hypocritical prude - kissed with pleasure, and then all this moralist. A nasty man, one word. And here it is presented as a positive hero. Double standards at full height.
In the last story, the authors did not have enough imagination for alteration. It would have been much better for the princess to say, “You know, I had a bad night... because I just couldn’t climb that mountain of junk.” And, sorry, where did love come from? The prince has seen her for the second time in his life. She is meek and economical, and the mother likes - just a convenient party, and he wanted to marry. She'll pay him more...
Even Smoktunovsky and Freundlich do not correct the situation, and Kalyagin here just works out a comedy reprise - these are seeds, not roles for such stars.
By the way, Vivaldi's music doesn't fit half of the episodes in the film. Trying to go out on the talent of a recognized composer is an ugly move of the creators.
For the history of Troll, I would put an eight, for the prudish reworking of “Pig Herder” and a hack in “The Most Incredible” – a three-man, half a point for the idea itself, in general –
6 out of 10