Presenting Vinni Pukh.

In this episode Vinni comes across a tall tree with a bee hive on the tallest branch. Everybody knows that bees make honey, and Vinnie is a hungry Pukh. He convinces his friend to help him get the honey by way of balloon and umbrella. Sound familiar?

This is the Soviet’s take on the more familiar Disney Winnie the Pooh cartoon. This adaptation was created in 1968 by Soyuzmultfilm, the USSR’s premiere animation studio. In the following years they animated and adapted a few more of the Pooh stories.

My old friend Gene—who grew up in Russia watching these old cartoons—first told me about Vinni Pukh when I asked him about the overly adorable Cheburashka Bear. He recommended one more cartoon to me which is great: Hedgehog in the Fog.

I love you the best Винни-Пух.