# Cartoon animals



## Nathaloshka

привет,

How would you translate 'cartoon animals' in Russian? Referring to the graphic style the animals are drawn in? 

I tried translating it by Животные мультипликационного фильма but it seems a bit cumbersome and not very colloquial... 

Спасибо заранее


----------



## rusita preciosa

*мультипликационные животные*

There is a word *мультяшки*, but it is very coloquial (I'd say, babytalk) and means any cartoon character, not only animals.


----------



## morzh

Кхе...."век живи - век учись, дураком помрешь". Я и вправду нашел "мультяшки" в этом смысле в Википедии. Что придает этому слову известную легитимность.

Однако, в мое время, "мультяшка" - это было просто слово для "мультфильма". Такое же как и "мультик". 

А животные были попросту "герои мультфильмов". Наравне с неживотными-героями мультфильмов.

Вот, набрал "мультяшки" и нашел на госсайте:

http://www.gosuslugi.ru/ru/news/index.php?id_4=243&coid_4=220&ccoid_4=221

"Мультяшки" употреблено в значении "мультик", потому что "*Герои мультяшек покидают пиратский корабль*

"


----------



## Natalisha

morzh said:


> Кхе...."век живи - век учись, дураком помрешь". Я и вправду нашел "мультяшки" в этом смысле в Википедии. Что придает этому слову известную легитимность.
> 
> Однако, в мое время, "мультяшка" - это было просто слово для "мультфильма". Такое же как и "мультик".
> 
> А животные были попросту "герои мультфильмов". Наравне с неживотными-героями мультфильмов.



И я удивлена!
 Мы точно мультяшками и мультиками называли мультфильмы. А их героев я и сейчас называю героями мультфильмов или мультяшек.


----------



## morzh

Natalisha said:


> И я удивлена!
> Мы точно мультяшками и мультиками называли мультфильмы. А их героев я и сейчас называю героями мультфильмов или мультяшек.



It is possible the younger generation started using the word in that newer sense.
I don't use the word at all, (as a small child I used "Мульти-Пульти"; later - "мультики") but the way I know it, I would completely misunderstand it, if it was used in a conversation with me in the "cartoon hero" sense.

So, this word is still not universal - different people would possibly understand it in at least two different ways.

I honestly don't think there is a (the)  universally accepted word meaning the "cartoon animals" in Russian.
Even in colloquial use.


----------



## Nathaloshka

morzh said:


> It is possible the younger generation started using the word in that newer sense.
> I don't use the word at all, (as a small child I used "Мульти-Пульти"; later - "мультики") but the way I know it, I would completely misunderstand it, if it was used in a conversation with me in the "cartoon hero" sense.
> 
> So, this word is still not universal - different people would possibly understand it in at least two different ways.
> 
> I honestly don't think there is a (the)  universally accepted word meaning the "cartoon animals" in Russian.
> Even in colloquial use.



Thank you all for your replies and the links. Maybe an expression saying 'cartoon style' exists in Russian instead of 'cartoon animals'?
I noticed the expression Характер мультяшек on the wikipedia page. Could you construct an expression saying Животное мультяшек to mean a cartoon animal? Or does it sound silly and artificial?


----------



## morzh

1. I would say that if you talk to younger people, you probably could use "мультяшки" without much problems, and this is what you probably should do, now that even Wikipedia recognizes it.

2. When talking to older folks like myself, you probably are better off using something like "*мультяшные зверушки"/"зверушки из мультиков*".

"Животное мультяшек" sounds a bit cumbersome.

PS. "Зверушки" - diminutive from "звери". Colloquial "звери", when used literally (not figuratively), means "animals", and this is how most people use it.
However I have to warn you: in reality "звери"-proper means "mammals", not "animals" in general. However for most people it is big news, and they would call an alligator "зверь" (even a famous children's poet Mikhalkov made this mistake in his "Foma").
So "зверушки" is totally normal used to all cartoon animals, especially to small cute ones.

PPS. Just thought of it - it is possible that "мультяшки" could originate from "*мульт*фильм + звер*ушки*". With replacement of "у" by more palatable "я".


----------



## rusita preciosa

Natha,
You never provided the context. Will you use it in a chat with a five year old or in an essay on the history of animation?


----------



## estreets

I agree with Morzh
*Мультяшные животные* is almost a common word.


----------



## Nathaloshka

rusita preciosa said:


> Natha,
> You never provided the context. Will you use it in a chat with a five year old or in an essay on the history of animation?



