Icarus and Wisemen

Soviet 1976 animated short by Fyodor Khitruk.

In a community where most of the citizens are serious, thoughtful wise men there is a strange man who dreams of flying. He makes himself pair of wings but he falls. Then he invents a series of devices but they all fare just as bad. But Icarus never gives up and tries something new every day.

Wise men as they observe Icarus'es fruitless efforts, make him an example of stupid and unacceptable behavior for youth and conjure numerous thoughtful and deep latinisms: such as "quod licet iovi, von licet bovi", "Festina lente" and such. But one day Icarus did not fell...

Apart from the character of Icarus, this cartoon have nothing common with epynomial greek myth. Original gave us an aesop about Icarus who boldly wanted to reach the sun and burned his wings trying, the short tells a story about so-called 'wise men' who prey on visionaries.

Can be watched on Youtube with subtitles.


 * Bittersweet Ending: Icarus died, but one of the kids is prepared to take after him.
 * Blithe Spirit: Icarus
 * Chirping Crickets: "croaking frog" sound effect is used to show us that without Icarus the place qiuckly turned into a intellectually bare swamp.
 * Crowning Music of Awesome: Icarus' theme
 * Dead Artists Are Better: while alive Icarus was made fun of. After he died (at their own hands!), wise men made a monument at his grave, altogether mourned him at the funeral and started giving tours to his memorial.
 * Determinator: Icarus
 * Gratuitous Latin
 * Take Up My Wings