Mowgli. Episode 1. The fact that the Soviet adaptation of Mowgli is a TV series was a big surprise to me at the time. The fact is that VHS produced a stripped version in the form of a full-length film, where even the musical accompaniment was slightly altered. The series was released back in the 1960s, and the first series personally pleases me with the fact that a lot of attention is paid to the guardians of the feral boy.
The wolf pack, where our main character falls, turns out to be in the literal and figurative senses motley, but Raksha - the named mother of Mowgli - is ready to give his life for him. Such a desperate maternal instinct evokes admiration in the audience, and horror in the enemies. Even if it's the mighty tiger Sherhan. Surprisingly, even in Disney's 2016 "Jungle Book," this antagonist doesn't look as ferocious as here. Sherkhan from the Soviet version is a villain with a capital letter, who is always angry and wants to kill. In contrast to him, the jackal of Tabaki is a small, weak and defenseless villain who can only exist in the shadow of Sherhan.
Wise bear Balu and leader Akela also look impressive. Interestingly, unlike the book, Balu is not a brown bear, but a Himalayan bear, since this species is found in India. Boa Kaa also appears in this series, however, he has no replica yet, and one offensive blunder is associated with this character. Snakes do not know how to blink, since their eyelids are transparent and always closed. And Kaa even blinks in such a short scene. But that's a small thing.
The main advantage of the first series is the successfully conveyed atmosphere of the jungle with shady thickets and heavy rains. The scene in which we see Sherkhan in the rain is even frightening. I would love to watch a thriller in which a tiger attacks from behind a wall of water. However, there are shortcomings in Raksha. Animals are shown as if they can talk, but in some scenes they communicate with each other without any sounds. That's weird. But the main drawback, as you can guess, is associated with the character, which in the Russian version for some reason changed gender - Bagira. To comment on this, frankly, even laziness. Nothing prevented the translators from leaving everything like Kipling.
Taking into account all the advantages and disadvantages:
7 out of 10