‘The Master and Margarita’: First Look at a New Animated Take on Bulgakov’s Popular Classic

Fans of Mikhail Bulgakov’s modern classic The Master and Margarita, which was first written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940 and officially published in Paris in 1967, will be happy to know that a new animated feature based on the book is in the works. The animated movie, which will feature a mix of different animation techniques, follows a visit by the devil (manifested as Professor Woland) and his entourage to the Soviet Union and chronicles how he challenges the people’s beliefs towards religion.

The movie, which is being helmed by Alexander Golberg Jero, is in the early stages of production. “I started to work on this project then I was 16 years old, back in 1989,” he tells us. “I wrote a music theme of Yashua (Jesus) called ‘Eternal Refuge’ and later other music themes for the soundtrack to the project in 2012. But the creation of the visuals for the animation started in 2018 when we start working on the development with Bondit Media Capital and Buffalo8 Productions. The script for the movie, which features three different forms of animation was completed in 2017. The project is currently in production with the first sequence completely, and we’re currently working on photorealistic segments with metahumans, which is the most complex part of the movie.”

Golberg Jero believes there are many reasons why the book would make a great source of inspiration for an animated movie. “It features several storylines, and animation can allow directors to easily distinguish between each one,” he notes. “Classic 2D animation can be used during the Biblical sections, highlighting their historical elements. Parts of the story are set in Moscow City. These have a more comedic tone. This kind of humor can be best expressed by 3D animation. Performance capture can allow for a more epic atmosphere. This would suit the ‘Satan’s Ball’ section of the story.”

He adds, “Using separate, but cohesive, styles isn’t just a gimmick. It’s a great way of improving audience understanding. Animation will do this better than any other medium. Russian directors have previously tried to turn this iconic novel into a movie, but they all met the same challenges. Distinguishing between the different story elements became difficult — particularly for American audiences. As we’ve seen, animation is the perfect way to bridge this cultural gap.”

The director says the biggest challenge was to deliver his ideas and visions of the novel to the type of animation that American and Western audiences will understand in terms of the social values and history of Russia at this time. “We needed to develop visual content in a way that it would be self-explanatory, exiting and politically accurate.”

Golberg Jero says the designs for the movie are all overseen by him, and the production is taking place in the U.S., Russia and Ukraine, with technical production help being provided by teams in India and Pakistan. “We are presenting classic 3D character animation for the Moscow City part of the story, 2D artistic animation for the Biblical section, and photorealistic animation with meta-humans for locations like ‘Satan’s Ball’ and ‘Eternal Refuge’ episodes.”

When asked about his big animation sources of inspirations, the director mentions two of the big motion capture movies directed by Robert Zemeckis. “Beowulf and A Christmas Carol made me realize that my visual ideas of the story could be produced using motion capture. The early works of Russian animators are inspired my visual solution for classic 3D and 2D parts of the storytelling that add a flavor of fashion and cultural and period references.”

The director says the design assets of the The Master and Margarita have currently been fully developed. “The remaining task is to complete the animation using the Unreal Engine 5 platform, and we hope to conclude that by the end of the year,” he says. “I hope when we bring the film to theaters, audiences around the world will appreciate the magnificence and timeless of this important story, and also embrace the ability of animation to bring to life modern classics of literature for everyone.”

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