Editor’s Note: The following is an interview with animator Denis Chernov, who briefly worked at Animation Magic (the studio behind the Zelda CD-i games, Mutant Rage: Bodyslam, I.M. Meen, and others) in the 1990s. It was conducted by Нигракоптер, an enthusiast in the CD-i Zelda community. It took place over Discord messages over the course of several days, originally in Russian [original Russian correspondence, unedited, after the English text]. I have edited it for clarity and readability. Please enjoy this rare look into a very interesting footnote in game history. Special thanks again to Нигракоптер for reaching out and interviewing Denis!
Q: Dear Denis Chernov!
Did you, by any chance, work with a man named "Igor Razboff" or a studio named "Animation Magic" roughly in the early-mid 90's?
We’re very interested in your early career and would love to know more about your earlier projects.
Chernov: Yes, I worked for Animation Magic. Inc.
Q: Could you tell more about working on some of their projects? More specifically, Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: Wand of Gamelon?
Chernov: I used to be a part-time animator, making animated scenes for video games. That wasn’t for long, however, and I wasn’t even officially employed.
Q: Yes, your work for Animation Magic isn’t even mentioned on Wikipedia. Are you aware of the somewhat infamous reputation those games have in the western (and, to a lesser extent, Russian) internet?
Chernov: I’m sure barely anyone knows about them.
Q: Surprisingly, no - your work is quite known. An enthusiast even managed to recreate a cutscene from Faces of Evil in full 3D, can you imagine that? Here is the original scene for comparison.
Chernov: Disgusting animation. No idea who worked on it, though.
Q: Somebody from Animation Magic, believe it or not. This, however, raises another question - do you remember any of the animated sequences that you worked on? Just a general outline would be nice. Does any of this seem familiar?
Chernov: I don’t remember much, just [animating] some king. Oh, wait, I see two scenes that I worked on [Ed: timecode: 16:50].
Q: The one with the king and the one with the woman sitting in the tree?