Armen Film Animated Shorts

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These are Armenfilm studio cartoons made by Robert Sahakyants, famous for their unique animation. A few of them are available on Youtube with English subtitles.

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Tropes demonstrated in all Armenfilm shorts:

• Anachronism Stew: The plot and setting of old Armenian stories are mixed up with numerous references to Soviet life.
• Always a Bigger Fish: A literal example; expect lots of random scenes showing fishes eating other fishes.
• Perspective Magic: Sahakyants's favourite animation trick
• Shout-Out: To Russian folk tales (for instance, a squirrel cracking diamonds; a princess frog catching arrows; and a boy sitting on turtle's back with a golden key, which is a reference to Buratino – a Russian Expy of Pinocchio
• Deranged Animation: Like you wouldn't believe.
• What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?
• Title Drop
• Freeze-Frame Bonus

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Tropes in individual shorts:

Three Blue, Blue Lakes of Crimson Color (1981):A short parodying the tendency of hunters to exaggerate size of their prey

• All Just a Dream
• How Do You Like Them Apples?: The three apples at the end for "those who listened and believed" is an allusion to the typical ending of Armenian folktales.
• Rule of Three: Three lakes, three villages, three apples.
• Unreliable Narrator

Who will tell a fable? (1982): A king announces a contest in which contenders have to tell a tale and if king will not believe it, he gets to take half the kingdom. On the other hand, if the king thinks fit to decide that the tale is plausible enough, he will take all of the contender's belongings. Based on the folktale "The Liar Folktale".

• Hoist by His Own Petard
• Kent Brockman News
• The Vizier: Subverted, the king is just as evil as his counsellor
• Xanatos Gambit: In the end, if the king said he didn't believe the child's story about owing him money, he'd have to give him have the kingdom. And of course if he did believe it he'd have to pay up.
• Youngest Child Wins

Wow, a Talking Fish! (1983): A poor fisherman is given a magic table by a kindly wizard who happens to have a small condition...

• Androcles' Lion
• Chekhov's Fish: The released fish destroys the monster, saving the fisherman and his wife
• Logic Bomb: A stranger mindscrews Eh-Ack till he explodes.
• Speak of the Devil
• Product Placement: For some reason, both Eh-Ack and the stranger are wearing Adidas gear.
• Talk The Monster To Death
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Eh-Ack keeps changing forms without any rhume or reason.

Marty Gra (1985): A corrupt land-owner robs a farmer, and his son decides to take it back.

• Fridge Logic: Okay, we realise that these shorts are fairy tales, but still: how come an obviously Soviet corrupt store manager can own a land and raise taxes? (Under Communism a private individual can't do these actions on his own; only the state can.)
• Paper-Thin Disguise: The boy dresses up as a snowman... and the land owner asks him for directions.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar: A Freeze-Frame Bonus of two cats.

Deep blue Sea, light white foam (1984): A fisherman and his grandson find a bottle with an evil sorcerer trapped inside. The sorcerer decided to take the boy who released him as an apprentice. The cartoon's song is probably the best known part of it.

• Bilingual Bonus: "ayb ben gimm" are first three letters of Armenian alphabet, "irek uyu chors" means "ready, set, go" in Armenian
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: when sea king turns into a rocket, one can see "no smoking" (in english) and "13" (Reference to Apollo 13?) written on the rocket
  • As American Lunar program wasn't a big talk in The Eighties Soviet Union, it's more probably just a common European superstition about 13 being unlucky.
• Dude, Not Funny: apart from possible Appollo 13 connection one of the ships have "007 747" numbers written on it
  • Again, even in Soviet Union an "007" would evoke James Bond first.
• Everything Is an Instrument: drum-fish, trumpet fish, accordion fish -- you name it
• Evil Is Cool: "I'll teach you to make storms, sink ships... You'll be rich, and happy".
• Genie in a Bottle
• Jackass Genie
• Not Quite Back to Normal: After the boy turns back from a fish to a man, he's dressed like a caveman.
• Shapeshifter Mode Lock: The boy, after learning how to shapeshift, tries to flee, but is informed he didn't learn the counterspell.
• Our Mermaids Are Different: princess looks like a 'normal' mermaid except that her head is a fish too
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old: The sorcerer promises the boy will live 2 000 years - and marry his daughter in 300 or so.
• Sirens Are Mermaids
• Tricking the Shapeshifter: The boy pulls off the old Arabian Nights trick at the end.
• Villain Song
• We Can Rule Together
• Water Is Air