''On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians'' () is a 1973

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

animated short film directed by

Vasily Livanov Vasily Borisovich Livanov (; born 19 July 1935), MBE, is a Soviet and Russian film actor, animation and film director, screenwriter and writer most famous for portraying Sherlock Holmes in the Soviet TV series. He was named People's Artist of ...

. It was made as a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to '' The Bremen Town Musicians''. Zherzdeva & Gorokhov, who voiced the princess & the donkey in the first film were the only ones to reprise their roles. The King, wanting for his daughter to be found and returned to his castle, hires Detective to carry out the task. He successfully kidnaps and returns Princess back to the kingdom, but Troubadour and his animal friends Bremen Town Musicians hurry to release her. Disguised as foreign rock singers, the group distracts the King and the Detective, while Troubadour rescues his love and together they escape once again.

Plot

The King, eager to bring his daughter back to the palace, hires a Genius Detective, who arrives singing about his exceptional skills. The Detective, accompanied by two royal guards, sets off on his mission. Meanwhile, the Troubadour and his friends—a Donkey, a Cat, a Dog, and a Rooster—are enjoying a day on a meadow, singing, fishing, and preparing lunch, while the Princess gathers flowers nearby. Suddenly, the guards and Detective, hiding under haystacks, capture the Princess. The musicians give chase, but the guards fail in their efforts to stop them. The Detective narrowly escapes into the castle with the Princess, while the musicians’ vehicle crashes into the gates, leaving them locked out. That night, the Troubadour serenades the Princess from outside the castle, hoping she'll hear him. The Rooster sneaks into the castle for reconnaissance and discovers that the King intends to marry his daughter to a foreign singer arriving the next day. The Rooster narrowly avoids the Detective and sneaks out, but runs into a trio of bumbling thieves who briefly capture him before fleeing. The next morning, the musicians disguise themselves as foreign performers and put on a concert outside the palace. Everyone, including the King and Detective, is captivated by the show, but the Troubadour sneaks into the palace. He reaches the Princess, but their cover is blown, and in the ensuing chaos, the Troubadour and Princess make a daring escape. The King and Detective, caught in their own trap, end up in a fountain as the Troubadour and Princess ride away with their friends, to the kingdom's applause. The Detective tries to pursue them in a transformed airplane car but is humorously thwarted by the movie credits.

Cast

* Muslim Magomayev - Troubadour, Detective and Atamansha * Elmira Zherzdeva - Princess *

Gennady Gladkov Gennady Igorevich Gladkov (; 18 February 1935 – 16 October 2023) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He composed music for some of the most famous Soviet movies and cartoons, most notably ''The Bremen Town Musicians (1969 film), The Bremen Town ...

- The King * Anatoly Gorokhov, Leonid Berger and vocal ensemble - Bremen Town Musicians, the Robbers and the guards

Production and soundtrack

The success of " The Bremen Town Musicians" was so huge that there were requests for a sequel.

proposed the initial idea to Gladkov and Entin, turning in a song about a "genius detective" looking for a runaway Princess. Gladkov recalled: "Since some time has passed, we decided to make the Troubadour more adult, more baritone - for which we invited Muslim Magomayev". In addition to this, Entin heard Magomayev's album of his parodies of famous singers.Поэт-песенник Юрий Энтин: Муслим Магомаев отказался от гонорара за исполнение песен в мультфильме «Бременские музыканты»
In Russian Gennady Gladkov himself sang for the King - it happened by accident. "Magomayev was supposed to sing, but he was absent at that moment, and I filled a temporary void in the soundtrack. And he listened and said, "I like the way Gladkov sings." They left it that way."
In Russian Magomayev refused a very significant fee, saying that it was "not a job, but a pleasure," and "he owes it o the creators of the cartoon not them to him." The music and songs from the cartoon have been repeatedly published. The original vinyl release included narrator and was made in

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

format. In 2024, Shining Sioux Records released all music from both " The Bremen Town Musicians" and "On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians" in multiple formats; tracks were carefully restored including previously unreleased track "Abracadabra".

Legacy

"On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians" vinyl release was listed among the 50 best albums of the "Melodiya" by " Silver Rain Radio". "Luch solntsa zolotovo" ("Ray of the Golden Sun") is one of the most famous songs not only in the repertoire of Muslim Magomayev, but also in the entire post-Soviet space. "Russian Reporter" magazine ranks it 35th of the 100 best Russian songs. In his article, dedicated to Gennady Gladkov, Boris Barabanov (''

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

'') called it "perhaps the best song ever written in Russian."Химически лучистый
In Russian

References

External links