'Zhizn i priklyucheniya chetyrekh druzei 3/4 (English: Life and Adventures of Four Friends 3/4) (Russian: Жизнь и приключения четырех друзей 3/4) is a 1981 Soviet children's movie. It is a sequel to Life and Adventures of Four Friends 1/2 (film), set in Russia. Adapted from the story of the same name by Yusef Printsev and directed by Oleg Yeryshev. This is a second film in the popular family series about the adventures of three dogs and one cat, who are following their owner and are having much fun together. Film runs 60 minutes, and has two parts: 3. Igra s ognyom (aka.. Playing games with fire), and 4. Kot v meshke (aka.. Cat in the bag).
Contents
Plot
Dogs and cat are together again. Three dogs and one cat are now good friends and they continue their adventures while they are following their owner, a forest ranger (played by Petr Shelokhonov). This time the cat becomes the leader of the four friends. Cat Svetofor together with three dogs: Bubrik, Fram, and Toshka are going on a winter journey, they follow their owner on an airplane flying North. The four animals travel to a nursery where New Year trees are grown. There four animals help people to stop the fire and save New Year trees. Then, together with their owner, the four friends join children for celebration of the New Year.
Production
Filming dates 1980 - 1981
Filming locations: Lentelefilm studios, Leningrad, Leningrad Oblast, Russia.
Five additional animal tamers took part in filming.
Three dogs and one cat were selected for filming after auditioning hundreds of dogs and cats with their owners.
Dogs and cat "improvised" a lot before the camera, so many takes were made for each scene before getting good results for congruent editing.
Dogs and cat made some unexpected moves during the filming, so the writer, Yusef Printsev, had to create additional lines for human actors and for translator of the animals' thoughts (Lev Lemke).
Release
The film was released in 1981, on the Moscow Central Television, as well as in theatres in Leningrad, Moscow, and across Russia, as a sequel to Zhizn i priklyucheniya chetyrekh druzei 1/2. Both films also ran in theatres across the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe. In 1994 the film was re-edited in St. Petersburg, Russia for video release. That same year the film was released on VHS and DVD, having several editions during the 1990s, and has been a popular family entertainment for all ages.
The film and its prequel were also released in Germany in the 2000s (decade) under the title "Die Abenteuer der vier Strolche (1/2)" and the sequel "Die Abenteuer der vier Strolche (3/4)."
This film is the second in a series of 8 episodes made between 1980 and 1994. Each episode has a different plot and variations in the cast of actors and crew, but with the same three dogs remaining in the first 4 episodes. The first 4 episodes are paired (1/2 and 3/4) and edited as two movies for video release, now available on VHS and DVD in Europe and in the countries of the former USSR. It remains a popular family movie for all ages.
Interesting facts
This is a second film in the popular Russian children's series about three dogs and a cat becoming friends. In real life, three dogs, named Toshka, Bubrik and Fram, and a cat Svetofor became really friendly and cooperative with actors and director in the course of filming. Owners of dogs and cat also became extras in the film.
Cat Vaska was too independent, and eventually walked away from the project. New cat, named Barsik, was cast as "Cat Svetofor" and remained in the cast for parts 3 and 4.
Main cast
Katya Kishmereshkina
Petr Shelokhonov
Tatyana Samarina
Boris Sokolov
Mikhail Svetin
Yefim Kamenetsky
Lev Lemke - as Translator of animals' thoughts.
Vladimir Bobin
Valeri Bychenkov
Valeri Doronin
Andrei Khilko
Mikhail Matveyev
Yevgeni Tilicheyev
Nikita Yeryshev
Animal actors
Cat Svetofor - played by cat Barsik (no owner mentioned)
Dog Bubrik - played by terriere Chingiz (dog owner - E. Sokolova)
Dog Fram - played by shepherd Yanko (dog owner - L. Ostretsova)
Dog Toshka - as herself (dog owner - S. Pavlova)
Crew
Director: Oleg Yeryshev
Production director: Yu. Goncharov
Writers: Yusef Printsev, Oleg Yeryshev
Cinematographers: Roman Chernyak, V. Ivanets
Composers: Gennady Gladkov, Igor Tsvetkov
Art director: Konstantin Dmitrakov
Editing: G. Saidakovskaya, L. Burtsova
Second unit director: A. Ratnikov
Sound: Iosif Minkov
Music editor: A. Aristov
Light: A. Zakharov, L. Yudina
Animal trainers: L. Ostretsova, S. Pavlova, E. Sokolova.
Production managers: E. Grigorenko, O. Krakhovskaya, E. Snyatovskaya
Production companies
Gosteleradio
Lentelefilm
Ochakovo-Films
Distributors
Gosteleradio (all formats, from 1981–1991) in the Soviet Union.
Ochakovo-Films (all formats, after 1992) in Russia.
Enio Film (after 1994, VHS video) (non-Russia, non-USA).