The Tram Was Going, Number Nine Explained

The Tram Was Going, Number Nine

Native Name:

Director:

Stepan Koval

Producers:

-->

Narrators:

-->

Music:

Ihor Zhuk

Studio:

Ukranimafilm

Distributors:

-->

Runtime:

9:23 min.

Country:

Ukraine

Language:

Ukrainian

Budget:

US$15,000

The Tram Was Going, Number Nine is a Ukrainian animated film about a tram that traces how people discuss their everyday lives. It was created by Ukranimafilm studio in 2002.^[1]

Interesting facts

The movie production was difficult, due to lack of funds in the state studio.
The director initially proposed the use of paper animation, but decided to use Plasticine due to the lack of availability of paper.
The working title of the film, "Bus Number 8," was recorded at the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. In the late stages of development, the director decided to rename it to "Tram Number 8."
Filming started in 1999, but was suspended until November 2001.
Due to these changes in timing, the director had to condense the filming from the original 8–9 months to 5 months.
Recording costed about ₴80,000 (US$15,000), funded largely from a presidential grant issued to Stepan Koval in 1998.
The authors did not have time to create subtitles, so the tape was provided without them at the Berlin Film Festival. However, it was very well received by the public.^[2]
The film won a 'Special Mention' award from the 2003 FANTOCHE awards.^[3]

Plot

The film tells about a familiar situation: a morning tram filled with passengers, which people are trying to catch to get to work. Children, seniors, a young family and neighbours are discussing the show. This is what the average Ukrainian experiences on his way to work, as the transport situation shows. The situation is shown in an interesting, bright and witty way.

The film uses a Plasticine animation technique to portray these events intelligently.^[4]

Cast

Stepan Koval — writer, director, art director
Eugene Syvokin — artistic director
Igor Zhuk — composer
R. Boyko — arrangements
Olexander Nikolaenko — cameraman
Vyacheslav Yaschenko — sound engineer
L. Mishchenko — artist-animator
A. Tsurikov — artist-animator
A. Pedan — artist-animator
S. Koval — artist-animator
Alexander Fomenko — decorator
B. Hahun — decorator
A. Radchenko — decorator
Svitlana Kutsenko — editor
Lydia Mokrousov — installation
B. Kilinski — Director^[5]

Sound

E. Shah
Ruslana Pysanka
I. Kapinos-Pavlyshyno
Yuri Kovalenko

Notes and References

Web site: 2003 – рік, коли український мультфільм сколихнув світ - Телеканал новин 24. 24tv.ua. Телеканал новин 24. 2016-11-04.
Web site: "Срібний ведмідь" українському "Трамваю..." - Інтерв'ю - KINOKOLO.UA. www.kinokolo.ua. 2016-11-04.
Web site: Awards 2003 Fantoche. fantoche.ch. 2 June 2015 . en. 2017-02-27.
Web site: Сучасні українські мультфільми, які варто переглянути кожному (відео) Рідна Черкащина. 2016-11-04.
News: Йшов трамвай дев'ятий номер - мультфільм українською онлайн. 2011-10-09. Укрмульт. uk-UA. 2016-11-04.