This sweet stop-motion animation from the Soviet Union titled The Mitten (“Варежка“) was directed by Roman Kachanov (director of The Mystery of the Third Planet (1981), but who also worked on such animations as The Snow Maiden (1952) and The Scarlet Flower (1952)). The 10-minute silent animation is about a girl who longs to have a puppy or a dog but whose family is against the idea. Although sad, she does not despair and in her childish make-believe world starts to pretend that her mitten is a little puppy, feeding it and participating in a dog competition. The girl’s touching devotion to her new pet is not lost on her mother.