The number of films with dogs in the title role has long exceeded a hundred, and this is not surprising. The external simplicity of the plots is more than offset by the sincerity of the relationship between the hero and the dog, which is so lacking in our world. Probably, this is what makes you revise your favorite movies "To me, Mukhtar!", "White Bim Black Ear" Lassi "," K-9 "," Turner and Huch "... The listing of the entire list will take more than one page. Not for nothing that the Hollywood film industry so often refers to this "eternal" theme. Along with blockbusters about cool guys in theaters, films about our younger brothers are also very successful. Today, the domestic cinema, unfortunately, can not boast an abundance of paintings with four-legged characters, but we also have something to please the viewer.
"Return of Mukhtar" - Russian series about the dog, equally loved by both adults and children. Love this wide audience audience this adventure detective has won thanks to simple life stories in which there is a place of friendship and devotion, courage and kindness. It was clear that the actors of the series returned Mukhtar really worked "with the soul." All without exception.
One against 150.
The series "Return of Mukhtar" was released forty years after the legendary film "To Me, Mukhtar!" By Semyon Tumanov. Many people assumed that this would be a continuation of the famous film, and they did not guess. Kinoheroya and the hero of the series are related only by name, breed and profession. Modern Mukhtar is always at the center of events: he helps young operatives catch criminals, unravel the mysterious events. At the same time, a clever dog and his companions find themselves in various amusing and serious situations, of which, however, they always come out with brilliance.
For four years of shooting in the series Mukhtarami visited eight dogs. In the first and second seasons, the main role was played by the young dog Vargun. This East European sheep dog managed to bypass very strong competitors: the role claimed the 150 best dogs in Moscow and the Moscow region. Vargun turned out to be the most beautiful, provocative and clever - in a word, such as a real friend of a person should be. Despite the fact that the dog did not have any special training, the trainers did not have special problems with it. Gunya, as the crew of the caudate actor called affectionately, literally from the second to third take it was clearly performed by all the teams. All because the process of shooting, he perceived not as a job, but as a game.
Vargun had an understudy brother, Duncan, who performed the most complex tricks: jumps, captures, spectacular chases. By the way, it was with Duncan that the most amusing stories happened. Once, according to the scenario, Mukhtar was to take a net from a fisherman. Duncan superbly played in the episode, and while the crew was preparing for the next scene, the learned dog brought from somewhere a fishing pole. It turned out that a real fisherman was fishing near the site, which, of course, was wonderfully surprised when a dog approached him and took the fishing rod. Misunderstanding, having laughed, have settled and have returned to the fisherman a tackle.
Mukhtar will finish it to Kiev.
In the third season, the shooting took place in Kiev. The main shaggy hero had to be found among the local. They became a champion, medalist and prize winner of prestigious exhibitions named Zeiss. True, he was twice as old as his predecessors, but also more experienced. In just a few days, Zeiss learned to turn off the alarm clock and hide the mobile phone. The dog had two understudies - the sons of Zeus and West, who performed power tricks for the pope. As a real star, Zeiss relied on a separate room for rest. Find out which of the ordinary dogs about the conditions of the film Mukhtarov, would howl with envy. During the break, the artists tried not to disturb their caustic counterpart, although, according to the trainer, this was difficult. "The actors loved Zeiss so much that it was almost impossible to tear them from the dog. Besides, they fed him all the time, - Alexander recalls. "So the biggest difficulty in filming was to train the crew so that Zeiss did not turn into a fat dolly."
Chill out Vasya!
When Zeiss grew old, they began to look for a replacement: jumps and seizures require special physical training. As a result, the third Mukhtar was a titled dog, the vice-champion of the world with the proper name Vaks von Weissrussland Kirschental, who became simply Vasya on the court. Despite the external similarity (both dogs - excellent representatives of the breed of German shepherds), the characters they were completely different. Zeiss was a stern silent dog, not everyone allowed himself. Vaska, on the contrary, is very affectionate and sociable, besides, as director Vladimir Zlatoustovsky recalls, "a terrible lick": until everyone lick, greet, start working.
To Vasya got used to the role, he was temporarily settled in the apartment of actor Alexander Volkov (the performer of the role of Maxim Zharov). The result of cohabitation was a real male friendship. On the set, Volkov and Vasya practically did not depart from each other. The actor became so attached to his companion that, when the shooting was over, he took Vasily a puppy.
The first weeks of filming were not easy for Vaks. The dog did not understand why it is necessary to repeat the same thing several times. Do not explain to the dog that the duplicates are removed in order to then choose the most successful option.
"Once, on a plot, he needed to throw the newspaper into the trash can. So he dragged there half of the props, "- says Alexander. The actors laughingly add that Vasya in one of the scenes could not "pull off" the sandwich from the table: well, the trained dog is not accustomed to such ugliness. Clever dog's eyes expressed complete perplexity, when the trainer almost begged him to commit theft.
To be continued...
Now in the new season Mukhtar is played by two dogs: the brothers Yaks House Tabor di Al-lertal and Prime Prem Sambatus. Yaks, for his simple Kuzya, the first violin, and Prime replaces the star if necessary. Just like the 11-year-old Vaks, who is now on a well-deserved vacation, the four-year-old Couse initially did not give tricks with the provision of slippers and important documents. But now he will give 100 points ahead to any competitor.
At the casting, Yaks fought with five other "Germans", but the animated character and intelligent look of the future actor won the heart of the demanding director, and the dog was taken to the series. During this time, Kuzya learned various useful and not very things. He began to beg for food, to sing, to interrupt the conversation, and even to respond to the serial nickname of the Fly.
But the real test of Yaks passed when he fell seriously ill. After all, in the artistic environment to cancel the shooting is not accepted even for the actor's illness. But, despite the terrible state of health, Kuzya excellently played in one of the episodes. According to the plot, the guys detained the wrong person, and Mukhe was sent desperately to bark at the detainee and beat his paws along the handcuffs. Weakened from the disease, Yaks simply physically could not perform such an action as a furious pounding on the handcuffs. Instead, he just jabbed his nose in the hands of the detainee, and it looked much more natural and vital.
Filming of the series was four years. During this time the collective managed to become a real family. All the holidays the creative group of the series celebrates together. Director Vladimir Zlatoustovsky told us that thanks to the love of dogs, twelve filmmakers found their happiness. To date, six weddings have already been played and five children were born.