Line #89 Animation/NuPogodi


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nupogodi.png]]
2	''Nu, Pogodi!'' (''Ну, погоди!'', "Well, Just You Wait!" in English) is a [[EasternEuropeanAnimation Soviet (and now Russian) children's cartoon]] created by Creator/{{Soyuzmultfilm}}. It originally ran for sixteen episodes between 1969 and 1986, with an average of one short released every year or two. Further shorts have since been produced sporadically, including occasional commercial or PSA tie-ins.
3
4	In classic RoadRunnerVsCoyote fashion, it follows the adventures of Volk, a chain-smoking, alcohol-swilling lowlife wolf, who constantly chases after the youthful, athletic and intellectual hare Zayets through an urban environment. Despite its resemblance to a certain cat and mouse cartoon, the creators swear up and down that they had never seen a single ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoon when the series was in production (they claimed that their biggest western influence was post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Creator/WaltDisney films).
5
6	Most notable was the show's eclectic soundtrack, which included everything from old Russian folk songs to jazz rock to techno, which the animation is often [[MickeyMousing synchronized with down to a frame]].
7
8	The show's popularity also spawned several video games, notably a VideoGame/GameAndWatch clone reverse-engineered from the ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse'' game, redrawing the LCD sprites of Mickey and Minnie with Volk and Zayets respectively.
9
10	All 21 of the shorts are available on [=YouTube=] in varying capacities, including on [[https://www.youtube.com/user/ClassicCartoonsMedia/featured the official Soyuzmultfilm channel]]. Despite its minimal dialogue, the show has [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKgl4oeAE_gFviSZjmoc6dl8Mt8OtXs5f an English dub by Filmexport Studios]]. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqfkrRQgGo4 trailer]] for a [[AllCGICartoon 3D animated]] reboot, under the subtitle ''[[Animation/NuPogodiKanikuly Kanikuly]]'' (''Каникулы'' meaning "Holiday") was released on November 11th, 2021 from Soyuzmultfilm's [=YouTube=] channel, premiering its first episode a month later on December 17th. It features updated designs, targeting a much younger demographic. The first season will consist of 26 episodes each 7 minutes in length. It is currently in its second season.
11
12	A [[https://ria.ru/20140226/997163184.html 2014 poll]] named it the single most popular cartoon in all of Russia, beating out other regional hits like ''Animation/MashaAndTheBear'' and ''Literature/{{Prostokvashino}}'' by a wide margin.
13
14	Contrast ''Animation/MashaAndTheBear'', a Russian cartoon where the duo gets along very well.
15
16	Has nothing to do with {{nu metal}}.
17	----
18	!!''Nu, Pogodi!'' provides examples of:
19
20	* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: In the English dub, the Wolf screams out "Hare!" in 2 syllables rather than one, due to the Russian word "Zayats" having 2 syllables, so the dubber says "Ha-re" for every instance.
21	* AllCGICartoon: The 2021 reboot features 3D designs of all the characters.
22	* TheAllegedCar:
23	** Wolf's car in episode 14 - a total junker with mismatched wheels, a coal-powered engine (complete with a chimney), an umbrella for a brake, shoebrushes for windshield wipers, a bicycle handlebar for a steering wheel and a Mercedes-Benz hood ornament. It falls apart after Wolf gets out of it, but magically comes together as he gets in it later.
24	** It also happens in an earlier episode, when the Wolf steals a racecar that very quickly is reduced to little more than a badly battered body and one wheel. This is because he got in the vehicle before the hedgehog underneath it finished the repairs.
25	* AllJustADream: Episode 16, where Wolf passes out on the beach and dreams he's living in a world of Russian folk tale legends. Also Episode 9, where Wolf is TrappedInTVLand, but it's ultimately revealed as a hallucination induced by a broken TV set. [[OrWasItADream Maybe...]]
26	* AmusementPark: Setting for Episode 2, as Wolf chases Hare around the rides in a carnival.
