Underplayed Gems

Qumi-Qumi (2011)

Qumi-Qumi poster
Original title
Куми-Куми
Directed by
Vladimir Ponomaryov
Genre
sitcom, animated sitcom, adventure fiction
Country
Russia
Length
1 season, 15 episodes
Rated
NR
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

Three young misfits from rival tribes become friends. Juga, Yusi, and Shumadan navigate their social worlds and crushes while their tribes clash over magic, science, and militarism.

lightheartedquirkyfast-pacedplayfulwhimsicalcomediczanysimple

What happens

Qumi-Qumi (Russian: Куми-Куми, Kumi-Kumi) is an animated series created by Toonbox, best known for the Cut the Rope cartoons. From November 2012, it premiered on Multilandia (Multimania) and Carousel. On October 14, 2013, it began broadcasting on the channel STS. The series was developed with the financial support of the Government of Moscow, and since 2011 with the support of Film Foundation. It is based around a small comic book from 2005 that eventually made it into a small music video in 2007, and eventually into a full-fledged cartoon in 2011. Qumi-Qumi tells of three different tribes: the magic-based tribal Jumi-Qumi, the science-based capitalist Yumi-Qumi, and the militaristic and communistic Shumi-Qumi. Three young outcasts of each tribe, Juga, Yusi, and Shumadan, manage to break out of their social norms and become close friends. The speech of the characters is a gibberish language known as Tarabar (though with its own specific words) peppered with Russian phrases. Many plots relate around Juga and Shumadan's crushes on Yusi and trying to interact with their respective tribes despite their own faults. As of March 2025, the series has: 96 million views on the English version of the channel 535 million views on the Russian version of the channel Total views on two YouTube versions: 631 million (85% on the Russian version and 15% on the English version) (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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