Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Kotyonochkin is a legendary Soviet animation director. Thanks to him, many iconic Soviet cartoons were born, on which more than one generation of children grew up. In his piggy bank "Well, wait!", "A kitten from Lizyukov street", "Gotcha, who bite!"
Childhood and youth
Vyacheslav Kotenochkin was born on June 20, 1927 in Moscow in the family of Mikhail Mikhailovich Kotenochkin and Evgenia Andreevna Kotenochkina (nee Shirshova). His father is a native Muscovite, worked as an accountant, suffered from tuberculosis for a long time and died a few months before the beginning of the Second World War, he was only 41 years old. Mother was a housewife, her family moved to Moscow from the city of Kimry, Tver province. The maternal grandfather was of peasant origin, but his wife Maria Vasilievna Komissarova belonged to a wealthy family with real estate in Kimry, which they lost after the October Revolution. Vyacheslav was baptized in the Moscow Orthodox Church shortly after his birth.
In 1938 little Slava attended the New Year's holiday for children at the House of Trade Unions, where he saw the first Soviet colored cartoons. He was so impressed that he began attending painting courses at the Palace of Pioneers.
In 1942, Kotenochkin finished seven classes of secondary school and entered the artillery special school. After graduation, he was sent to the Penza Anti-Tank Artillery School, where he studied until the end of the war. There Vyacheslav learned to play the clarinet in a military orchestra.
Career
Soon after the war, Kotenochkin met the famous Soviet animator Boris Duzhkin, who invited him to go to study animation courses organized by the Soyuzmultfilm studio. In 1947 he graduated and began his career as an animator. Over the next 50 years, he created over 80 animated films. In 1962, together with Sergei Mikhalkov, he created the satirical almanac "The Fit", which existed for 25 years.
But real fame came to Vyacheslav Kotenochkin only in 1969, when the first episode of the animated series "Well, wait a minute!" This cult Soviet cartoon might not have appeared if it had not been for a chance meeting between Vyacheslav Mikhailovich and scriptwriters Felix Kamov, Arkady Khait and Alexander Kurlyandsky. Kotenochkin was the only director of Soyuzmultfilm who fell in love with the script and immediately drew the Hare and described his character. But the image of the Wolf had to be worked on.
According to his son and colleagues Vyacheslav, in his youth he was quite undisciplined, he loved to hang out and hooligans, once for such behavior he was almost fired from his job. The wolf character inherited some of the director's character traits, as well as his gestures and movements. Initially, Vladimir Vysotsky was supposed to voice the wolf, but alas, the management of Soyuzmultfilm categorically opposed his candidacy. But the production designer Svetozar Rusakov was approved the first time.
"Wait for it!" It was not originally planned as an animated series, but the overwhelming popularity of the pilot episode made its creators think about a sequel. From 1969 to 1986, under the direction of Kotenochkin, a total of 16 episodes were released, and each of them became an instant hit. But after each episode, he wanted to end the episode and switch to other projects.
In the late eighties of the 20th century, the authorities significantly cut funding for culture, and the great director was not able to do anything else until 1993, when he shot two new episodes of "Just You Wait!" together with Vladimir Tarasov.
In 1999, he published a book of memoirs.
Vyacheslav Kotenochkin died on November 20, 2000 in a Moscow clinic. He was buried in a family grave at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.
In February 2014, the Public Opinion Foundation conducted an All-Russian survey. People were asked to name their favorite animated film or TV series. "Wait for it!" won by a wide margin.
Awards
In 1988, the famous Vyacheslav Kotenochkin was awarded the USSR State Prize.
On May 2, 1996, he was awarded the Order of Friendship
However, most of all he appreciated the Order of the Smile, which was given to him by Polish children in 1985.
A family
Wife - Tamara Petrovna Vishneva together (born April 6, 1928), ballet dancer at the Moscow Operetta Theater.
Son - Alexey Kotenochkin (born July 16, 1958), Russian animation director and art director.
Daughter - Natalia Kotenochkina.
Granddaughter - Ekaterina Kotenochkina, singer.
