13 Facts About Aleksandr Ptushko

Aleksandr Ptushko began his film career as a director and animator of stop motion short films, and became a director of feature-length films combining live action, stop motion, creative special effects, and Russian mythology.

Aleksandr Ptushko studied in the realschule, then worked as an actor and decorator at the local theater.

Aleksandr Ptushko began his film career in 1927 by gaining employment with Moscow's Mosfilm studio.

Aleksandr Ptushko began as a maker of puppets for stop motion animated short films made by other directors, and rapidly became a director of his own series of silent puppet films featuring a character called Bratishkin.

Aleksandr Ptushko personally directed two of them: an adaptation of The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish fairy tale and Merry Musicians.

In 1938, Aleksandr Ptushko began work on The Golden Key, another feature-length film combining stop motion animation with live action.

Aleksandr Ptushko continued working in special effects, but would not direct another film until the end of the war.

Aleksandr Ptushko followed The Stone Flower with Sadko, Ilya Muromets, and Sampo.

In 1966 Aleksandr Ptushko returned to the genre of epic fantasy, creating The Tale of Tsar Saltan.

Aleksander Aleksandr Ptushko died a few months after its release, aged 72.

Aleksandr Ptushko spent his last months writing a script for The Tale of Igor's Campaign adaptation which he was going to direct despite already been seriously ill.

Aleksandr Ptushko was survived by his daughter from the first marriage Natalia Ptushko who worked as an assistant director at Mosfilm.

The works of Aleksandr Ptushko are now perhaps best known to native English speakers for their inclusion in the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.