Armand 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.

Tony Straka 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!

titov How exactly the "Nu, pogodi!" series has retained any following at all in the age of universal cassette access remains a mystery. It would seem a foregone conclusion that if you take a Roadrunner cartoon-- *any* Roadrunner cartoon-- and show it to a devotee of the "Nu, pogodi!" films, some sort of Dramatic Epiphany will take place before your eyes ("So *this* is what they were trying to do!").But perhaps we're actually talking about two different phenomena altogether. For although both series feature exactly the same continuing "plot" throughout all episodes (big bad animal chases smaller, cleverer/luckier good animal), the difference in the execution of this concept could not be more marked: the Pogodi series is amateurishly drawn, animated in haphazard and ill-connected sequences, and moves at a pace that could only engage a very early pre-schooler. Which may be the key to its puzzling popularity, one thinks-- hey, who doesn't remember one's early cartoons fondly?-- until one recalls that Soviets of *all ages* loved (as do many Russians *now*) this meandering, lumpy and almost entirely wit-free series. The considerable acting skills of Anatolii Papanov-- a genuine star of the Soviet cinema-- are squandered altogether on the wolf's voice, as the character is never given a clever line to deliver.Again, pick a Roadrunner cartoon, *any* Roadrunner cartoon: within 30 seconds the viewer is involved with and amused by Wile E. Coyote in ways that the well-intentioned creators of "Nu, pogodi!" simply could not conceive of. The Soviet series is not a *bad* cartoon, in the sense that it is actively harmful. It is simply inert.

raitism 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.