After the Rain, on Thursday

After the Rain, on Thursday
After the Rain, on Thursday
Directed by	Mikhail Yuzovskiy
Written by	Yuliy Kim
Produced by	Yulia Bondareva
Starring	Vladislav Toldykov; Alexey Voytyuk; Gennady Frolov;
Cinematography	Konstantin Harutyunov; Vladimir Sapozhnikov
Edited by	Svetlana Desnitskaya
Music by	Gennady Gladkov
Production; company	Gorky Film Studio
Release date	1985;
Running time	78 minutes
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

After the Rain, on Thursday (Russian: После дождичка в четверг, romanized: Posle dozhdichka v chetverg) is a 1985 Soviet musical children's fantasy film directed by Mikhail Yuzovskiy.^[1]^[2]

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One Thursday after a rain, Tsar Avdei’s son is born, as well as the son of his housekeeper Varvara, and a foundling discovered among cabbage in the garden. All three boys are named Ivan, and the Tsar decrees they be raised together. However, Varvara switches her son with the Tsar’s in the royal crib, sending the real prince and the foundling to a labor camp. Twenty years later, the false prince, encouraged by Varvara, now a powerful figure at court, begins plotting to seize the throne. Suspicious of him, Tsar Avdei withholds his approval. Varvara then visits her brother Yegory, who oversees the labor camp, convincing him to eliminate the two Ivens. Overhearing the scheme, the real prince and the foundling escape on a flying carpet.

Back at court, Varvara pressures Avdei to declare the throne will pass to the false prince. To delay, Avdei decrees that Ivan can only inherit the kingdom if he rescues Princess Milolika, who is held captive by the immortal Koschei. Many volunteers, including the false prince and Yegory, set out for Koschei’s lair, hoping to ransom Milolika or win her freedom by gambling with enchanted checkers. Meanwhile, the real prince and foundling, after a run-in with Baba Yaga, use trickery to charm Koschei and locate Milolika. When Koschei captures them, he offers a deal: he’ll spare the prince if the foundling retrieves the Firebird from a distant shah. Upon seeing the cruelty the Firebird endures in captivity, the foundling persuades it to help. While he races back, the prince, with Milolika’s aid, locates the crystal egg containing Koschei’s death. With the Firebird’s support, the two Ivans finally corner Koschei, who unwittingly destroys the egg himself. The evil dissipates, restoring all prisoners to their true forms. The Tsar, learning of Varvara's deception, forgives the real prince and banishes Varvara, as peace returns to the kingdom.