The New Gulliver: A Soviet Fever Dream in Miniature

Is it worth your time?

If you have any interest in animation history, you should see this at least once. It’s definitely not for casual viewers looking for a smooth Saturday night watch. If you hate old, slightly creepy puppets or get bored by heavy-handed political metaphors, you’ll probably want to turn it off after ten minutes.

The New Gulliver is weird. Like, really weird. It starts with a kid reading Gulliver's Travels, and suddenly he's a giant in a land of tiny, jerky puppets. The transition feels like hitting your head against a wall. One second you're in a regular room, the next, you're looking at hundreds of little wooden faces staring back at you.

The scale of the production is actually kind of wild for 1935. You can see the effort in every frame. The puppets have these expressions that feel almost human, which makes the whole thing feel slightly unsettling, like a toy store coming to life at night but with more propaganda.

The Tiny People

The Lilliputians aren't just little guys. They are total caricatures. They spend a lot of time running around and looking panicked. Watching the giant boy interact with them feels clumsy, but in a way that works. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Bosko's Picture Show, though the tone here is way more focused on making a point.

There's this one moment where the puppets are singing and marching, and it just goes on forever. You can feel the director really wanted you to get the message. It stops being a movie and starts feeling like a lecture. I found myself looking at the background details instead, wondering how many people it took to move all those tiny little arms and legs.

It’s nowhere near as sweet or polished as the stuff Disney was doing, but that’s why I like it. It feels raw. It feels like someone had a vision and just built it out of wood and paint. It’s got more in common with the oddities found in The Kid from Borneo than any standard fairy tale.

• The puppet movements are so jittery they almost vibrate.
• The giant boy looks like he's trying to act with his whole body at once.
• The set design has this weird, claustrophobic feeling.

If you're looking for a relaxing watch, look elsewhere. This movie wants to get under your skin. It doesn't care if you're comfortable. It just wants to show you a tiny, wooden version of the world where everything is a bit too loud and everyone is a bit too angry. Honestly? I kind of respect that. 🤖