Treasure Island (1988 film)

Kievnauchfilm
Industry	Animation and film production
Headquarters	Kiev, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
Products	Animated films, television films

Treasure Island (, , ) is a Soviet-Ukrainian television film presented in two parts, combining live-action and animation, produced by Kievnauchfilm from 1986 to 1988. This adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel Treasure Island predominantly employs traditional animation techniques, interspersed with live-action scenes.

The initial installment, titled Captain Flint's Map, premiered in 1986, followed by the second part, Captain Flint's Treasure, in 1988. Subsequent airings merged both segments into a single feature. The production received multiple accolades, including Grand Prizes awarded in Minsk (1987) and Kyiv (1989), as well as the top honor at the International Cinema Festival of Television Films held in Czechoslovakia.

In the United States, it was distributed directly to video between 1989 and 1992 under the name The Return to Treasure Island. This edition excluded the live-action portions, shortening the total duration by 34 minutes, and featured voice performances by Jan Rabson and Steve Bulen.

Plot

Characters are introduced through dossier-style cards that emphasize attributes such as "not married" (a nod to Seventeen Moments of Spring). The live-action sequences include moralistic songs that address themes like the hazards of drug use and the benefits of physical activity.

Captain Flint's Map

The story begins with a humorous live-action scene where pirate Captain Flint fiercely guards his treasure map from adversaries. Animated pirate Billy Bones, characterized by allergies and alcoholism, ambushes Flint and seizes the map.

On a stormy evening, Bones arrives at the Admiral Benbow Inn along with his cat. He requests innkeeper Jim Hawkins to notify him if a one-legged old sailor appears, unaware that Blind Pew—a ruthless blind pirate—is covertly observing them. The following morning, Pew and Bones’ former crewmate Black Dog arrive. A confrontation over the map ensues; Black Dog escapes mistakenly believing Bones has fled. Dr. Livesey, a cheerful physician, tends to Bones’ injuries and a stroke caused by his excessive drinking.

Bones cautions Hawkins that a locked chest in his room is vulnerable and urges him to deliver it to Livesey at Squire Trelawney’s residence for protection. Pew returns bearing a black spot, signaling an imminent pirate attack. After warning Hawkins about the map’s significance, Bones succumbs to another stroke. Hawkins manages to flee with both the black spot and the map; meanwhile, Pew and his gang break into the chest but discover only gold coins. While urging his comrades to chase after Hawkins and the map, Pew accidentally falls off a cliff to his death.

Hawkins arrives at Trelawney’s estate and presents the map to Livesey and Trelawney. They resolve to recruit a crew for an expedition in search of treasure and set off for Bristol. At the Spyglass Inn, they look for Long John Silver, unaware that Silver’s crew includes pirates disguised as members of Pew’s gang. After Hawkins defends himself against an attack by one of these pirates, Silver offers his ship, the Hispaniola, for their journey.

With Captain Smollett commanding the ship, they embark on their voyage. At night, Silver convenes secretly with his crew in the armory. Hawkins overhears their plot: Silver was Captain Flint’s trusted first mate and plans to lead a mutiny to claim the treasure for themselves.

Captain Flint's Treasure

Hawkins covertly returns to inform Livesey, Trelawney, and Smollett about Silver’s planned mutiny. Smollett urges prudence, unaware that one of Silver’s men overhears their conversation and alerts Silver.

The following day, the Hispanola reaches Treasure Island. Silver grants shore leave but secretly confines Hawkins, Smollett, Trelawney, and Livesey under guard. Hawkins escapes using a dinghy but is chased by Silver’s crew. While in hiding, he encounters Ben Gunn, an ex-member of Flint's crew who discloses that Flint was betrayed and killed over the treasure. Gunn, stranded for three years after an unsuccessful treasure hunt, agrees to assist Hawkins.

