Wonderful character development!

Just perfect...

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

"Lisa i zayats" or "The Fox and the Hare" is a Soviet animated short film from 1973, so this one is already almost 45 years old. It was directed by Yuriy Norshteyn, who is certainly known to anybody with an interest in Soviet (animated) cinema. However, I must say I have seen clearly superior works from him. Neither the animation style not the plot and story managed to convince me here. I would not say it is a failure, but you certainly really need to love the Soviet Age of Animation a lot in order to appreciate this film. I myself did not. The usual aspect here is that animals play the main characters as you already hear from the title. I personally cannot say that this is nowhere near my favorite (animated) (short) films, not even from the 1970s. Thumbs down and I do not recommend the watch.

This was such a lovely short, with a charming story and a very beautiful animation style (Like the other shorts directed by Yuri Norstein, like "Hedgehog in the Fog" and his masterpiece "Tale of Tales") Even when the story of "The Fox and the Hare" is actually very simple, the way in which it is told is what makes this short a wonderful experience.All the scenes from this magical little animation are a great work of art, filled with many details, and a lovely use of colors and different artistic motifs. The sceneries were incredibly pretty, giving the story a whimsical feeling.I loved every single aspect of "The Fox and the Hare". The animation is gorgeous, the plot is simple but very enjoyable, the characters are likable and endearing, and lots of charm that make this a wonderful short for the whole family, with lots of artistic value.I highly recommend it to everyone.

As my avid readers (assuming they exist) would know, I consider Yuriy Norshteyn to be cinema's foremost animator, creator of some of the most breathtakingly beautiful films I've ever seen. It is an unfortunate consequence that such extraordinary talent comes at a price, and Norshteyn's output has always been painfully restricted, not only due to difficulty in securing finances, but also because of his adamance that every frame be constructed with meticulous care and precision. As I work my way through Norshteyn's all-too-brief filmography, I came across 'The Fox and the Hare (1973),' an uncharacteristically whimsical effort – his other films have always struck me as being comparably sombre – and, stylistically, much similar to the work of Aleksandr Tatarskiy, namely 'The Plasticine Crow (1981).' The film is presented to us almost as a moving picture book, each scene taking place in a specific frame, as though we are periodically turning our attention from one page to the next.As often happens, my willingness to watch the film overcame my desire for English subtitles, and so I'll wager that my interpretation of the story differs somewhat from the official plot; however, I think I managed to follow what was happening. As winter gives way to spring in the Russian wilderness, a crafty fox promptly expels a defenceless hare from his warm, comfortable residence, claiming the house for himself and leaving the poor owner to sleep outside under the stars. An assortment of compassionate animals – a wolf, a bear, a bull – take pity on the disheartened hare, and attempt to evict the cunning fox, but to no avail. Along comes a hilariously militant rooster, proud and tenacious, who marches into the hare's house and doesn't give up until the fox has been hounded back into the wilderness. The ending is a suitably upbeat one; the actions of the fox are condemned for their heartless immorality, and the hare, having acquired a good friend through his troubles, is allowed to enjoy the home that he has constructed for himself.