38 Parrots is a series of ten children's cartoons produced in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 between 1976 and 1991 by Soyuzmultfilm

Soyuzmultfilm

Soyuzmultfilm is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Over the years it has gained international attention and respect, garnering numerous awards both at home and abroad. Noted for a great variety of style, it is regarded as the most influential animation studio of the former Soviet Union...

. Featuring animated puppets, the series portrays the amusing adventures of four friends: the talkative marmoset

Marmoset

Marmosets are the 22 New World monkey species of the genera Callithrix, Cebuella, Callibella, and Mico. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term marmoset is also used in reference to the Goeldi's Monkey, Callimico goeldii, which is closely related.Most marmosets...

 Martyshka, the shy young elephant

Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...

 Slonionok, the eccentric parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

 Popugai, and the thoughtful boa Udav.

The title of the series comes from the very first episode, where Udav has his length measured in parrots. In most episodes the heroes solve paradoxes related to language and meaning. In one, for example, they discuss the number of nuts it takes to make a whole pile. In another, they tackle the problem of how to convey a greeting without it disappearing in transit.

The series was created by director Ivan Ufimtsev and artist Leonid Shvartsman

Leonid Shvartsman

Leonid Shvartsman is a Russian animator and artist.He spent most of his creative career at the Soyuzmultfilm Studio, in Moscow, where he served as art director on Cheburashka, 38 Parrots, The Golden Antelope, The Scarlet Flower, The Snow Queen and many other cartoons.-External links:*...

, and scripted by children's author Grigoriy Oster

Grigoriy Oster

Grigoriy Oster is a Russian author and scriptwriter. He has written scripts for over 70 animated films, and "is considered one of the most important living Russian authors of children’s books."-Biography:...

. The characters were voiced by popular actors Nadezhda Rumiantseva (Martyshka), Mikhail Kozakov

Mikhail Kozakov

Mikhail Mikhailovich Kozakov was a Russian-Israeli film and theatre director and actor.- References :...

 (Slonionok), Vasilii Livanov

Vasily Livanov

Vasily Borisovich Livanov MBE is a Soviet and Russian film actor, and screenwriter.-Biography:His father Boris Livanov was a prominent actor of the Moscow Art Theatre...

 (Udav) and Vsevolod Larionov

Vsevolod Larionov

Vsevolod Dmitrievich Larionov was a Russian film and television actor and a People's Artist of the USSR, an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Filmography :* The Twelve Chairs...

(Popugai). The series includes songs by Gennadii Gladkov and Yuri Entin.

List of episodes

• "38 Parrots" / 38 попугаев (1976)
• "38 Parrots: Udav's Grandmother" / 38 попугаев: Бабушка удава (1977)
• "38 Parrots: How to cure Udav" / 38 попугаев: Как лечить удава (1977)
• "38 Parrots: Where to Slonenok is going" / 38 попугаев: Куда идёт слонёнок (1977)
• "38 Parrots: And if it will work!" / 38 попугаев: А вдруг получится! (1978)
• "38 Parrots: Hello to Martyshka" / 38 попугаев: Привет мартышке (1978)
• "38 Parrots: Tomorrow will be tomorrow" / 38 попугаев: Завтра будет завтра (1979)
• "38 Parrots: Gymnastics for the tail" / 38 попугаев: Зарядка для хвоста (1979)
• "38 Parrots: Great closing" / 38 попугаев: Великое закрытие (1985)
• "38 Parrots: Unobvious textbook" / 38 попугаев: Ненаглядное пособие (1991)