A 1924 Soviet Animation That Treats the Moon Like a Slapstick Propaganda Punchline

Interplanetary Revolution (1924) is a Soviet propaganda film that has earned a reputation for being one of the strangest animated movies ever made. Produced by Zenon Komissarenko, Youry Merkulov and Nikolai Khodataev, the film mixes traditional cel animation with collage and stop-motion techniques, giving it a queasy, disorienting feel that looks a lot like looking at a painting by Henry Darger.

The story follows Comrade Coninternov, a Red Army warrior who flies to Mars to vanquish all the capitalists on the planet. That description alone sounds better than John Carter. But the movie is hard to follow without either revolutionary fervor or, perhaps, hallucinogens.

The Capitalist Bulldog Opens the Story

The film opens with a wild-eyed, ax-wielding bulldog wearing a top hat. He is clearly meant to represent a capitalist. Other capitalists, with swastikas on their foreheads, are shown sucking the blood from a hapless member of the proletariat. By the early 1920s, Germany’s nationalist right had adopted the swastika, and Soviet propagandists quickly used it to brand capitalists as fascists.

Then the revolution comes. A pantless capitalist demon loses his mind after devouring a copy of Pravda. The capitalists board a giant flying shoe and fly off into space. From there, the film gets kind of weird.

The Queasy Feel of the Animation

The visual style is the first thing that hits you. The mix of cel animation, collage and stop-motion creates a sense of unease that looks like Darger’s unsettling paintings. It is not a smooth, polished cartoon. It is disjointed, layered and jarring.

The technique is part of the film’s appeal. It is a deliberate choice that reflects the chaotic nature of the story. The filmmakers are not trying to create a comfortable viewing experience. They are trying to unsettle you.

Following the Story Without Revolutionary Fervor

The plot is a challenge even with context. Comrade Coninternov is a Red Army warrior who flies to Mars. He vanquishes all the capitalists on the planet. That is the setup. The execution is where things get murky.

The film relies heavily on intertitles to explain what is happening. One of them reads, “a tale about Comrade Coninternov, the Red Army Warrior who flew to Mars, and vanquished all the capitalists on the planet!!” That is the clearest statement of intent in the entire movie.

Without those intertitles, the sequence of events would be nearly impossible to follow. The action moves fast, the characters are often indistinct, and the surreal imagery piles on top of each other. It is a film that rewards attention.

The Flying Shoe and the Surreal Ending

The capitalists board a giant flying shoe and fly off into space. That is a surreal image on its own. But the film does not stop there. It continues to pile on strange visuals, making the ending as bizarre as the beginning.

The flying shoe is a funny image. The contrast between the serious political message and the absurd visual comedy is part of what makes the film so entertaining.

Watching the Film

You can watch the whole thing online. The film is available through our collection of Free Animated Films, a subset of our larger collection of 4,000+ Free Movies Online, which includes Great Classics, Indies, Noir, Westerns, Documentaries and more. The link is provided directly in the original post, so you do not need to search elsewhere for it.

The film is a curiosity. It is not a masterpiece, but it is a fascinating artifact of its time. It shows how Soviet propagandists used animation to spread their message in a way that was visually striking and emotionally manipulative.

What Makes It Worth Watching

There are several reasons to watch Interplanetary Revolution:

1. The surreal imagery, which is unlike anything else in Soviet animation.
2. The combination of animation styles, which creates a unique visual texture.
3. The historical context, which shows how propaganda worked in the early Soviet era.
4. The sheer absurdity of the plot, which is entertaining in a darkly comic way.

The film is not subtle. It is not sophisticated. But it is committed. It believes in its message and it expresses that belief through images that are genuinely strange.

Related Soviet Animation

If you enjoy Interplanetary Revolution, there is more Soviet animation to explore. Dziga Vertov directed Soviet Toys, which the source describes as “the first Soviet animated movie.” Vertov also directed A Man with a Movie Camera, which appears among the eight best films ever made.

Both of those films offer a different perspective on Soviet animation, one that is more experimental and less propagandistic. They show the range of animation produced in the Soviet Union during the 1920s.

The Verdict

Interplanetary Revolution is a strange film. It is a product of its time, a propaganda tool that uses surreal imagery to convey a political message. It is not a film that you watch casually. It requires attention.

But it is also a film that rewards attention. The animation is technically impressive. The ideas behind it are historically interesting. And the overall effect is genuinely entertaining, even if you do not agree with the politics.

It is a film that belongs in the canon of strange Soviet cinema. It is a reminder that propaganda can be creative and that animation can be disturbing. It is a film that deserves to be seen.

The film is available to watch online. Take a look at it.

See the video the story is built around at Open Culture.

1920s cinema · Dziga Vertov · propaganda · Soviet animation · stop-motion