Aybolit-66

1967 film

19 April 1967 (1967-04-19)

Running time

92 minutesCountrySoviet UnionLanguageRussian

Aybolit-66 (Russian: Айболит-66) is a 1966 Soviet family comedy film directed by Rolan Bykov. It is based on a story by Kornei Chukovsky. The film features Oleg Yefremov as the good Aibolit and Rolan Bykov as the evil Barmalei.

Plot

In Africa, monkeys have become sick. The news was reported to Dr. Aybolit by Monkey Chi-Chi, but Barmalei with his gang are attempting to hamper their plan. At first they seize the doctor's ship on the sea and throw out Dr. Aybolit. At the end, the robbers by order of chief Barmalei collect all the local pirates on the river bank. In conclusion the good doctor manages to overpower Barmalei using drugs and cures the monkeys.

Cast

Oleg Yefremov as Doctor Aybolit
Lidiya Knyazeva as Chi-Chi the Monkey
Yevgeni Vasilyev as Avva the Dog
Rolan Bykov as Barmalei / Author
Aleksei Smirnov as Jolly pirate
Frunzik Mkrtchyan as Sad pirate
Leonid Yengibarov as cheerful clown #1
Konstantin Khudyakov as pirate
Igor Yasulovich as white clown
Ilya Rutberg as orchestra conductor
Vadim Grachyov as cheerful clown #2
Gurgen Janibekyan as old pirate

Influence

In 1971, Canadian filmmaker Gerald Potterton released the film Tiki Tiki, which intercut footage from Aybolit-66 with original animated sequences to recontextualize it in the style of Woody Allen's 1966 film What's Up, Tiger Lily?.^[1] Aleksandr Kuznetsov, the original production designer of Aybolit-66, was named the winner of the Canadian Film Award for Best Art Direction/Production Design at the 23rd Canadian Film Awards.^[2]

References

^ "Tiki-Tiki a complicated delight". Montreal Gazette, December 30, 1972.
^ Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7737-3238-1. pp. 93-95.