KikoRiki: Through the Universes
Short description
Krosh and the Hedgehog discover a strange device in Chamomile Valley that transports them into a futuristic setting. They find themselves reimagined as human children aboard a spacecraft traveling toward Mars. The conflict arises when the pair realizes that their situation is not a simulated game, but a reality.
This Russian adventure comedy was produced by Riki Group and written by Sergey Lukyanenko. It was co-directed by Andrey Marmontov and Ilya Maksimov. Within their respective careers, this project follows Marmontov's 2011 film The Real Tale and Maksimov's 2021 film Gulliver Returns. The voice cast includes Lyudmila Artemeva, Ivan Agapov, Aleksandr Lykov, Yan Tsapnik, Nikolai Dobrynin, and Dmitrii Kalikhov. Released on August 6, 2026, the science fiction family film has a runtime of 85 minutes.
What's left behind the scenes
- The gravity assist that the Smeshariki plan to perform is based on real principles of astronautics. This technique is indeed used by spacecraft to change their trajectory using the gravitational fields of celestial bodies.
- To film one of the scenes, actor Aleksandr Lykov spent two weeks studying the violin with a teacher.
- The film's location shoots took place in Krasnodar Park, after which the crew moved to the Mosfilm pavilions in Moscow. The filming process occupied the studio's first and third pavilions.
- During production, computer graphics were applied to over a thousand frames. The work included both augmented reality elements integrated into actual pavilion shoots and entirely digital scenes.
- Some scenes were created using 2.5D techniques. In this approach, two-dimensional objects are used during filming, but an illusion of depth and three-dimensionality is created through parallax and varying distances between the objects and the camera.
- The film crew decided to use Krasnodar Park not only for its landscaping and general beauty, but also for a meadow of sage, which was perfect for Anya and Roma's first romantic meeting. The team consulted with park specialists in advance to ensure filming took place during the blooming period. However, due to the heat, the sage had dried out before the crew's arrival and the flowers had faded, necessitating the use of color correction.
- To smooth the transition between the animated and live-action parts of the film, certain objects and details were used in both worlds. For example, the sofa from the spaceship's library can be spotted in Losyash's house, and the toy astronaut from Kirill and Zhenya's room appears in Krosh's interior.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