Livesey spots Hawkins and Silver’s men near a deserted fortress. Alongside Trelawney and Smollett, Livesey commandeers a dinghy to safely reach the island. Silver demands their surrender but is ultimately defeated when Trelawney deceives his men into plunging off a cliff.

That evening, Gunn reveals the treasure’s whereabouts to Livesey. Hawkins returns to the Hispanola, overcomes Israel Hands in combat, then goes back to the fort where Silver captures him. Silver confesses that Livesey provided him with the map and strikes a private bargain with Hawkins while publicly claiming ownership of the treasure map.

At dawn, they arrive at the burial site but fall into an ambush orchestrated by Livesey, Gunn, Trelawney, and Smollett. The pirates attempt to escape but succumb due to poor health caused by pipe smoking and exhaustion. The surviving crew secures the treasure and sails back to England.

The film ends with animated characters appearing alongside their voice actors in live-action sequences. After the credits, the live-action pirate crew discovers the treasure chest—only to find a spring-loaded sign reading "The End".

Voice cast

as Jim Hawkins
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan as Long John Silver
as Captain Smollett and Billy Bones
as Dr. Livesey and narrator
as Squire Trelawney
Yury Yakovlev as Ben Gunn
Grigory Tolchinsky as Black Dog
as Blind Pew
as Blind Pew's dog
as the "cowardish pirate"

Live-action cast

Instrumental ensemble VIA (ВИА) and theater troupe "Grotesque":
- as Leading Pirate/Captain Flint
- Yuri Nevganonny portraying Captain Flint in Ben Gunn’s narrative
- Alexander Levit
- Semyon Grigoriev
- David Cherkassky
- Vladimir Chiglyayev
- Oleg Sheremenko

Background

Treasure Island represents a joint effort between director David Cherkassky and cartoonist Radna Sakhaltuev, following their previous collaborations on Adventures of Captain Wrongel and Doctor Aybolit.

The production features live-action musical segments addressing social concerns such as alcohol consumption and smoking. These sequences were incorporated to meet production deadlines and were filmed during nighttime hours.

Initially released in two installments—Captain Flint's Map (1986) and Captain Flint's Treasure (1988)—the film later encountered regulatory obstacles. In 2012, Russian legislation restricted films depicting smoking or drinking for underage audiences; nonetheless, owing to public advocacy emphasizing the film’s cultural significance, Treasure Island was granted an exemption.

Home video

On 16 March 2006, the Russian company Krupny Plan issued a Region 0 DVD presenting the original Russian version with restored visuals and a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, alongside the original mono soundtrack. This release does not include any extra features or subtitles and is exclusively in Russian.

RUSCICO provides an export edition named Treasure Island (Region 0), which contains Russian audio in both 5.1 and mono formats, as well as English and French voiceovers in 5.1. Subtitles are available in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. However, this version lacks restored picture quality.

Between 1989 and 1992, a U.S. direct-to-video adaptation titled Return to Treasure Island (Region 1) was distributed. This edition is shorter by 34 minutes compared to the Soviet original, having removed all live-action segments. While the visuals remain unrestored, the English audio track was remastered into 5.1 surround sound. It does not feature any Russian language options. The VHS version was released by Video Treasures.

Legacy

Treasure Island received several prestigious awards, including Grand Prizes at festivals in Minsk (1987) and Kyiv (1989), as well as the top honor at the International Cinema Festival of Television Films in Czechoslovakia.

In 2005, the Ukrainian studio Action Forms created an official PC adventure game based on Treasure Island, collaborating with director David Cherkassky, original voice actors Yevhen Papernyi and Viktor Andriyenko, and animators from the film’s production team.

August 2022 saw the character Dr. Livesey become a viral internet meme worldwide, recognized for his confident entrance into the Spyglass Inn set to the phonk music track "Why Not" by Ghostface Playa.

In 2023, the Russian publisher Agafonoff Official Group launched DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION, a bullet hell shooter game that incorporates characters and animations from the movie.

References

External links

Treasure Island at Animator.ru