soviets didn't have sex but had heated rivalry
hereās a piece of Ilyaās childhood lore.
as a ā90s kid, i remember how obsessed we were with tv. everyone had their favorite shows that weād watch before or after school.
russian childrenās tv back then was a mix of disney classics, american animated series (like X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and japanese anime (PokĆ©mon and Sailor Moon were huge).
but we also broadcast a lot of soviet animation.
which brings me to this masterpiece:
produced in 1964 by the prolific Boris Dyozhkin, this short animated film, Puck! Puck! (sometimes translated as Goal! Goal!), instantly became a hit and spawned a couple of spin-offs.
the plot is almost prophetic: a team of earnest, well-meaning boys in blue struggles but ultimately wins a hockey match against a group of big, aggressive meanies in red.
thereās no dialogue and definitely no shower scenes, but the tension is absolutely there.
i can picture baby-ilya watching it on tv (or irina showing it to him, since she must have seen it countless times during her own childhood), and instantly choosing this mf as his role model.
you can watch the original ШайбŃ! ШайбŃ! (Puck! Puck!) and its spin-off ŠŠ°ŃŃ ŃŠµŠ²Š°Š½Ń (Rematch) on youtube:
ШайбŃ! ШайбŃ!, 1964, ~20 min
ŠŠ°ŃŃ-ŃŠµŠ²Š°Š½Ń, 1968, ~20 min