The Golden Antelope

The Golden Antelope (1954) is a Soviet animated short you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Lev Atamanov at Soyuzmultfilm. Based on an Indian folk tale, the film follows an orphan boy who rescues a magical antelope — one whose hooves knock gold coins out of thin air with every step.

A greedy rajah has long hunted the antelope and finally seizes the boy to force the secret out of him. The antelope shows up anyway, and the gold behaves exactly as greed deserves. At thirty-one minutes, this is unhurried, hand-painted animation with backgrounds drawn in a vivid Indian style, and one of the standout works from Soviet animation's golden decade. Watch The Golden Antelope online on iFILM.