Modernization of Folklore Canons in XXI Century National Film Tales

Abstract

The Cartoon “Shrek” (2001, directed by E. Adamson and V. Jenson) became the pioneer fairy tale of the XXI century, which defined new canons of the folklore genre in cinema.
Deconstructing the structure of the fairy tale, irony about classical patterns, characters, tropes and plots, quotes from media culture, as well as the changing aesthetics of life have given the fairy tale a new edge in the context of the postmodern era. The success of the new fairy tale patterns has had a significant impact on world cinema. It is especially interesting to trace the influence of “Shrek” in modern Russian screen fairy tales, which still use the formal techniques of the American animation.
The article studies the ways of updating classic fairy tale patterns used in “Shrek”, and their adaptation in modern-day national screen fairy tales.
The first parts of two of the most famous Russian animation franchises were selected as the research material: “Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Snake” (2004, dir. K. Bronzit) - the first cartoon that used the techniques of “Shrek”, and “The Tsarevich Ivan and the Gray Wolf ” (2011, directed by V. Toropchin) — a project released a decade after the American cartoon, but also employing its formula. In addition to proving its influence on mainstream animation, the article examines the borrowing and translation of these techniques from animation into live-action fairy tales, which have also picked up the trend of the necessary changes in fairy-tale patterns.
The changing world of animated and live-action fairy tales, which has been filled with quotations from different spheres of culture and history, which is using irony as the main method of ridicule and the creation of new folklore patterns, reflects the general process of forming a media space, where fairy tales must also abide by the altered rules.
The main purpose of the article is to prove the influence of “Shrek” on the basic transformation and construction of modern national fairy tales, not only in their animated variety, but also in the form of live-action projects such as “The Book of Masters” and the franchise “The Last Warrior”, which became important milestones in the setting-up of a modern Russian fairy–tale universe.