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Family fantasy film

The Twelve Months (1956): Cast & Plot

The Twelve Months (1956) movie poster

The Twelve Months is a 1956 family fantasy film directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Mikhail Botov, starring Galina Novozhilova as The Queen (voice), Erast Garin and Lyudmila Kasatkina. It runs 55 minutes.

The Twelve Months (1956) movie poster
Released
Runtime
55 min
Genres
Family , Fantasy , Animation
Original language
Russian
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is The Twelve Months About?

The premise of The Twelve Months without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

A poor girl is given an impossible command by her wicked stepmother: to gather the fragile snowdrops that bloom in a winter forest. As she ventures into the icy woods, she unexpectedly meets twelve brothers who are the personified twelve months, each representing a different part of the year, turning her daunting quest into a magical encounter.

The Twelve Months Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags
  • 1950s
  • queen regnant
  • 18th century
  • 19th century
  • absolute monarchy
  • monarchy
  • monarch
  • horse and carriage
  • girl
  • poverty
  • new year's day
  • new year's eve party
+38 more
  • new year's eve
  • fairy tale
  • magical ring
  • magical staff
  • anthropomorphism
  • orphan
  • forest
  • selflessness
  • sadness
  • flower
  • snow
  • cruelty
  • cave
  • spoiled child
  • child ruler
  • queen
  • tyrant
  • selfishness
  • ignorance
  • fire
  • stubbornness
  • order
  • death threat
  • greed
  • weather
  • rain
  • wind
  • heat
  • ice hole
  • redcurrant
  • thaw
  • leaf
  • captain
  • professor
  • sleigh
  • gift
  • theft
  • secret
Cast & crew

The Twelve Months Cast & Characters

Galina Novozhilova leads the cast as The Queen (voice), with Erast Garin as Professor (voice) and Lyudmila Kasatkina as Stepdaughter (voice). Directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Mikhail Botov; 12 actors are credited in all.

Also Starring in The Twelve Months

· 8 more
Plot

The Twelve Months Plot Summary

What happens in The Twelve Months from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 10 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

The capricious Queen, Galina Novozhilova, is semiliterate, bratty, and resistant to instruction. When a botany lesson turns toward spring, she longs for April to arrive with Snowdrops. The Professor, Erast Garin, warns that such a change is impossible in the dead of winter, but the Queen issues a royal decree: whoever brings a basket of snowdrops to the palace will receive the same basket of gold and a fur coat.

A poor country Stepdaughter, Lyudmila Kasatkina, and her Daughter, Yuliya Yulskaya, dream of the reward. When the Stepdaughter returns home after gathering brushwood, the Stepmother, Tatyana Barysheva, and her Daughter hurry to push her back into the woods to fulfill the royal order and bring back the impossible flowers.

Full summary

The whole story of The Twelve Months, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Quiz

How Well Do You Know The Twelve Months?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
  2. Question 2: not answered
  3. Question 3: not answered
  4. Question 4: not answered
  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

Which character issues the decree offering gold and a fur coat for a basket of snowdrops?

Details

The Twelve Months Also Known As

25 alternative titles, including “Russische Märchenklassiker: Die zwölf Monate” and “Dvenadtsat Mesyatsev”.

Also known as
  • Russische Märchenklassiker: Die zwölf Monate
  • Dvenadtsat Mesyatsev
  • I 12 mesi
  • Douze mois
  • Οι 12 μήνες
  • 12 meses
  • Mori haikiteiru
  • The Forest Is Alive
  • 森は生きている(1956)
  • Los 12 meses
  • De tolv månedene
  • Dwanaście miesięcy
+13 more
  • Los doce meses
  • Дванадцять місяців
  • The Twelve Months: A Winter Fairy Tale
  • Dvenadcat.mesyacev
  • Die zwölf Monate
  • Divpadsmit mēneši
  • I dodici mesi
  • 12-те месеца
  • Dvanásť mesiačikov
  • Οι δώδεκα μήνες
  • On Iki Ay / The Twelve Months
  • 十二个月
  • 열두달

Seen The Twelve Months?

FAQ

The Twelve Months FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date

Runtime, release date, director, cast, post-credit scenes and language of The Twelve Months, each answered in a sentence.

How long is The Twelve Months?

The Twelve Months runs 55 minutes.

When was The Twelve Months released?

The Twelve Months was released on December 30, 1956.

Who directed The Twelve Months?

The Twelve Months was directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Mikhail Botov.

More films by Ivan Ivanov-Vano

Who is in the cast of The Twelve Months?

The Twelve Months stars Galina Novozhilova as The Queen (voice), Erast Garin as Professor (voice) and Lyudmila Kasatkina as Stepdaughter (voice), among 12 credited actors.

Does The Twelve Months have a post-credit scene?

No. The Twelve Months has no extra scene during or after the credits.

What language is The Twelve Months in?

The original language of The Twelve Months is Russian.

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