38 Parrots

38 Parrots (Russian: 38 попугаев, translit. Tridtsat vosem popugaev) is a series of ten children's animated films produced in the Soviet Union between 1976 and 1991 by Soyuzmultfilm. The series portrays the amusing adventures of four friends: the talkative chimpanzee Martyshka, the shy elephant Slonyonok, the eccentric parrot Popugai, and the thoughtful boa Udav. The title of the series comes from the very first episode, where Udav has his length measured in parrots. In most episodes the heroes solve paradoxes related to language and meaning. In one, for example, they discuss the number of nuts it takes to make a whole pile. In another, they tackle the problem of how to convey a greeting without it disappearing in transit. The series was created by Ivan Ufimtsev and Leonid Shvartsman, and scripted by children's author Grigoriy Oster. The characters were voiced by popular actors Nadezhda Rumyantseva (Martyshka), Raisa Muhametshyna (Martyshka in "The Great Closure"), Mikhail Kozakov (Slonyonok), Vasily Livanov (Udav) and Vsevolod Larionov (Popugai). The series' music is written by Vladimir Shainsky, Gennady Gladkov and Aleksei Shelygin.