Il fiorellino vermiglio

Other reviewers have already left excellent reviews. One thing I'd like to point out though is that this story is NOT based on Beauty and the Beast. Just like the story of Cinderella has various versions in folk cultures spanning from China to Iceland, the fable of Beauty and the Beast is also an ancient mythological storyline to which every nation eventually added its own twist.

In this case, the Russian folklorist Sergei Aksakov recorded The Scarlet Flower in mid-1850s "as told by my housekeeper Pelagea". Aksakov claimed he remembered her tale since his early childhood. This explains all the plot deviations from the version known to the Western reader as their own traditional fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast.

The animation does full justice to his story and still remains one of the most popular Soviet animation films today.