User reviews

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.

This is the greatest cartoon to ever come out of USSR. It is similar to Tom and Jerry, and you don't even need to understand Russian to enjoy this great feature. Problem is finding any of it here in America...If anyone knows where I can get it, please email me.

Cartoon IS funny. One comment said that the "Roadrunner" was the "Nu pogodi!" creators aim. It was not. And anyone who thinks that unnoying loud bird blowing someone up again and again and agonizingly again in exactly the same manner until you have a kneejeark reaction is funny, should simply go back to kindergarten. I presume that the commenter was from Moscow, which makes the comment even more bizzarre. "Nu pogodi!" is meant for children. And made in Soviet times, when children were allowed to have their childhood. Trey were not required at the youngest age to watch swashbuckling and syrupy soap-opera kissing in cartoons and films made for kids by people who don`t know how to make films for kids and make just watered-down versions of adult products "with all the good stuff cut out". In "Nu pogodi!" the wolf is not actually a predator, but a hooligan, a schoolyard bully, an older and stronger type that likes to push around younger and the weaker. The use of the music is very appropriate and makes the cartoon sometimes histerically funny. The idea is to make fun, not to glare with sadistic anticipation how someone gets hurt endlessly, and when someone do get hurt in "Nu pogodi!" it is noted and calls for sympathy. People who made the cartoon are professionals at working for children audience, and their natural kindness and talent was put into this cartoon, even if inspired by some other Western work, but entirely capable of standing by itself and to get the highest points for being a good, non-aggressive comedy with kind humor.

You have to be Russian to truly appreciate this cartoon series. I first saw these cartoons up to episode 5 on 8mm film no sound. I still have these films around (although damaged from time) from 1974 when I left the Soviet Union for good. You have to understand that these cartoons were made from behind the iron curtain. Soviet cartoon making technology was far behind the US, and US cartoons were not available to Soviet artists for comparison. How could they be available if the soviet government made it a point to spread propaganda that Communist life is the USSR was better? Besides the adventures in the chase for the rabbit you see nostalgic elements of Russian urban, and suburb life. You see things like the electric troly buses, public drinking dispensers for carbonated water with one public glass that is washed prior to use, the 1982 Olympics and Russia's enthusiasm with good sportsmanship, typical soviet beaches, and attitude by hoodlums towards the law. Where else can you find a children's cartoon where the bad wolf smokes cigarettes, drinks beer while eating dried salted fish, steals and vandalizes property? One can't help but fall in love with both the hero and villain. I recently purchased the DVD of all 18 classic episodes 13 of which I waited 25 years to see and now with sound. I plan to have my kids watch these cartoons before they find the remote control to the TV so they too can appreciate what life was like for Russian children in the Soviet union.

If you lived in the former Soviet Union and were a child, the this cartoon series, Nu Pogodi - Just You Wait - is a vivid and the brightest recollection of that time. Please, do not take it so seriously. Surely, this is a carbon copy of Tom & Jerry series, with Wolf and Hare taking their places. Surely, there are far too many cases of open violence and poor Wolf's mishaps. But, this is just a lightweight entertaining for kids, just a brisk breezy show biz work. Music is all the time very good. The sample selection is so fitting and precise that almost all Russians who ever saw a single episode of this cartoon will immediately associate this or that melody with this work only. Good, funny and light work.

So I began to watch this cartoon in December 2022, and I instantly loved it. So this cartoon is about a Wolf trying to catch a hare in various settings (for example: at a fairground, on a cruise ship, in a museum or at the beach) but the Wolf always fails in the end. It's similar to Tom and Jerry, but it doesn't contain that much slapstick and cartoon physics compared to Tom and Jerry. There is very little dialogue, the only line said is the eponymous "Nu Zayats, Nu Pogodi!" which translates to "Well Hare, Just You Wait!" said by the Wolf at the end of each episode, so it can be easily understood by non-russians. The animation is very smooth, It's comparable to that was made in the late 1930s to the early 1950s. The soundtrack is very catchy. A note about the soundtrack is that it isn't original composition, but rather music and songs from Soyuzmultfilm's record collection. (Soyuzmultfilm is the studio that produced this series). This cartoon is very underrated, it's only known in Russia, former countries of the USSR, and eastern Europe. I recommend this cartoon. It's a Soviet classic.

