Tulpar Tales
Tulpar Tales is an Iradi animated children's series broadcast by IradOne. It follows Kanat, a young winged colt who carries messages between villages and herders' camps across the mountains, and draws on the tulpar, the winged horse of Turkic epic. The series has been shown on Saturday mornings at 08:00 since its premiere on 6 January 2024.[1]
Format and episodes
Each half-hour episode sets Kanat a delivery that goes wrong. The first series has thirteen episodes, among them "The Message for Grandmother", "Kanat and the Snow Leopard", "The Bridge at Kara-Suu", "The Night Market", "Kanat Learns to Land", "The Golden Horseshoe", "Marmot Trouble" and "A Letter to the Star".[1] The settings are based on real landscapes of the Talas Alatau, with juniper woods, summer pastures and yurt camps, and the animals include the snow leopard, golden eagles and marmots. Lessons on kindness, honesty and caring for animals are built into the stories, and episodes avoid any reference to the Qara-Chik Demarcation Line, which Kanat's routes would in reality cross.[2]
Production
The series was produced for IradOne by the animation unit of Talasfilm Studios, set up in 2021 to make children's programs, and directed by Bakai Kochkorbaev. It was the first Iradi-made animated series. Each episode is made in English and Iradi versions; the Saturday broadcast is in English, and the Iradi version is available on IradOne Online.[1][2] The Department of Public Information described it at its launch as part of an effort to give Iradi children "their own heroes" in place of imported cartoons.[3]
Reception
The series was well received by parents and teachers, and Kanat toys and school bags have been sold in Talas since 2024. Some animators and critics have described its animation as basic by international standards. Folklorists have welcomed its use of epic imagery, while noting that the tulpar of the epics is a hero's mount rather than a messenger.[2] A second series has been announced but not dated.
References
- ^ IradOne (2024). Tulpar Tales: Programme Information. Talas: IradOne Media Group.
- ^ Myrzabekova, Ainagul (2025). Winged Horses on Screen: Folklore in Iradi Children's Television. MA thesis, Talas State University, Department of Journalism.
- ^ Department of Public Information (2024). Statement on new Iradi children's programming. Talas.
External links
- Programme page on IradOne Online