Kikoriki

Name: Kikoriki
Genre: Kids, Animation, Family
Cast: Svetlana Pismichenko, Sergey Mardar, Mikhail Chernyak, Anton Vinogradov, Vadim Bochanov

TV series
2004–2022
3 seasons
STS
Kids
Animation
Family

Flickorian Rating

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7.6 TMDB worldwide · 53 ratings

The Smeshariki are stylized rounded animals. Each of the nine characters has a unique personality and a range of interests with no negative characters among them. Plots are built not on the battle of opposing forces but on the unexpected situations the animated characters stumble upon in their interactions deemed similar to the ones that children may encounter in their everyday lives. Many of the topics foreground the guidance that friendship and community provide to the individual making his or her way in the world. Complex themes and specific cultural references place this cartoon firmly within the Russian tradition of animation. Much attention was devoted to the humor in the series, some of which has attracted adults as well.

About the show

KikoRiki, sometimes known outside Russia as GoGoRiki or BalloonToons, occasionally referred by the original Russian name: Smeshariki (Russian: Смешарики), is a Russian animated television series consisting of 451 episodes of 6 minutes and 30 seconds (and 11 minutes) each, aimed at children 3 to 8 years old. This series uses mostly both flash animation and computer animation.

The first episode premiered in Russia on December 22, 2003. The KikoRiki are stylized rounded animals. Its Russian name, Smeshariki, is a portmanteau of the words смешные, "funny" and шарики, "little balls". The series includes complex themes and specific cultural references. The series is aired in 60 countries, incl. China and those in the Middle East and the European Union, is translated to 15 languages and has an everyday audience of 50 million people. The audience in China surpassed the audience in Russia. As of 2020, episodes are currently available on KinoPoisk in Russia. After an 8-year hiatus, the show was renewed for a fourth and fifth season, which serve as a continuation for the original three seasons; it was sponsored by Yandex and the 120 new episodes were available exclusively on the Kinopoisk HD streaming service.

Over time, the series gained cult status, with critics praising it for writing, the variety of genres among episodes, including their philosophy, references to other works and the visual style. Some criticize the animation style for artistic primitivism, pointing out certain technical limitations.

From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0