Nu, pogodi!

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Nu, pogodi!

A promotional frame for episode #19
From left to right: Hare and Wolf.
Format Animated short subject
Created by Feliks Kamov
Arkadi Khajt
Aleksandr Kurlyandsky
Directed by Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin
Vladimir Tarasov
Alexey Kotyonochkin
Country of origin Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union
Flag of Russia Russia
Language(s) Russian
No. of episodes 20 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 10 minutes approx.
Broadcast
Original run January 1, 1969 – Present
External links
IMDb profile

Nu, pogodi! (Russian: Ну, погоди!, Well, Just You Wait! [1] or You Just Wait! [2]) is a Soviet/Russian animated series produced by Soyuzmultfilm. The series was created in 1969 and became a popular cartoon of the Soviet Union. Additional episodes have been produced in Russia since 1993.

The series follows the comical adventures of an artistic and mischievous wolf trying to catch (and presumably eat) the hare. The series usually takes place in Moscow, but other episodes have been set in other places in the Soviet Union and beyond (an example would be an "exotic island" in Episode #17). Like Tom and Jerry, the series has additional characters that usually either help the hare or interfere with the wolf's plans.

Contents

[edit] Characters

[edit] Wolf

Wolf from Episode #5.
Wolf from Episode #5.

The Wolf, commonly translated into English as Volk (Russian: Волк), is initially portrayed as a hooligan who eagerly turns to vandalism, abuses minors, breaks laws and is a heavy smoker.

On the other hand, many of Wolf's attempts to catch Hare are often characterized by uncanny abilities on his part (including figure skating, ballet and waltzing) which demonstrate his more refined side. Wolf can also play the guitar very well and ride the powerful rocker motorbike, making his character more sophisticated than a normal hooligan.

In the first episode, while climbing a high building to catch Hare, Wolf whistles the popular mountaineer song, "Song of a Friend" (the signature song of Vladimir Vysotsky). In spite of these talents, most of Wolf's schemes eventually fail or turn against him. The character was originally voiced by Anatoli Papanov.

[edit] Hare

Hare from Episode #1.
Hare from Episode #1.

The Hare, commonly translated into English as Zayats (Russian: Заяц), is portrayed as a supposedly positive hero. He gets much less screen time and is less developed than Wolf—most of his actions are simply reactions to Wolf's schemes. Therefore, the sympathies of some spectators are on the side of Wolf, (compare to the premise of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner where the sympathy of the viewers also lies with the "villain"). Only in the latest releases does Hare become more active, several times even saving the Wolf. The character was originally voiced by Klara Rumyanova.

[edit] Other characters

The story also features supporting cast of animal characters, the most common of which is the physically strong and heavy Hippopotamus (Russian: Бегемот Begemot), who participates in various roles (i.e., a police officer, museum caretaker, shop keeper, passer-by, etc.) and whom Wolf usually annoys and has to run away from. In Episode #5 (1972), Hare finds Wolf hidden among melons (Wolf's cap camouflages him in the scene). Hare recommends to the passing Hippopotamus, who's also looking to buy melons, the one which is actually Wolf's head. Hippopotamus squeezes Wolf's head to test the ripeness of the "watermelon", and inadvertently forces him out of hiding. The episode ends with Wolf (on a washbowl) sliding down the Moscow Metro and slamming head-on into Hippopotamus.

Another persistent character is the Cat (Russian: Кот Kot), who is a specialist in magic and appears in several stage performances throughout the series. Cat is shown to be a good magician, but very self-absorbed and highly sensitive to applause. In Episode #9 (1976), Cat traps Wolf in his levitation act (which saves Hare from being caught) He drops Wolf twice in his act to acknowledge and accept the applause from Hare.

Other animals are shown in the series, including bears, red foxes, elephants and pigs.

[edit] Background

Since the 1990s, when the fall of the Iron Curtain allowed better exchange of films, both Russian and Western audiences have noted similarities between Nu, Pogodi! and American cartoons, the most noticeable being Tom and Jerry. The director has admitted that he was learning from Disney animated films which were brought into the USSR from Germany immediately after World War II), particularly Bambi. However, he did not see a Tom & Jerry episode until his son bought a VCR in 1987.[1] Thematically, Nu, Pogodi! places greater emphasis on real-life situations and locations.

A scene from Episode #1.
A scene from Episode #1.

There are very few spoken lines in the series, which can describe the series as an "International Cartoon." The most common line is "Nu, pogodi!" (Well, just you wait!). This is recited by Wolf when his plans fail. The series' trademark is that at the end of each episode (and at the end of the pre-title introduction), Wolf recites "Nu, Zayats, pogodi!" (Well, Hare, you just wait!). The series also includes many grunts, laughs and songs.

Many action sequences of the cartoon are choreographed to fit various recognizable tunes, from classical music to pop hits, with tunes selected to match the action. Sometimes the words of the songs are modified or altogether substituted to correspond to the action. Originally, the cult Russian singer/actor Vladimir Vysotsky was cast for the voice of Wolf, but the studio did not get the approval they needed from a Soviet state organization to use him. However, some homage to Vysotsky remains, as in the opening episode, Wolf is whistling his "Song of a Friend".

The series was put on hold after the death of Anatoli Papanov (voice of Wolf). The 1993 episodes used samples of his voice recorded earlier (the studio had archived all outtakes of his work for the series). It featured a lot of product placement (the most noted being Nokia) and was sponsored by AMT.

