In the bustling lobby of an Odessa circus, Shuleikin, < Evgeni Leonov >, who works in the circus buffet, is greeted by the ship’s crew who jokingly call him a “tamer.” They gift him a statue of the deity Hotei, a small token that sparks curiosity in the waitress who asks him to recount the story behind the nickname. Shuleikin, Evgeni Leonov explains that in July 1956 he was a cook at a Soviet trade mission stranded in a tropical port, and his only chance to go home was to pose as a wild animal trainer. The plan hinged on a freighter, the Eugene Onegin, which needed someone to accompany ten tigers and two lions being transported to the Odessa Zoo. Under pressure, he agreed, even though the rest of the crew remained unaware of his deception. A bonus addition—a chimpanzee gifted by the animal suppliers—shows up in a sack, and its escape sets the whole voyage on a chaotic path.
Onboard, mischief accumulates as personal belongings vanish and even soup is sabotaged with bolts and nuts. Suspicion initially lands on Marianne, the captain’s mischievous niece, whose pranks are as bold as they are reckless. The voyage spirals further as Marianne pretends to have tiger footprints to draw the attention of the strict first mate, Oleg Petrovich, while the crew struggles to keep order. Her antics backfire in dramatic fashion: she is arrested and relegated to kitchen duty, a petty punishment that belies the real danger around them.
Meanwhile, the chimpanzee’s unintended freedom triggers a far greater crisis: during a lively deck tap-dance, the chimp unintentionally frees the tigers and lions from their cages. Panic erupts as the predators roam freely, raiding stores and terrifying the sailors who grab whatever tools they can find for defense. An attempt to summon external help collapses when a visiting animal trainer, Chokoladi, flees in fear at the sight of undomesticated beasts. Amid the bedlam, Shuleikin’s fraud becomes exposed; he hides in an empty cage as Marianne steps forward to calm the beasts, though she pays a heavy price, slipping into the sea.
As the ship nears Odessa, Marianne and the tigers swim ashore, startling beachgoers before she returns to the vessel to round up the remaining animals. Her management restores order just in time for the voyage to conclude: Aleksei Gribov is reinstated as captain, and the mischievous chimpanzee leaves the ship dressed in a sailor’s uniform. Back at the circus, Shuleikin finishes his tale just as a tiger fight erupts in the ring. The waitress and he watch Marianne—now a veterinarian and married to the captain—step forward to tend to an injured tiger, carrying it through the city as astonished onlookers look on.
In the end, the story circles back to the wild, improbable journey that began with a pretend trainer and a circus crowd’s curiosity, revealing a remarkable transformation: Marianne, under Margarita Nazarova on screen and Galina Korotkevich as the voice, becomes a capable healer and leader in a world where chaos and courage collide. The tale remains a vivid blend of humor, danger, and resilience, anchored by the performing spirit of the ship, the circus, and the people who inhabit both.