27	%%* AmusingInjuries: Wolf suffers through ''many''.
28	* AnimalsLackAttributes: In episode 6, The Wolf's pants slip off after they're caught on his own fishing hook. Despite his embarrassment, pulling his shirt down over his crotch as he looks for new pants, he... ''ahem'', doesn't have much to hide.
29	* AnimationBump:
30	** Episode 4 is where the animation becomes the most consistent, both in the solidity of the animation itself and the characters staying on-model.
31	** Volk performing the "Dance of the Swans" from ''Theatre/SwanLake'' in episode 15. Not only is the animation fluid and solid, but the choreography is all correct, and save for one {{rotoscop\|ing}}ed shot, all of it is animated traditionally.
32	** The dance sequence to "Hafanana" in episode 18.
33	** The switch from cels to digital ink and paint in the episodes made in the 21st century.
34	** The 2012 Christmas episode has bouncier and more "cartoony" animation, presumably thanks to improved animation technology and a greater influence from western cartoons.
35	* ArtEvolution: The animation in the early episodes is very crude and frequently OffModel, especially Volk, whose design changes drastically from the first short onward. The two characters' designs would become stable and consistant by the late 70s/early 80s shorts.
36	* AshFace: In episode 2, Wolf stomps on a magician's hat and gets completely covered in ash.
37	* AsideGlance: In episode 2, the Wolf spots the Hare, and starts quietly walking behind him. The Wolf then looks at the camera and points at the Hare.
38	* AssInALionSkin: In episode 15, the Wolf is thrown out of a TV studio when he tries to sneak in, and keeps re-entering in attempted disguises as other animals (e.g., wearing a black-and-white striped shirt and claiming to be a zebra, or dropping on all fours with a big bowl on his back and proclaiming to be a tortoise). None of these work.
39	* AuthorAppeal: Much of the show's eclectic soundtrack reportedly came from the creative staff's personal record collections.
40	* BagOfKidnapping: The Wolf has captured the Hare with this method a few times.
41	* {{Balloonacy}}: In episode 2, Wolf swallows a balloon and starts floating in mid-air with the string sticking out of his mouth.
42	* BalloonBelly: A commercial for Joyta brand chocolates depicts Volk cleaning out several displays worth of candy in a store, resulting in him becoming momentarily bloated.
43	* BandageMummy: The Wolf is this at the end of episode 10 after having to literally run through a brick wall.
44	* BanisterSlide: In episode 5 the Hare, cheerful as always, slides down a banister--and right into the sack that the Wolf has at the bottom of the banister. (Naturally, the Hare escapes.)
45	* BarefootCartoonAnimal: Kind of hard to tell at first. The presence of Wolf's claws and what might be paw pads seem to imply this is the case, but everyone's drawn as if they're wearing slippers. Later episodes make it a little clearer that this is the case.
46	* BeachEpisode: Episodes 1 and 19 both take place at the beach.
47	* BlandNameProduct: Episode 17 features a painting of Volk, now apparently very wealthy, standing next to a car with the brand name "Volkvo" on it.[[note]]Perhaps "Volkswagon" was too obvious?[[/note]]
48	* BlowingSmokeRings:
49	** In the first scene of the first episode the Wolf does this, but the aura of coolness that he's trying to project is undercut when the Hare, watering flowers on an upstairs balcony, accidentally sprinkles water on his nose.
50	** In Episode 13, made in 1980 to coincide with the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, the Wolf makes the Olympic rings with cigarette smoke.
51	* {{Bowdlerize}}: The 2005 and 2006 episodes, respectively, replace the Wolf's cigarette with a lollipop.
52	* BritishBrevity: Granted it's not a British show (in fact, it was produced on the opposite side of the continent) but it only had 21 episodes over the course of 40 years. This was largely because the shorts were each their own individual production rather than a season-based series.
