Nu, pogodi!

legendary series for many children from East Europe, it was a phenomenon, than, a lovely memories source. a wolf and a hair. adventures, humor, wise lessons and same promise. it is difficult to define it today because it was one of rare entertainment pillars in that period. but, after so many time, it seems be one of remarkable success of Soviet animation school. sure, not very high but seductive for simplicity of stories, not remarkable for drawing but useful for its moralistic humor. a series who remains, for many of its viewers, more than interesting. because, like Tom and Jerry, it has the rare gift to be answer to basic questions of an age. and because it is an admirable work.

I recently saw an episode of "Nu, Pogodi!" on a local multicultural TV station, & found it to be hilarious, ironic, & enigmatic. This resulted in my buying the complete collection on DVD. Many people attempt to compare this to the "Road Runner/Coyote" series or to "Tom & Jerry." While the basic premise is the same (hungry Wolf is chasing Hare), this series is far different from what Americans are accustomed. Wolf usually is smoking a cigarette (which usually adds to his situation), has a beer belly, & even consumes alcohol to the point of intoxication; this is all shown right on screen.

Another factor which differentiates "Nu, Pogodi!" from other cartoons, is that the background music isn't orchestrated for the cartoon series, but rather popular Russian/contemporary songs are incorporated. You will hear popular music from the time that particular cartoon was made (18 were made from 1969--1993). Wolf will be chasing Hare in an episode from the late 1970s, while a disco tune is playing; another episode from 1984 contains techno/pop music from that particular time period. The visual effects are set to the music, which allows for some comical moments!

Most cartoons (or any story, for that matter) follow the view of the protagonist (hero) & how that character resorts to escape or rescue. "Nu, Pogodi!," however, follows it from the view of the antagonist, Wolf, & allows himself to show how inept he is at obtaining his goal. Whereas the Coyote is presumed to be sober while chasing the Road Runner, Wolf has displayed otherwise, & his intoxication only adds to his ineptitude.

As an American who does not know any Russian, I did not find the language barrier to be any problem; there is very little dialogue uttered in "Nu, Pogodi!" All one needs to know to understand this series are the following: "Zayats" means "Hare", "Volk" means "Wolf," & "Nu, Pogodi" means "Just you wait, I'll get you," in Russian. This makes up for over 90% of the dialogue in the series.

I would rate this a 10 out of 10; it is a definite must-see!

So I think everybody here will agree with me that these are the one of the very best animation films ever made in Soviet Union. So if you are understanding Russian language I can recommend to see them!

While there are only two main heroes in all series - Wolf and Hare this is amazing work of Soviet times animation masters. In fact these series are a little bit similar to Tom and Jerry series. Only they are not so much pain for bad hero - Wolf.

As a native Russian who hasn't seen the series since childhood, I recently bought a DVD of all 18 episodes. I am happy to note that the cartoon remained exactly as I recall it - smart, funny, well animated, and even the Soviet-era themes felt fresh in that retro-modern way. I showed it to some of my friends, and they found it hilarious and not hard to understand at all. I admit that a bit of humour is always added through the lyrics of the pop-songs, which could be lost on a non-native speaker. The content of the series is also closer to the Tom and Jerry cartoons (Roadrunner??? Are you kidding me?), but smarter. I would highly recommend it to anyone as an example of fine and original film-making.

it is the only word who could, in decent way, define it. because, for generations of children, it was the event. the confrontation between hare and wolf. the adventures. the humor. the classic "Nu , pogodi" as ingredient of backyard games. and this ball of memories did it unique. not the best, maybe, not the great series. but unique. because it has charm and beautiful gags and innocence of its public from yesterday. because the wolf is more than the bad guy but a sort of classmate, rude, not very smart but, in its essence, an misunderstood. and the hare - it is the hero with subtle and convincing traits. so, a legendary series.