Atomic Forest (rus. Атомный лес) is a Russian animated series which was aired on 2x2 channel. It was created by Alexey Lebedev (Best known as the main screenwriter of KikoRiki) and is one of the most surreal Russian shows. (Actually, it's one of few attempts to create Russian adult animated series). It lasted for two seasons which were released in 2012 and 2014.
Planet Earth had suffered a nuclear catastrophe. Many humans died or fled into space. However, there is an exclusion zone, full of bizarre sapient animals! Three of them, bears named Strontium, Caesium and Iodine are the main heroes of the story. Their life is full of unbelievable (and sometimes inexplicable) adventures scattered among mundane thing.
Tropes:
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Played With Bromine. He has purple spot on his white fur, which looks like necktie.
- Addiction Displacement: Iodine started playing poker when he decided to quit drinking in "My Michel". He was assisted by Mikhail Lermontov.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Most animals (especially bears) have fur of unbelieveable colors. For example, three main heroes are red (Strontium), yellow (Iodine) and dark-violet (Caesium).
- Badly Battered Babysitter: Bromine in the end of "Male's Burden". Strontium and Sulfura left for fixing the "Wish Booth" and left Bromine with their children. He is shown tied on the rocking horse, wearing clown nose and very angry:
- Bromine: (angry) WHY SHOULD I ALWAYS SIT WITH YOUR KIDS?
- Bathos: It is the most important ingredient of the show's humour.
- Brain Bleach: While Caesium's granny was having sex with sailor bear (who screamed during climax:
"ALL HANDS ON DECK!", he and Chlorina were listening... well, the sounds of their nature. After Caesium saw it, he curled in fetal position. Chlorina asked if they can do it "just like them", with Caesium screaming in terror. - Brainless Beauty: Chlorina. She is cute (as far as a female bear in this show can be) and very, VERY stupid.
- Casting Gag: Bromine is voiced by Anton Vinogradov, who is best known for voicing a rabbit from Lebedev's previous work. In fact, there are a lot of similarities between intonations of Bromine and Krash.
- Camp Gay: Wolfram, in contrast to former Manly Gay and currently extremely masculine Titanium.
- Cure Your Gays: In-Universe, homosexuality (at least male) is caused by "homo-toxine", which can be produced by special spiders.
- Deus ex Machina: Battle betwwen Ugly Hare and Caesium for Chlorina was a Curb-Stomp Battle going to Caesium's death... before fighter spaceship crashed on the arena hitting the steroid-pumped hair.Pilot: Base, there are (bleep) hares and (long bleep) bears!
- Driven to Suicide: "Reasons to Live" starts with Bromine attempting to hang himself. The episode is dedicated to Bromine's thoughts about the reasons to live and to die (and his attempts to run the cult of robots).
- Gender Equals Breed: Averted with Strontium and Sulfura's kids. They are mostly boys but all hares.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Strontium, in contrast to other exclusion zone inhabitants, wears old jeans.
- Henpecked Husband: Strontium, as Sulfura is the leader in their marriage.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Bromine and his assistant, female hare named Doza. She is more than two times larger than Bromine
- Imaginary Friend: Pills which Iodine took when he was quitting alcohol had this side effect. His friend was no one other than... MIKHAIL LERMONTOV.
- In Love with Love:
- Chlorina has strong need for romantic feelings, no matter with whom. Her affairs with males (like robots or spirit of long-dead man possesing Iodine) are the main staple of some episodes.
- two-parter "Instinct Requires Sacrifice" has Chlorina's affair with "Ugly Hare" (who looks like he was taking steroids since his first days) as trigger for whole plot.
- Incoming Ham: "I AM NOT THE IODINE! I AM THE SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE WHICH LIVED IN THAT SHRUNKEN SHIT!"
- Intimate Psychotherapy: A really, really crazy example. After incident ending with Iodine losing his hands (in "Paws"), Strontium tells Bromine about it. Happily, Bromine is a therapist (he bought the license. Just the day before). Therapy ends as S&M session (between brothers-in-law). Sulfura and kids were not amused:One of kids: Is daddy bad?
- Interspecies Romance:
- Strontium (male bear) is married to Sulfura (female hare).
- Hafnia, Vaesium's grandmother, fell in love with human official sent to Radiation Zone as punishment for him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Bromine fits this trope to the "T". He is rude, perverted, egoistical etc.
- Multi-Part Episode: "Instinct Requires Sacrifice" is the only two-part episode in the series.
- Neat Freak: Iodine is permanently washing his hands. Justified, as he is the doctor in, well, atomic forest.
- Official Couple: Strontium and Sulfura, Caesium and Chlorina.
- Oh, Crap!: Main heroes wanted to beat the crap out of hare having an affair with Chlorina... until they saw a steroid freak.Strontium: I told you: let's go fishing!
- Rousing Speech: Titanium delivers one in "Instincts Require Sacrifice". It... wasn't met with enthusiasm by younger bears.
- Surreal Humour: The show is very weird, but season 2 episode "Damn you, humour!" looks like someone dared Alexey Lebedev to write the most absurd story he can ever imagine. All of it (from Sulfura going comatose because of extremely fuuny joke to legless Carl Marx explaining the nature of humour before being assasinated for it)
- Testosterone Poisoning: Titanium is laughably masculine (he even uses skunk faeces as perfume). He must be compensating his past as homosexual bear.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Iodine's father in "Delayed Trip" is shown this way. He never had time for Iodine in his childhood. And many years ago, being Scatterbrained Senior, he shows more interest in little Iodine's hologram than in real-life son. They reconcile in the end of episode.
