Directed by: Eduard Belyaev
Overview
This animated film from the Soviet Union tells the centuries-old Russian folktale about a baby named Vanya abandoned to the care of an elderly woman who lived deep in the mountains. Vanya grew up nurtured in an abiding love for animals and knowing the special uses of herbs. One day, he encounters a mother bear and her cub and is amazed to learn that they can magically transform themselves into human form. Rescuing the cub/daughter from an evil hunter, Vanya is taught the bears' secret magic. They warn him against walking around a special fir tree twice for he will become a bear forever, never to return to the people. When hunters kill his ursine allies, Vanya attacks them and then rejects the world of humans. To this day, the grey bear wanders the hills and forests of Russia dispansing justice. "Woe to those who are greedy and unjust for the grey bear will always find them."