The Moscow Animation Museum

The Animation Museum’s birthday was September 15th, 2006. It was then that the veterans of the Soyuzmultfilm studio together with the MultFilmVGV studio opened a unique museum project. On this day, under the scrutiny of the media lenses, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, member of the Nika Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Asifa International Animation Association, winner of the American Hollywood is for Children Award and Prize for Contributing to the Profession at the XI Open Russian Festival of animated film in Suzdal, animated film director and legendary production designer (now the museum’s honorary director) Leonid Aronovich Shvartsman opened the first exhibition by cutting a symbolic film tape, thereby laying the foundation for the Moscow Museum of Animation Fund formation, the first international animation museum in Russia!

The first exhibits, which later formed the Hall of Russian History, were donated by employees of the world-famous film studio. Among them are the articulated dolls, mock-ups and decorations, equipment and devices used by operators of the past years, unique documents that gave life to many famous cartoons, tools, awards, correspondence, and personal belongings of the famous artists and directors from private archives. In the museum you can see cartoon dolls.

In 2011 alone, the museum funds received over 100 unique exhibits. Leonid Aronovich Shvartsman donated to the Moscow Museum of Animation 39 of his author’s works, made between 1957 and 2002.

On September 15th, 2010, the Moscow Museum of Animation entered into a partnership agreement with a children’s television station broadcasting in 128 countries. This collaboration allowed the project to cross borders and reach the international level; it is obvious that all boundaries in art are conditional! The Museum has opened the Hall of Foreign Animation. Today, next to the stand of the Nickelodeon channel, which shows the main characters of the popular TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Dora the Explorer, there is a place for cartoon characters from around the world.

The museum exposition has over 5,000 items; an even greater number of exhibits are carefully stored in the archives. All halls are equipped with the screens on which documentary frames are shown nonstop, a large number of interactive exhibits are presented, and a viewing hall functions. In the experimental cartoon workshop, anyone can independently try their hand at this magical, time-consuming, historically obvious activity that organically penetrates other forms of art and all spheres of human life; it is a truly mystical process!