Mar 9, 2021

Vverh Animation Studio in Russia announces closure

Vverh Animation Studio, the Moscow-based studio behind last year's feature Ginger's Tale, is to shut down. The company made the announcement on Russian social media platform VK on February 27. It didn't provide a reason.

The announcement came weeks after Ginger's Tale opened at the Russian box office to disappointing returns. The fairy tale film, which is loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen story The Tinderbox, launched on February 4, coming in tenth on its opening weekend with USD$198,489 (according to The Numbers). It closed after two weekends and a total of $310,076. For comparison, Pixar's Soul, which opened on January 22, has grossed $17.2 million in the territory so far.

Ginger's Tale, a work of traditional 2d animation, played in competition at last year's Annecy Festival and was warmly reviewed. Directed by Konstantin Shchekin, it is Vverh's second feature, following 2017's The Tale of Peter and Fevronia.

In an interview with Animationweek last August, Vverh producer Yuri Ryazanov said that finding skilled 2d animators in Russia proved a challenge. “I think 2d traditional animation in Russia is awaiting a sad future,” he said. “It's a very expensive technique and the market cannot afford it.”

Cartoon Brew has contacted Vverh for comment. We'll update the story if we receive a response.