After a decade of experiments with different techniques, in 1930s Soviet animation began a transformation to celluloid and aesthetics of social realism. However, interpretation of socialist realist aesthetic in animation turned out to be rather problematic, especially considering the influence of American animation, Disney in particular. The paper will look at the question of realism in animation, and will consider the attempts of Soviet critics and animation directors in 1930s to delineate socialist realism in animation, and to develop a type of image that could be considered consistent with the requirements of socialist realist aesthetics.