This show was a staple in communist/early post-communist Czechoslovakia where I grew up. It was the Easter Bloc's answer to Tom and Jerry, and holds up remarkably well even by today's standards.

The animation and character design are great, and it's truly refreshing to watch today when most kids' shows are saccharine sweet, politically correct garbage with obnoxious main characters and incompetent bumbling villains.

The Hare is your classic hero: sweet and friendly, washes regularly, has clean clothes. The Wolf is awesome, though. He has tattoos and drinks alcohol, he smokes, he's dirty and he beats people up. Even a little child can figure out which one is the good guy and which one is the bad guy. The show doesn't need to beat you over the head with moral conundrums and lame life lessons like your average Disney Junior production.

One of the best cartoons of the Soviet Union, even the best.

My childhood was fun with "Tom and Jerry" and "Nu Pogodi".

We were happy when we heard the song "Cip Cip Cucelerim", which was a song in Azerbaijani language and was known to everyone at that time.

You heard that right! I grew up watching this series like daily. I have to say that "Nu, pogodi!" is one of the best cartoons of all time and a MUST watch for kids and everyone.

The episodes are so amazing and they have the two good voice actors: Anatoli Papanov and Klara Rumyanova. The music is appropriate for the series and it has wonderful humor! Until like episode 18 the series is the best in my opinion, but the 19th and 20th episodes are enjoyable as well with good voice actors and decent animation, though I still recommend the older ones.

Overall the series is amazing and people will enjoy this cartoon series with joy! Highly recommending it, so if you want to then it's worth to watch!

As a child I saw this cartoon, together with Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry etc. Some would say that it is a copy of other cartoons but I say, watch it and you'll change your opinion. A different context, together with funny setting offer an insight in the recent history of the Soviet Union. It has nothing to do with politics but just with pure fun.

I highly recommend it to everyone; I recently saw some of the 18 episodes. They are all top notch with a heavy cultural background ranging from folklore to contemporary 70s to 80s music.

A counterpart of American cartoons, it offers a most interesting point of view in the history of animation.

Probably inspired by the American "Tom and Jerry" and "Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote" cartoons, the Russian animated series "Nu, pogodi!" features the smoking, beer-gutted, rebellious Volk (wolf) and his futile attempts to capture and eat the innocent young Zayats (hare). The first cartoon of the series was released in 1969, the second in 1970 and the series continued for sixteen episodes until the death of Anatoli Papanov, the voice of the wolf, in 1987. In 1993, two more episodes were produced featuring archived samples of Papanov's voice.

Though the cartoons are in Russian, dialogue within the films is scarce, rarely stretching beyond the wolf's trademark "Nu, zayats, nu pogodi! / Hare, just you wait!", which he utters every time his plans fail, and which you'll pick up on very quickly. Each ten-minute episode takes place in a different setting, and the wolf attempts to utilise the current situation to capture the hare (voiced by Klara Rumyanova) and presumably make a good meal out of her. Alas, these attempts are almost always in vain, with the hare constantly outsmarting the desperate wolf, either deliberately or inadvertently. Just like in your typical 'Roadrunner' cartoon, our sympathies are split between the characters – we certainly don't want the young innocent hare to be devoured, but we do feel sorry for the wolf as his endeavors fail miserably time after time.

I'm yet to see all the episodes in the series (I've really just started, in fact), but I'm enjoying it immensely, and each adventure brings forth something different and exciting. Somewhat uniquely, 'Nu, pogodi!' often sets its story to the tune of popular pop hits from the era in which it was made, so approximate dates of release can be pinpointed for any given episode based purely on the music selection. I also uncovered an interesting piece of trivia about the series. Initially, Russian singer/actor Vladimir Vysotsky was cast as the voice of the wolf, but Soviet cinema authorities did not give the studio their approval to use him, as he was not popular amongst the Communist party elite. As we know, Anatoli Papanov went on to become the voice of the wolf, though the cartoon's producers possibly included a slight tribute to Vysotsky by playing a sample of his well-known "Song about a Friend" ("Pesnya o Druge" in Russian) at the very beginning of the first episode.

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.

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.

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.