My sincerest apologies for not providing a context initially.

I wouldn't use it in a chat with a little kid but definitely in an essay about graphic styles or a history of animation: for example, the wolf and hare in Ну погоди! are cartoon animals (in addition to being cartoon heroes). Or you can use the expression in reference to the way the animal is drawn, cartoon style as opposed to a realistic depiction or an abstract or stylised one, etc.


----------



## Nathaloshka

estreets said:


> I agree with Morzh
> *Мультяшные животные* is almost a common word.



Actually I think Morzh and you have nailed it on the head with Мультяшные животные. I typed it in Google and it came up with results that made sense with what I want:

http://files.vector-images.com/cd_samples/funny_animal_cartoons.gif


----------



## estreets

Then


rusita preciosa said:


> *мультипликационные животные*


sounds OK.



Nathaloshka said:


> Actually I think Morzh and you have nailed it on the head with *Мультяшные животные*. I typed it in Google and it came up with results that made sense with what I want:


This would sound a little bit too colloquial, to my mind.


----------



## Wertis

rusita preciosa said:


> *мультипликационные животные*
> 
> There is a word *мультяшки*, but it is very coloquial (I'd say, babytalk) and means any cartoon character, not only animals.



I like this suggestion in bold very much. For me the word "мультяшки" albeit colloquial rarely used in writing is associated with drawn characters of cartoons rather than with a synonym for "cartoons". Of course it's possible to use "мультяшки" as an alternative to "cartoons", but my experience tells me that such a thing is not done very often now. "Мультипликационные животные" sounds formal and complicated. Doubtless never will hear this word from a kid or even an adult because not all people are aware of it. For example, I have not encountered it in my life in newspapers or anywhere else. Moreover if someone said "Мультипликационные животные", I would probably start thinking what exactly they are talking about. I would say this can mean "animal characters in a cartoon" or, for example, "real living animals that were chosen by a cartoon director for shooting a program". The second option is probably wrong, but unless you are an expert on cartoons you might think something like this. For instance, Winnie-the-Pooh is a cartoon animal, but it doesn't mean that a living bear was captured somwhere in a forest or taken from a zoo so that it can be a prototype of Winnie. Cartoons are different from films because they are drawn or created by means of the computer.

"Мультяные животные" is also a colloquial phrase, but it sounds more natural than "Мультипликационные животные".


----------



## rusita preciosa

Nathaloshka said:


> essay about graphic styles or a history of animation


I'd use *мультипликационные животные*. Other options suggested here are too colloquial for your purpose.


----------



## Nathaloshka

I did a search with Мультипликационные животные and it came up with this, among other results:
http://whynotvector.moy.su/news/multiplikacionnye_zhivotnye/2010-05-02-13 



At least I know the different variations to say the same thing. It seems Мультяшные животные is most widely used though, from what I could find online?


----------



## estreets

I think it's because on-line they discuss topics in private using the colloquial language and there are few "formal" "serious" documents where the stylistically neutral language is used. So, in the colloquial discussions Мультяшные животные is more widely used, it's true.


----------



## Nathaloshka

estreets said:


> I think it's because on-line they discuss topics in private using the colloquial language and there are few "formal" "serious" documents where the stylistically neutral language is used. So, in the colloquial discussions Мультяшные животные is more widely used, it's true.



Oh, I see.


----------



## rusita preciosa

Just a thought: do you absolutely have to specify that they are animals (as opposed to humans, objects etc...)? If you talk about волк и заяц from "Hу погоди", could you get away with *мультипликационные персонажи*? It sounds much more natural.


----------



## Nathaloshka

rusita preciosa said:


> Just a thought: do you absolutely have to specify that they are animals (as opposed to humans, objects etc...)? If you talk about волк и заяц from "Hу погоди", could you get away with *мультипликационные персонажи*? It sounds much more natural.



It's because I am focusing specifically on cartoons that depicts animals rather than cartoon characters (which can be human as well as animals, monsters, plants, aliens, inanimate objects, machines, etc).


----------



## galaxy man

QUOTE=morzh -- However I have to warn you: in reality "звери"-proper means "mammals", not "animals" in general. However for most people it is big news, and they would call an alligator "зверь"
Count me in  Cм.: _Звери задрожали,В обморок упали.Волки от испуга Скушали друг друга. Бедный крокодилЖабу проглотил.
_


----------

