This short educational short film was written and narrated by Ray Laurence and produced by Cognitive Media for Ted-Ed Animation. It introduces us to life through the eyes of Lucius Popidius Secundus, a 17-year old living in Rome in 73 AD, and explores Roman social practices such as arranged marriages, coming of age rituals and communal bathing. This was the first of many film collaborations between Laurence and Cognitive, on topics both ancient (see also “Four Sisters in Ancient Rome) and modern (see “How Immigration Shaped Britain”). It has been viewed over 8 million times!
BBC Teach: “Life in Roman Britain” (2014)
From the series “The Story of Britain”
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/dna-romans/535701/
See also: https://www.bbc.com/teach/class-clips-video/story-of-britain-roman-invasion/zmyhf4j
The Riddle of the Sphinx [загадка сфинкса] (1985)
Ten-minute short, directed by Vladimir Pekar for Soyuzmultfilm, based on hieroglyphs
Terrytoons: “Harvest Time” (1940)
Another telling of Aesop’s fable, “The Grasshopper and the Ants”
Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea [Полифем, Акид и Галатея] (1996, NSFW)
This is the last of four shorts by Anatoly Petrov for Soyuzmultfilm in the 1990s that depict mythological stories with overtly erotic content, which is unusual in Russian animation. These also include “The Birth of Eros,” “Daphne” and “The Nymph Salmacis.” These films are also unique due to their experimental use of two-dimensional handcrafted cell animation as a means of creating three-dimensional effects.
The Nymph Salmacis [Нимфа Салмака] (1992, NSFW)
Watch: https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film587083.html
This is the third of four shorts by Anatoly Petrov for Soyuzmultfilm in the 1990s that depict mythological stories with overtly erotic content, which is unusual in Russian animation. These also include “The Birth of Eros,” “Daphne” and “Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea.” These films are also unique due to their experimental use of two-dimensional handcrafted cell animation as a means of creating three-dimensional effects.
Daphne [Дафна] (1990, NSFW)
This is the second of four shorts produced by Anatoly Petrov for Soyuzmultfilm in the 1990s that depict mythological stories with overtly erotic content, which is unusual in Russian animation. These also include “The Birth of Eros”, “The Nymph Salmacis” and “Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea.” These films are also unique due to their experimental use of two-dimensional handcrafted cell animation as a means of creating three-dimensional effects.
The Birth of Eros [Рождение Эрота] (1989, NSFW)
This is the first of four shorts by Anatoly Petrov for Soyuzmultfilm in the 1990s that depict mythological stories with overtly erotic content, which is unusual in Russian animation. These also include “Daphne”, “The Nymph Salmacis” and “Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea.” These films are also unique due to their experimental use of two-dimensional handcrafted cell animation as a means of creating three-dimensional effects.
Hercules and Admetus [Геракл у Адмета] (1986)
Nineteen-minute Russian short film animated by Anatoly Petrov. This was his first treatment of mythological material from ancient Greece. He would go on to produce four other shorts for Soyuzmultfilm in the 1990s that depict mythological stories with overtly erotic content, which is unusual in Russian animation. These include “The Birth of Eros”, “Daphne”, “The Nymph Salmacis” and “Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea.” These films are also unique due to their experimental use of two-dimensional handcrafted cell animation as a means of creating three-dimensional effects.
“In the early 1980s , Petrov turned to ancient Greek myths. Incredibly laborious in technical execution, the work on the film Hercules at Admet (1986) lasted five years. “The whole film is a big continuous experiment for me. ‘I wanted to sing a man, convey physical perfection, the beauty of his body, his whole appearance, and through them penetrate the harmonious world of his clear and sublime feelings.'”
Animated Antiquity 