THE RED CARPET

Russian animators have had to go to Yugoslavia for recognition.

The Soviets hit the Zagreb ’86 international animation film festival with half a dozen idiosyncratic, aesthetically challenging animation shorts. Audiences were appreciative, and several of the films were awarded jury prizes.

(One, “A Gentle Rain Is Gonna Fall,” was touted as an adaptation of a Ray Bradbury short story. Bradbury, reached in New York, told Outtakes that it’s probably based on “There Will Come Soft Rains” from “Martian Chronicles”--and that it’s definitely unauthorized. “That’s just like the Russians,” he said angrily. “They talk about fair play, but they steal everything.”)

Andrei Khrzhanovsky, perhaps Russia’s most ambitious animator--Zagreb ’86 gave him a three-day tribute--said animators are virtually ignored at home: “In Russia, there may have been only four articles ever about our animated films. The most important criticism I ever got at home were words from a neighbor.”