The 2005 series were voiced by Igor Khristenko (Wolf) and Olga Zvereva (Hare) and were done by the Christmas Films studio. They were directed by Aleksey Kotyonochkin (son of deceased original director Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin). The script was written by Felix Kandel [3] and Alexander Kurlyandsky, two of the original writers. For two years, they were largely unavailable to the public and were only shown at certain film festivals. However, in late December 2007 a DVD was finally released in Russia which contained the two films, as well as a making-of film and comics drawn by Aleksey Kotyonochkin. As of now, it is available only in the supermarket chains Petyorochka and Perekryostok. [4]

[edit] Critical and popular reception

A USSR stamp from 1988, depicting Nu, Pogodi!
A USSR stamp from 1988, depicting Nu, Pogodi!

The series was, for many years, hugely popular among the Soviet public, and it is popular in Russia to this day. The critical reaction of the director's colleagues was less favourable. The director's son Alexei Kotyonochkin recalls how, although nobody said it to his father outright, the animators and directors of Soyuzmultfilm generally considered Nu, Pogodi! to be of low class. For his part, Vyacheslav Kotyonichkin was not a follower of auteur films (many of which were being made at the studio at the time), and considered them to be examples of someone needlessly showing off.

Kotyonochkin disliked subtext and tried to create very simple, straightforward scenarios. The main idea of the series was simple and "Western"; don't hurt the little guy or you will yourself get into a foolish situation. Because the series was so popular, however, it was often a subject for critical discussion. Soviet critics saw many different subtexts: for example that the films were supportive of the gay cause (because Wolf occasionally gives Hare flowers as a sign of goodwill), or that they represented the struggle between the intelligentsia and the working class (with the Wolf representing the working class and the Hare the intelligentsia). Alexei Kotyonochkin dismisses these interpretations as groundless.[1]

[edit] List of episodes

A scene from Episode #7.
A scene from Episode #7.

The episodes of Nu, pogodi! were not named but rather numbered. Each episode has a different setting. Release dates are in parentheses:


  1. City and beach (1969)
  2. Fairground at Night (1970)
  3. Road (1971)
  4. Stadium (1971)
  5. City (1972)
  6. Countryside (1973)
  7. Sea voyage (1973)
  8. New Year celebration (1974)
  9. Television studio (1976)
  10. At a construction site (1976)
  11. Circus (1977)
  12. Museum (1978)
  13. Olympic games (1980)
  14. Children's extra-scholar activities centre (1984)
  15. The house of Culture (1985)
  16. In the world of Russian folk tales (1986)

  17. Exotic land on island (1993, released in 1994)
  18. Supermarket (1993, released in 1995)

  19. Beach (2005)
  20. Dacha community (2006)

[edit] Cast and crew

[edit] Directors

  • Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin − 1-16
  • Vladimir Tarasov − 17 and 18
  • Alexey Kotyonochkin − 19,20

[edit] Screenplay

  • Felix Kandel (alias Felix Kamov) − 1-7 and 19, 20
  • Arkady Khait − 1-17
  • Alekxander Kurlyandsky − all

[edit] Main animators - character development

  • Svyatozar Rusakov − 1-16
  • Alexey Kotyonochkin − 17 and 18
  • Svetlana Davidova − 19

[edit] Voices

  • Anatoli Papanov (Wolf) − 1-18
  • Klara Rumyanova (Hare) − 1-18
  • Igor Khristenko (Wolf) − 19
  • Olga Zvereva (Hare) − 19
  • Gennady Hazanov (Announcer) − 9
  • Vladimir Soshalski (Hippopotamus) − 15

[edit] Camera

  • Yelena Pietrova − 1-6
  • N. Klimova − 7
  • Svetlana Koscieieva − 8-14
  • Alexander Chekhovski − 15 and 16
  • L. Krutovskaja − 17 and 18

[edit] Sound directors:

  • George Martyniuk − 1-10
  • Vladimir Kutuzov − 11-18

[edit] Editors

  • Tatyana Sazonova − 1-7
  • Margarita Micheeva − 8-18

[edit] Animators

  • Viktor Arsentev − 1-15
  • Oleg Komarov − 1-13
  • Viktor Likchacev − 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15
  • Oleg Safronov − 1, 2, 9, 10, 14 and 15
  • Vladimir Krumin − 1, 5, 10, 11, 13 and 14
  • Fedor Eldinov − 1, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 15 and 16
  • Vladimir Zarubin − 2, 4 and 9
  • Leonid Kayukov − 2, 5 and 7
  • Valery Ugarov − 3, 8 and 16
  • Sergey Dezhkin − 3
  • Youry Butyrin − 3, 4, 8 and 9
  • Vladimir Arbekov − 8, 12 and 17
  • Alexander Panov − 7
  • Alexey Bukin − 8
  • Alexander Davydov − 10, 13 and 17
  • Alexander Dorogov − 14-16
  • Nikolai Fedorov − 12
  • Alexander Mazaev − 15 and 16
  • Sergey Avramov − 14
  • Olga Orlova − 16

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b КАПКОВ, СЕРГЕЙ. Алексей Котеночкин: "Отец никогда не делал фильмов с фигой в кармане". "Газета" №109 от 2007-06-20г

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Animator.ru