Aybolit-66 1966

An epidemic sweeps across Africa, affecting the monkeys and prompting a rescue mission led by Aybolit [Oleg Efremov]. Accompanying him are his faithful helpers—Chichi the monkey [Lidiya Knyazeva] and Avva the dog [Evgeniy Vasilev]—as they set out to reach the continent and heal the distressed primates. Their journey is immediately complicated when Barmaley [Rolan Bykov] and his two bandit accomplices seize Aybolit’s ship, hurl them overboard along with the medicines, and cast the trio onto a ragged raft.

Drifting toward the coast, the three reach the African shore and soon find themselves recaptured by the bandits, this time imprisoned in a cave. Inside the dim enclosure, Chichi’s despair nearly drives her into a fire, but Aybolit steadies her with calm leadership and a steady hand.

The bandits press the doctor to surrender every medicine, hoping to make themselves immune to illness forever. In the ensuing struggle, Aybolit frees his friends and refuses to hand over the best medicine to Barmaley. The bandits seize the medicine and drink it, only to be punished by severe stomach pains. Seizing the moment of chaos, the trio escapes from their captors and begins to press on with their mission.

Back in the wider gambit of the story, Barmaley orders his henchmen to gather all the pirates by the riverbank and pretends to embody the doctor in a crude parody before them. The joke backfires when the pirates misunderstand the act and end up tying Barmaley to the same old boat, reversing the balance of power.

Just as the tension reaches a peak, the Tragedians and Comedians from Mosfilm intervene, clashing with the pirates and rescuing Aybolit, Chichi, and Avva from danger. With the immediate threat dispelled, the trio resumes their vital task: healing the monkeys. Though Barmaley returns in a final bid to thwart them, he arrives too late—the monkeys are cured, and the mission reaches a triumphant close.