53	* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: In episode 2, the Wolf's eyes are only seen when the Hare shuts the mirror hall's lights off. In a unique take on this gag, when the Wolf grabs what he presumes is the Hare, we see his outline being drawn in white to represent his mental image before the lights come back on and he realizes he's actually grabbed the rhino security guard's horn.
54	* CallBack:
55	** In Episode 10 the Wolf has a dream that mirrors a scene in the first episode, except the roles are reversed and the Hare is pursuing him.
56	** Remember that song you heard in the beginning of episode 2? Well, guess what is the song they use for the Wolf and Hare's tango near the end of the episode?
57	** Episode 19 has several back to episode 1, especially at the end.
58	*** Both episodes are set primarily at the beach.
59	*** The beavers who take the Hare para-sailing in episode 19 are the same ones who took him jet-skiing in episode 1 (except that now there's a third one).
60	*** In episode 1, the Wolf whistles "A Song About a Friend" while climbing a rope after the Hare. In episode 19, when the Wolf starts climbing the Hare's tether, the soundtrack plays a phrase from a whistled version of the same song.
61	*** Finally, the Wolf's ultimate predicament (being dragged behind a speedboat on a rope) is the same in both episodes.
62	* TheCameo: Episode 13 was tied to the 1980 Moscow Olympics. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misha Misha the bear]], the mascot of that Olympics, shows up at the end to hand out medals to Wolf and Hare.
63	* CatapultNightmare: Episode 17, in which the Wolf dreams of the Hare turning into a werewolf.
64	* CatchPhrase: Wolf's "Nu, Zayats, pogodi!" ("Well, Hare, you just wait!") In the English dubs, it's "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Just! You! Wait!]]"
65	* ChasedOffIntoTheSunset: Episode 3 ends with the wolf getting chased off into the distance by an out-of-control steamroller.
66	* ClothingDamage: The Wolf suffers quite a lot of it in Episode 3. First his motorcycle helmet is crushed by a train, then one of his gloves gets bitten and presumably ripped off by a pike, then he loses his helmet and jacket from a fish tank, then his shirt gets ripped in two while he tries to dry it frantically (leaving him [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]] for the rest of the cartoon and providing a bit of {{fanservice}}), then his other glove is destroyed when the car he stole breaks down and finally, his pants get caught in Hare's bike which is too small for him forcing him to remove his pants, leaving him in nothing but his pink underwear.
67	* ConvenientSlowDance: A running gag in the series is that music will start to play, & Volk will stop whatever he's doing & dance with Zayats, usually a tango, waltz, ballet, or ice dance. When the music stops, the chase is back on. Zayats will either play along or be horribly confused.
68	* DigitalDestruction: Several of the remastered episodes on the Soyuzmultfilm [=YouTube=] have a notorious amount of pan-and-scan, often cutting the characters' heads entirely out of the frame.
69	* DisguisedInDrag: The Wolf employs this trope occasionally.
70	** In the [[ChristmasSpecial New Year episode]], he's dressed as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snegurochka The Snow Maiden]]. CreepyCrossdresser or AttractiveBentGender? You decide.
71	** In episode 19, he steals a sow's swimsuit, [[PaperThinDisguise and actually passes off as her]] until he takes his hat off. Note that female pigs in this show wear ''three bras'' and are extremely fat.
72	* ADogNamedDog: Wolf and Hare.
73	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The original pilot film (roughly two-and-a-half minutes long) had vastly different character designs for the Wolf and the Hare. The wolf was also more outwardly malevolent than in the series proper, coming off as more of a creepy predator than the UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist that he became. Hare was both vastly younger and much more proactive in foiling the Wolf's attempts to eat him, acting more the Jerry to Wolf's Tom than later on. This is because the short wasn't intended as a pilot and only became a series once the studio received letters from viewers asking for more.
