The Russian box office continues to be conquered by Alexander Voitinsky's fairy tale 'By the Pike's Command.' We also got to the film and decided to talk about its strengths and weaknesses in our review.

Recently, there has been a trend in domestic cinema towards adapting beloved fairy tales and stories. Such projects are, so to speak, universal, as they capture the widest possible audience, playing on the nostalgia of the older generation while also attracting young viewers to get acquainted with iconic characters and stories. In the near future, a whole 'fairy tale boom' is expected, but if future releases are made with an eye on the strengths of the film 'By the Pike's Command' and with thorough work on its weaknesses, they have every chance to hold the audience's love for a very long time and attract people to cinemas.

What's the Plot?

The son of a blind blacksmith named Emelya (Nikita Kologrivy) is not eager to help his father work, preferring to slide down hills and laze around. One day, while fishing, the ice hole boils and water gushes out like a fountain, drenching the guy from head to toe and tossing a Pike (voiced by Mila Ershova) into his bucket, which initially was meant to make a nice fish soup. But at home, it turns out that the fish is not ordinary but magical, and in exchange for freedom, it is ready to grant three whole wishes.

Emelya decides to think it over, but literally within 10 minutes, he squanders two wishes on various nonsense. Meeting robbers on the road who want to take the Pike and make fish soup out of it, the guy is forced to throw the genie with fins back into the river and end up hanging upside down from a tree. The maiden Vasilisa (also Mila Ershova) rescues the young man. Comparing the voice of the fish and the voice of the beauty, Emelya declares that he will save the third wish for the right moment, but for now, he has decided to marry the tsar's daughter Anfisa (Alina Alekseeva). So the heroes set off for the capital, where they accidentally witness a competition of showing off between Tsar Feofan (Roman Madyanov) and the English ambassador Lord Rothman (Yuri Kolokolnikov).

Lord boasts about a technological organ (though they are actually comparing organs with Feofan), to which the tsar, without thinking, blurts out that in our country there is a certain wonderful self-playing bayan. When Rothman demands proof, Emelya intervenes, declaring that he will bring the magical instrument, and in return asks the tsar to give him his daughter in marriage. The ruler and the young man 'shake on it,' and thus begin the adventures of a romantic lazy simpleton, in which he will meet the cat Bayun (voiced by Sergey Burunov), find a self-assembled tablecloth, and encounter Koschei himself (Fyodor Lavrov). But most importantly, he will find love.

'By the Pike's Command' — a Lie, but There's a Hint in It

'By the Pike's Command' is the third film this year to surpass the billion ruble mark. Ahead are only 'Cheburashka' (a universal family film from the same category) and the expensive 'The Challenge' shot in space. Judging by the release schedule, the number of fairy tale films will only grow in the near future, as around the corner, viewers are already being awaited by 'The Bremen Town Musicians' (costume-wise reminiscent of 'Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey'), followed by an imminent landing on 'The Flying Ship,' and then 'The Flint' by the same Alexander Voitinsky will arrive.

So far, the mission to capture cinemas for such projects is successful, as box office results regularly prove. A more modern take on beloved stories makes people go to the movies, but you won't get far on nostalgia alone (unless someone actually caught a magical fish). Of course, you could just mindlessly hammer on one point, but then in a year or two, you'd end up with something like 'Yolki,' only fantasy. Fortunately, this hasn't happened yet, and 'By the Pike's Command' is certainly not a bad example of fairy tale cinema. However, this doesn't mean the film has no flaws. It does, and sometimes quite serious ones.

For example, the fairy tale breaks its own logic several times. In the case of the same bayan, which turns out not to be self-playing because the cat Bayun plays it (although perhaps the principle is like with an airplane, which also doesn't fly itself). Or in the situation when Emelya is to be punished for sorcery, conveniently forgetting that the entire film he was sent for magical items (probably not all sorcery is forbidden, but the fairy tale code wasn't provided to the viewers).

And our hero keeps insisting throughout the film that one should marry only for love and nothing else, but he himself chases after a girl he has never even seen and who doesn't love him at all. He simply made up a wish to take Anfisa as his wife without even knowing who she is, except that she is the tsar's daughter (while Emelya has no ambition for power). Admit it, it's strange to hear advice like 'only for love' from such a person. And that's not to mention that the film contains hints of sexism, nationalism, and justification of police brutality as 'work moments.'

However, the main problem with 'By the Pike's Command' is its source material — the folk tale, where the main character simply caught a fish, wished for a luxurious life, and even became tsar. Here, Emelya is Emelya. He is a lazy fool to whom everything comes easily, even though the film creates an illusion of life's difficulties.

When facing any trial, the guy doesn't exert himself at all, and in the end, everything is handed to him on a silver platter. Conflicts are resolved either by themselves or extremely easily, so the character's transformation is barely felt. Except for a couple of moments where Emelya's views change for the better, but otherwise, his life goes smoothly. It's worth noting that it's evident how Alexander Arkhipov tried in the script to complicate the character and his journey (only three wishes, and tasks not easy), while keeping the hero as close as possible to the familiar archetype. This is definitely a plus, but there is still room for improvement.

Here She Is, the Fish of My Dreams

What 'By the Pike's Command' can definitely boast about is its production. The main filming took place near Tobolsk, where a tsar's mansion was built and the territory of the cat Bayun was found. The picturesque landscapes were shot on location, not in a pavilion with graphics overlay, although that was also used. The studio CGF, which worked on visual effects, and production designer Anastasia Karimulina did a lot of work to make the film look beautiful and high-quality. Yes, perhaps somewhere the project doesn't reach Hollywood blockbusters, but at the level of domestic cinema, everything is done very well. Especially charming is the evil-good Pallas's cat with a bayan. The furry musician is definitely one of the main highlights of the film.

Also, the film has quite a lot of cool diverse costumes. Almost all of them are very unnatural and caricatured (as are those who wear them), which fits the tone of the narrative perfectly. Each outfit complements the character's personality. The lazy Emelya is dressed haphazardly and doesn't care much about his appearance, the fashionista Anfisa and Lord Rothman always look very bright, flashy, and colorful (Anfisa's dresses would fit well into the strange modern fashion on any runway), and the tsar's passion for carpentry is reflected in the fact that even his crown is made of wood.

We would also like to praise those who wear all these costumes. The actors in 'By the Pike's Command' perform very well. Nikita Kologrivy (sometimes resembling Yura Borisov) is a fairly tolerable Emelya. Yuri Kolokolnikov and Roman Madyanov amusingly parody the competition between 'domestic' and 'foreign,' showing that both sides look foolish, while the common people suffer. All other actors also feel comfortable and confident in their roles, but ...

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I would like to single her out separately. This charming, beautiful, and sweet girl adds several points to the film with her acting. The gentle and sincere Vasilisa is so different from other characters that it creates an atmosphere of her non-involvement in this world. She desperately wants to be a part of it and enjoy life with others, but unfortunately cannot, which sometimes makes her eyes look sad. Mila's charm and charisma have done a lot for the film. I don't know if her fishy surname helped her specifically in the role of Vasilisa-Pike or not, but most likely, a new bright star will shine on domestic screens in the near future.

What's the Verdict?

'By the Pike's Command' is a fairly decent domestic family blockbuster. It's a kind and simple coming-of-age story that people usually go to see with the whole class during holidays or with the whole family on weekends. Maybe a bit clumsy, but it shows how important love is in life. And with its naivety (and some characters), the film can easily win hearts. Yes, there is a lot of caricature and one-dimensionality here, but sometimes life just lacks a simple fairy tale.