УДК: 791.43-252.5+778.534.4+791.44.071.2

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2025-4-124-152

EDN: WITEXI

Full text (PDF): Download

Natalia G. Krivulya

D. Sc. in Art Studies, professor, The Head of the Scientific Department, Higher School of Television at the Lomonosov Moscow State University; The Head of the Department of Artist of Multimedia at the Institute of Cinema and Television (GITR).
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Moscow, Russia
E-mail: hstv-sn@bk.ru

Searching for a Mask. The Creative Path of Oleg Tabakov in Animation

Abstract

The article is devoted to Oleg Tabakov’s creative path in animation. It attempts in understanding the specifics of his creative method of working behind the scenes, providing voiceovers for animated characters, and creating their voice portraits. The study describes the actor’s work in animation with a virtual body and the artistic and expressive means he can use. The main principle of Tabakov’s work on voicing animated characters was based upon the thorough work on the script and role at the initial stage before coming to studio. He analyzed the character and his words, and put the intonational accents, pauses, chose the timbre and manner of speaking. One of the main aspects of Tabakov’s work in animation was his method of acting, which was connected with his acting nature and his imagination. Tabakov also considered it mandatory for himself the trying outs, improvisation, and several record using his entire arsenal of prosodic means to create the most accurate sound image that reveals the character’s personality and psychology. Among the characters proposed for voicing, Oleg Tabakov did not distinguish between main and secondary characters. He believed that every character, even the minor ones, required attention and acting, and could not be chosen randomly. As a student of the Moscow Art Theatre drama school, Oleg Tabakov strove to combine sound with figurative and plastic expressiveness when creating his characters. As a result, directors and artists who worked with Oleg Tabakov often created their characters in animation based on his appearance and acting style. This symbiotic approach resulted in harmonious characters that became iconic for an entire generation of viewers. The article discusses Oleg Tabakov’s acting roles in animation, such as TV presenter, actor voicing a specific character, actor-narrator, and actor creating a polyphonic multi-performance. The article analyzes the films in which Tabakov participated and determines his role in creating the famous characters.

Keywords

O.P. Tabakov, Soviet animation, voice acting, animated characters, actor’s role, polyphonic monologue performance.

For citation

Krivulya N. G. Searching for a Mask. The Creative Path of Oleg Tabakov in Animation. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2025, no. 4, pp. 124–152.

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2025-4-124-152

EDN WITEXI

References

  1. 1. Asenin S. V. Volshebniki ekrana. Esteticheskije problemy sovremennoj multiplikatsii [Screen Wizards. Aesthetic Problems of Contemporary Animation]. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1974. 287 p. 
  2. Shumov M. V., Pavlov A. Yu. Tvorcheskij diapazon Marii Vinogradovoj v kontekste ozvuchivanija sovetskih multfilmov. K 100‑letiyu “korolevy epizoda” [Maria Vinogradova’s Creative Range in the Context of Voicing Soviet Cartoons. To the 100th Anniversary of the “Queen of the Episode”]. Filosofiya i kultura [Philosophy and Culture]. 2023, no. 5, pp. 191–205. DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2023.5.40697. 
  3. Dobychin B., Tabakov O. Oleg Tabakov i Ego Neobychnye Geroi [Oleg Tabakov and His Unusual Heroes: Interview]. Sovitsky ekran [Soviet Screen]. 1985, no. 11, p. 5. 
  4. Sotvorenie filma, ili neskolko intervju po sluzhebnym voprosam [Making a Film, or Several Interviews on Official Matters]. Ed. and collect. by N. Venzher. Moscow: Soyuz kinematografistov SSSR; Vsesoyuznoe tvorcheskoproizvodstvennoe objedinenie KINOCENTR, 1990, p.176.
  5. O zhizni i o sebe. Intervju s Olegom Pavlovichem Tabakovym [About Life and about Myself: An Interview with Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov]. Razvitie lichnosti [Personal development], 2007, no. 4, pp.162–171. 
  6. Svishcheva N. I. “Mogu byt’ stulom, zhenshchinoj, kotom…” [“I Can Be a Chair, a Woman, a Cat…”]. In: Svishcheva N. I. Statji, intervju, vospominanija: v 3 knigakh. Kniga 2 [Articles, Interviews, Memoirs: In 3 books. Book 2.]. Saratov: Saratovskiy istochnik, 2021, pp. 109–112.
  7. Baraban E. Figvam utilitarista [Fygvam of the Utilitarian]. In: Veselye chelovechki: kulturnye geroi sovetskogo detstva [Happy People: Cultural Heroes of the Soviet Childhood]. Moscow: Novoe literarurnoe obozrenie, 2008, pp. 440–457. 
  8. Bazin A. Ontologia fotograficheskogo obraza [The Ontology of the Photographic Image]. In: Bazin A. Chto Takoye Kino? [What is Cinema?] Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1972, pp.40–47. 
  9. Borodin G. N. V borbe za malenkie mysli. Neadekvatnost cenzury. Glava iz knigi “Animacija podnevolnaja” [Battling for the Small Thoughts. The Inadequacy of Censorship (A Chapter from the Book Bonded Animation)]. Kinovedcheskie zapiski [Film Studies Notes]. 2005, no. 73, pp. 261–309.

Received: 18.10.2025

Revised: 07.11.2025

Accepted: 14.11.2025