74	* EarnYourHappyEnding: The 2017 "catch the star" New Year animation, after some brief hijinks, has the duo end on amicable terms to greet the New Year rather than with Volk's TitleDrop, which is a first.
75	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When you first see the Wolf kicking a trash bin around, smoking cigarettes and making fun of police officers, you know that he is up to no good. And when you see the Hare watering his garden gleefully, you know that he is made of IncorruptiblePurePureness.
76	* FunnyAnimal: Chock full of them including foxes, bears, domestic dogs, and goats, with no humans in sight (except in the Russian Fairy Tale episode).
77	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Jokes occasionally pop up in the more detailed backgrounds (for instance, an Egyptian mural in the museum has a pharaoh apparently packing a gun).
78	* FurryConfusion: One episode had Wolf running from an anthropomorphic lion, and another episode had him locked in a cage with a ''real'' lion.
79	* GenieInABottle: In Episode 16 the Wolf is on the beach when he finds a bottle. Of course the genie is the Hare, who promptly zaps the Wolf into the bottle and off into fairy tale land.
80	* GloriousMotherRussia: Oddly, completely and totally '''averted'''. The show originated in the middle of UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev's rule of the USSR, a time when there was a major propaganda resurgence and when the UsefulNotes/ColdWar had definitely taken a turn for the worse, but the show does not hinge on any sort of political propaganda, and no Soviet iconography at all is seen, making it rather subversive for its time. Volk's EstablishingCharacterMoment in the first episode shows him making an exaggerated, sarcastic bow when a couple of policemen ride by. In another he ''flashes them''. Such contempt for law enforcement in the Soviet Union was unheard of at the time. If not for the fact that all of the on-screen text is in Cyrillic, the show could very easily take place anywhere.
81	* GoodAnimalsEvilAnimals: Hares are good, wolves are bad.
82	* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Wolf is smoking a crooked ''papirosa'', holding it with just the mouth, a signature portrayal trait of lowlifes like crooked hooligans and petty thugs.
83	* GoofyPrintUnderwear: Wolf sports a pair of pink flower print boxers.
84	* HairTriggerAvalanche: The Wolf triggers this after chasing the Hare on a ski lift in Episode 8, merely by whispering his CatchPhrase.
85	* HallOfMirrors: In episode 2, the Wolf and Hare walk through one with distorted mirrors.
86	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: After the two of them work together to plug up a hole in the ship they're on to keep it from sinking in episode 7, Volk puts his animosity for Zayats aside and the two of them appear to become friends. When Zayats rips his pant legs off by accident, however, Volk goes right back to wanting to chase him.
87	* HollywoodDrowning: Wolf in episode 1 starts flailing and screaming (even underwater) when he is drowning in the ocean.
88	* HollywoodToneDeaf: Both characters have their moments of this [[RuleOfFunny when it's funny]] (as other episodes depict them as perfectly competent): In the fairground episode, Wolf plays an incomprehensible folk song on his guitar and his singing is revealed to be his greatest crime. In another, Hare, while [[ItMakesSenseInContext pretending to be a singer on TV]], sings a horrifically off-key version of "O Sole Mio."
89	* IAmNotWeasel: The smaller character is a hare, not a rabbit. Yes, there is a difference.
90	* ImpactSilhouette: The Wolf leaves a wolf-shaped hole in the wall when fleeing from the angry rhino in Episode 2.
91	* IncorruptiblePurePureness: The Hare. Even when at the mercy of the Wolf, he's never malevolent. In episode 10, he even goes to visit Wolf in the hospital.
92	* InstantDogend: The cigarettes the wolf is smoking could be mistaken as such, but they're actually [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belomorkanal Papirosa]].
93	* LaserBlade: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XEX5ekhkmg When the Hare and the Wolf get ahold of remote-controlled robots.]]
94	* TheLastStraw: In one episode, the Wolf had barely managed to lift a very heavy barbell, when a butterfly lands on it, with predictable results.
