In a year that brought great darkness to the country, one animated celebration of Ukrainian culture has shone the light of its resilient spirited around the world. Produced by Animagrad studio (part of FILM.UA Group), Mavka. The Forest Song has become one of the most successful independent animated movies of the year.
Mavka is the first Ukrainian animated feature film to be released on such a broad global scale, screening in cinemas in 148 countries in an ongoing roll-out which recently brought it to Norway, Turkey, Latin America and Slovenia with 30-plus localized audio versions, and has earned more than $20 million in worldwide box office. The IP has also spawned a vast ‘Mavka Universe’ with a range of licensing and consumer products.
Earlier this month, the film’s producer Iryna Kostyuk and Tetiana Ruban, CEO of licensing agency Nerd (also part of FILM.UA Group) traveled to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to discuss Mavka‘s journey with attendees of Cartoon Business 2023. The international animation professionals in attendance were the first to see a multilingual trailer celebrating the movie’s success, and learn what the future has in store for the charming nature spirit.
Kostyuk and Ruban spoke about some new plans for the development of the Mavka Universe: In addition to creating an animated series in collaboration with the French animation studio TeamTO (the project was selected to be pitched at Cartoon Forum in Toulouse in fall 2023), they are planning to create an animated sequel and a live-action feature film for the 12+ audience, depicting the origin of the mythological character — a story full of mysticism and originally, like many fairy tales, quite dark. The presenters also provided an in-depth analysis of the film’s success.
The idea of implementing a known female character from Ukrainian myths and legends (as well as from classic literature) into the universal language of animation originated in 2014. At that time, the film’s producers recognized that Ukrainians needed to see stories of their own on screen, as the demand among Ukrainian young audience for a local animated hero was growing. In 2017, the creators launched a first B2B teaser and Mavka becoae the first ever Ukrainian project to be selected to be pitched at Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux.
The team had to go through all the challenges of COVID and then, at the final stage of production, a full-scale Russian invasion started and the team had to finish the movie literally from bomb shelters and under occupation. Nevertheless, Mavka was delivered on schedule and as it was contracted in the international deals, and cinema-goers were able to enjoy it in the spring of 2023, first in Ukraine and then in 148 countries around the world.
Locally, the film marks a milestone in Ukrainian cinema. The release literally “rescued” the local industry during these challenging times and broke all the national records, becoming the highest-grossing Ukrainian film of all time and the top local animation release ever (topping all the major studio releases).
Mavka’s share of the total national box office in the first 10 months of 2023 stands at 9%, while its share of the box office among all Ukrainian releases in 2023 (10 months) is 51%.
Mavka. The Forest Song is the #3 highest-grossing release at the Ukrainian box office ever, only topped by franchise blockbusters Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). The animated film has been in theaters for 39 weeks and has already been released on a digital platform.
(Home viewers in North America can purchase the film on Digital or DVD thanks to Shout! Kids, which released Mavka in August.)
One of the key promotional activities for the Mavka Universe in Ukraine was a sweeping licensing campaign, in which the team at the Nerd licensing agency, led by Ruban, got dozens of national brands on board. Some collaborations were implemented in the production and post-production stages, enabling the Mavka brand to be in the spotlight for a long time. Now, the Mavka Universe involves more than 30 collaborations, with 350+ SKU in different categories: jewelry, snacks, beauty, clothes, toys, publishing, accessories, home decorations, supplies for children’s study and creativity, and more. Before and during its release, Mavka was everywhere: in stores, on billboards and storefronts, in coffee shops and retail space displays, and in shows and entertainment programs (including the dancing Mavka Stage Show, which toured 20 cities in Ukraine, Mavka’s offline themed Residence in Kyiv, and so on).
Internationally, Mavka has garnered positive reviews and impressive box office performances. In France, it claimed the #1 spot among the week’s newcomers, ranked as the #2 start of the year, and is among the top five highest-grossing movies of the premier week. In Italy, it stands as the fifth highest-grossing animated film of 2023, spending five weeks in the top three. Portugal also had an exceptional release, securing the #1 Best Independent Animated Opening of 2023 and the #2 Best Animated Opening of 2023.
Mavka was dubbed into 32 languages — following the example of the Ukrainian version, the film was voiced by local entertainment stars and thought leaders. Uniquely, all international engagements for the film included both the localized version and the Ukrainian version, so that millions of Ukrainian refugees all over the world could watch film.
For more news about the Mavka Universe, check out the official pages on Facebook and Instagram.
