Abstract: Under the influence of French avant-garde filmmakers who created the creative method of "montage film", at the beginning of the twentieth century, Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein developed a technique called "intelligent editing". Later, the famous film director Andrei Tarkovsky constructed the inner truth of the film with the help of poetic expression, thereby giving it a unique poetic aesthetic. This form of filmmaking has had a profound impact on Russian animated cinema. This article is devoted to the study of the specifics of Russian animation on the example of paintings by Yuri Norstein, in particular, the analysis of the humanistic spirit and poetic aesthetics. Special attention is paid in the article to the symbolism of the cinematic images of the works of Yu. Norstein and the peculiarities of the reflection of reality in animation. The main conclusion of this study : in contrast to Hollywood animation with the shocking creation of visual meanings, in Russian animated works, a calm narrative with symbolic meaning attached to details gradually rises to the level of philosophical comprehension. Yuri Norstein's paintings are full of symbols and metaphors that evoke various associations in the audience and give free rein to their imagination. The content of cartoon paintings is characterized by depth and a multilevel system of meanings embodying the Russian national culture and the picture of the world. The combination of realistic traditions with advanced techniques distinguishes the director's work from American animation.