95	* LicensedGame: A release as a title from the Platform/ElektronikaIM series of handheld games. The game has since been (unofficially) adapted to other systems, including [=iPhone=].
96	* MatingDance: Subverted in episode 2. Wolf dances the tango with Hare to convince the kids in the audience that it's AllPartOfTheShow.
97	* MotiveDecay: At first Volk wanted to catch Zayets to eat him but as the series progresses his motives and gags becomes less about eating and more about messing and harassing.
98	* MickeyMousing: The action is often synchronized with the music.
99	* MimeAndMusicOnlyCartoon: Other than the Wolf's CatchPhrase, there is little dialogue, usually only squeals and giggles from the Hare or grunts and shouts from the Wolf.
100	* MistakenForAnImpostor: An episode has the Hare scaring away the Wolf with a lion mask... followed by the Wolf trying to beat up a real Lion...
101	* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: The recurring hippopotamus is always seen working a different job depending on the character's proximity to a place that requires employment. Case in point, he's the museum caretaker in episode 12 (which is set in a museum), then he's the manager of a supermarket in episode 18 (which is set in, well, a supermarket).
102	* NewYearHasCome: Episode 8. It looks like Christmas, but this was Soviet Russia (a Christmas episode was eventually produced in 2012).
103	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The vixen singer, whom Zayats disguises himself as, in episode 15 is based on then-popular singer Alla Pugacheva. The song he performs is one of her hits.
104	* NonMammalMammaries: The series uses this. Amusingly, sows are depicted as having more than one pair of breasts (since [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_pig#Nursing_and_suckling_behaviour they do have multiple pairs of teats]]).
105	* OffBridgeOntoVehicle: Wolf attempts to pull it off, jumping off a bridge to land on his runaway motorcycle. He just barely misses.
106	* TheOlympics: Episode 13 was made to concide with the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics.
107	* PaperBagPopping: In episode 4, Wolf does this to make the runners think that the starting pistol had been fired.
108	* PieEyed: Both characters have pie-shaped eyes.
109	* PintSizedPowerhouse: The Olympics episode has the Wolf mistake an Asian hare for the Hare. The Asian hare is wearing a robe, has quite obviously slanted eyes, bows to the Wolf as a greeting, and then proceeds to beat him up when the Wolf attacks.
110	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XEX5ekhkmg Also seen here]], where the Hare's tiny remote-controlled robot cripples the Wolf's enormous one with a couple of strategic strikes on the {{a\|ttackItsWeakPoint}}ntennae.
111	* ProductPlacement: To an embarrassing degree in the 1990s revival episodes (17 and 18), [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell made after the fall of Communism.]] To wit, apparently the first two episodes in the '90s were sponsored by a Russian electronics/cell phone/telecom company, and they claimed the pre-credits intro as ad space, with the Wolf and Rabbit using Nokia electronics and the AMT service while going through their usual antics.
112	* PublicServiceAnnouncement: There was a series of public service announcements starring Volk & Zayats, mainly focusing on not wasting water and weather-stripping windows in winter. Additionally there were some longer, higher budget ones that were political commentary on shoddy business industry, such as easily shattered glassware and shoes that fall apart quickly.
113	* PullARabbitOutOfMyHat: In episode 2, a feline magician performs this trick for the audience along with the Wolf. Amusingly enough, he pulls out the Hare.
114	* RealMenWearPink: Wolf is almost always wearing a pink shirt. He also has pink ''[[GoofyPrintUnderwear flower-printed boxers]]''. The former, together with a bright yellow spotted tie, is actually portraying him as a ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilyagi stilyaga]]''.
115	* RecurringCharacter: The most frequent one is a hippopotamus who the Wolf always accidentally antagonizes while chasing after the Hare, much to the Wolf's eventual regret. A cat magician also pops up from time to time.
116	* RedEyesTakeWarning: When the Wolf accidentally turns the Robot Hare into a terrifying killbot in episode 14, its eyes turn a glowing red.
