Deaf Crocodile’s “Hoffmaniada” booklet review
Written by Matt Long
A review of the booklet included as part of Deaf Crocodile’s Blu-ray release of Hoffmaniada (2018), which they released in 2026. This booklet was only included with the limited deluxe edition set, though PDFs will be available through the Deaf Crocodile website.
The slipcase for the deluxe edition of Hoffmaniada, which came with this booklet.
Professionalism and production quality
This perfect bound 60-page booklet features the same image featured on the deluxe edition box set’s cover. The text and pictures throughout are well laid out; the font size and leading make the text nicely readable, though I’m sure many readers would want the font size to be just one point bigger to improve accessibility. The pictures are all printed clearly in high resolution, though there’s a hazy tone to all the images that stems from the source material
The booklet as a whole could have used a light copy edit to improve consistency and fix some small mistakes in some of the essays. It appears that each essay follows its own rules for certain issues like whether serial commas are used or not. There was also the occasional spelling mistake.
Overall, a very strong booklet that could have used an edit to make it closer to perfect.
Grade: B+
Text-to-image ratio
There are 18 pages with images on them and 46 pages with text, several sharing pages with one another. It’s a fantastic balance of both elements, even possibly being the rare time where I would have liked more visuals on occasion or possibly some sketches from the films. However, judging the booklet on what is actually there, there is a ton of written content and great images to provide context. Pretty ideal.
Grade: A
Content
There are four pieces of content, plus the table of contents and an acknowledgments section. In the first essay, “Hoffmaniada: In the Labyrinth of Reflections,” animation producer and writer Maria Tereshchenko focused on the significance of E.T.A. Hoffman for Russians and why his work was the inspiration for this feature-length puppet animated film. It is a well-written essay that provides helpful context, especially for someone not wholly familiar with Hoffman’s work. I will note that references are made to how Hoffman influenced Nikolai Gogol, who was actually ethnically Ukrainian.
Walter Chaw’s essay, titled after the film, goes deeper into the specific works of Hoffman, providing his usual blend of deep analysis with beautiful language. It’s an essay that, to an extent, bounces all over in topics as it ties together Hoffman’s various works with the film and Chaw’s takes on all of them.
In translator, journalist, and director Kevin McNeer’s self-titled essay, he goes into more specific detail about the background of Soyuzmultfilm Animation Studio and how they ended up producing this unique work. After focusing more on the literary and cultural background in the other essays, this essay provided an interesting explanation of why this film took nearly two decades to complete. McNeer’s essay provides a compelling study of how the film finally happened.
Finally, in a Q+A with director Stanislav Sokolov, Sokolov is able to share information about his background, the process of making the film and designing the characters, along with a preview of possible future works.
Grade: A-
Creativity
This booklet had a nice amount of variety within the essays, and the Q+A was interesting and very technical, which offered unique insight. Deaf Crocodile clearly tried to find interesting contributors to offer a variety of perspectives, most notably the Q+A with Sokolov. It would be great if the essays had unique titles, especially if they know Chaw will continue to not title his essays. Ultimately, it’s a fairly basic booklet in ways, but this is a booklet that emphasizes depth of analysis and research over sheer variety.
Grade: B+
Grade summary
Professional and production quality grade: B+
Text-to-image ratio grade: A
Content grade: A-
Creativity grade: B+
Final thoughts
This is a very strong booklet. The film was pretty foreign to me in all ways, so the amount of detail put in by Deaf Crocodile was impressive and appreciated. This is a very strong booklet that I strongly recommend reading if you’re watching the film.
Overall grade: A-
The Hoffmaniada limited edition is sold out from Deaf Crocodile but may still be available at your favourite independent retailers, including Rough Cut Video or Peak Books in Canada. A standard edition (without the booklet) is available as well.
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Noting I received this film from Deaf Crocodile as a review copy. This did not affect my objectivity toward the product.