New Showbiz

You are here:
The Marathon

The Marathon

1988

Director

Aleksandr Petrov, Mikhail Tumelya

Runtime

3 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

The director Misha Tumelya and animators Sasha Dorogov and Alexandr Petrov presented this short to Roy E. Disney as a tribute for the 60th anniversary of Mickey. A little over two minutes in length, the cartoon shows a young boy in black silhouette going to a line that divides the screen image in half. It is like a mirror with the young boy on one side and the classic black and white Mickey Mouse in black silhouette on the other side.

Where to Watch

Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

4.7/10

Fair

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Limited

The film is a brief, non-verbal tribute focused on a silhouette of a boy and Mickey Mouse. It contains no evidence of LGBTQ+ characters or explorations of gender identity.

Gender Representation

Fair

A young boy serves as the central protagonist. The minimalist silhouette aesthetic avoids traditional gendered tropes, focusing instead on universal childhood imagery.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Fair

Black silhouettes strip away specific ethnic markers, bypassing traditional white-normative casting. This creates a theoretically inclusive visual space without explicitly depicting specific racial identities.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Fair

The work functions as a cross-cultural dialogue between Soviet artistry and American iconography. It offers a meditative, secular tribute to the evolution of animation.

Disability Representation

Minimal

There is no evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities within this short film.

Strengths

  • The silhouette aesthetic bypasses traditional white-normative casting by removing specific ethnic markers.
  • The film avoids reinforcing rigid masculine or feminine social roles through its minimalist design.
  • It facilitates a cross-cultural dialogue between Soviet animation and American pop-culture icons.

Areas for Improvement

  • The brevity of the work precludes the development of complex, intersectional character identities.
  • The focus on symbolic imagery results in a lack of explicit representation for LGBTQ+ or disabled characters.

AI Analysis

The Marathon is a formalist experiment that prioritizes aesthetic texture over social commentary. Its use of the paint-on-glass technique and silhouette-based storytelling creates a neutral landscape for identity. Because the film is a two-minute tribute, it lacks the narrative depth required for complex character arcs. It avoids reinforcing traditional hierarchies but does not actively engage with intersectional representation. Ultimately, the film's impact is found in its visual deconstruction of icons rather than its engagement with identity politics.

How are these scores produced? →

Rate this Movie

No rating selected
Use arrow keys to select a rating from 1 to 5 stars
Optional text review, maximum 2000 characters
Tip: Wrap spoilers with ||double pipes|| to hide them
0/2000 characters
You must be signed in to submit a rating

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts on this movie!

Use the rating form above to leave a star rating and optional review.