Lesia Ukrainka’s "The Forest Song" and Its Intermedial Translation in the 3D Animated Film "Mavka. The Forest Song"
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15330/clid.2.2.35-46Keywords:
translation, Lesia Ukrainka, The Forest Song, Mavka, intermedial translation, adaptationAbstract
The article examines the intermedial translation of Lesia Ukrainka’s canonical drama-fairy tale The Forest Song into the contemporary 3D animated film Mavka. The Forest Song (2023) produced by Animagrad Studio. The study traces how the original literary text – with its complex mythopoetic structure, symbolic layers, and philosophical depth – is transformed within an audiovisual format aimed primarily at child and youth audiences, and how this shift influences the preservation and reinterpretation of the cultural and semantic core of the source work.
The theoretical section outlines current approaches to intermediality and intersemiotic translation, demonstrating that the film adaptation operates as a form of transmedial transformation in which the literary source is re-coded into a new sign system and a new model of reception.
The analytical part focuses on narrative, generic, visual, and auditory modifications in the animated version. The contribution shows that Mavka. The Forest Song departs from the symbolic and philosophical dramaturgy of Ukrainka’s original to construct an adventure-oriented fantasy story centered on ecological messaging and a romantic plotline. At the same time, the animation preserves several archetypal images and key motifs of The Forest Song, reinterpreting them through contemporary audiovisual codes: color symbolism, dynamic character design, the representation of Forest Spirits, and musical solutions that combine folk intonations with elements of popular music.
Special attention is devoted to the adaptation of national and cultural symbolism, including mythological imagery, ecological worldview, and moral-ethical values. The study concludes that the animated film functions as a distinct form of intermedial translation that both simplifies and universalizes certain meanings while simultaneously enabling the broad popularization of Ukrainian culture and offering a modernized representation of a classic literary text within the global media landscape.
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