117	* RoadRunnerVsCoyote: The wolf constantly tries and inevitably fails to catch the hare. He even kind of runs like [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner Wile E. Coyote]] (though like the similarities to ''Tom and Jerry'', this is probably coincidental due to the show being created behind the iron curtain).
118	* RobotMe: A robot Hare causes the Wolf all kinds of trouble in episode 14.
119	* {{Rotoscoping}}: Used for one shot in episode 15 when Volk is doing the "Dance Of The Swans" from ''Theatre/SwanLake''.
120	* RumpRoast: In episode 12 the Wolf drops a lit cigar into his armor and there is fire on his peepee and butt. He accidentally puts it out with hot water from the kettle, gets burned twice, and finally finds a fire extinguisher for his peepee.
121	* SaveTheVillain: Zayats isn't always a victim of a stalker. Sometimes he gets to be the hero too. Notably when Volk vets himself into dire situation & needs to be saved. In episode 14 the Hare hits the power button on the Robot Hare killbot that is chasing the Wolf, shutting it off.
122	* ShootTheTelevision: Wild tribesmen fling spears at the TV in episode 17 after being displeased with an episode of "Nu Pogodi".
123	* SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic: More realistic. Despite being a slapstick-heavy cartoon, the physical comedy is fairly grounded and characters rarely indulge in the kind of potentially lethal {{amusing injuries}} often seen in Western cartoons.
124	* TheSpiny: Wolf unfortunately lands on a family of porcupines in episode 1.
125	* StealthPun: In the circus episode, the scene on the teeter totter is scored to an instrumental cover of Blood, Sweat and Tears' "Spinning Wheel," the first line of which is "What goes up must come down."
126	* StrippingTheScarecrow: The Wolf does this in episode 6 after losing his pants. Unfortunately for him, the scarecrow's clothes are covered in tin cans, resulting in Wolf making a lot of noise when he tries to sneak up on the Hare.
127	* SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: One episode had Wolf stumbling on a robot replacement for Hare. All it did was mutter "Hare. Wolf." over and over. Wolf hits it once, and it turns into a killing machine with EyeBeams and hands that shoot electricity.
128	* TandemParasite: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]], when Wolf and Hare's bikes collide and form a tandem, Wolf ends up in the hind seat, and pedals frantically trying to grab Hare. Hare doesn't pedal at all, but they still end up winning first place in an Olympic bike race. Somehow this is [[ArtisticLicenseSports recognized as a victory]] and they get medals.
129	* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Inverted with the hare. Despite sporting long eyelashes, big blue eyes and pink cheeks, engaging in feminine activities such as watering flowers and is voiced by a female actress (Klara Rumyanova, whom the character is even [[InkSuitActor designed to look like]]), [[WordOfGod the creators insist]] that the character is male.
130	* TheTeaser: Each of them ends with the Wolf's CatchPhrase.
131	* ThroughAFaceFullOfFur: The wolf attempts to karate-chop a log, and smashes his hand. It turns crimson, and he has to run a faucet over it to cool it off.
132	* TitleDrop: At least twice every episode, once in the ColdOpen and once to close out the short.
133	* TrappedInTVLand: Episode 9, except it's a real TV studio rather than a fictional TV universe where Wolf is trapped.
134	* UngratefulBastard: Sometimes Hare saves Wolf's life. Wolf doesn't take long afterward to go right back to hunting Hare. He also makes no hesitation in stealing the motorboat that the two beavers use to save him from drowning in episode 2.
135	* VillainProtagonist: While the Hare is not without his own defining characteristics, most of the cartoons are focused on the wolf trying to capture the hare while the hare mainly exists to be chased and, in some cases, defend himself. Imagine ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' if Tom only ever antagonized Jerry and never the other way around.
136	* WorldOfFunnyAnimals: None of the characters are humans.

Context Animation / NuPogodi