Well, Just You Wait!

Well, Just You Wait! (Russian: Ну, погоди!, romanized: Nu, pogodi!, Russian pronunciation: [nʊpəgɐˈdʲi]), also known as I'll get you! in official translations, is a Soviet and Russian series of animated short films produced by Soyuzmultfilm. In the 2014 all-Russian poll, Well, Just You Wait! won by a wide margin as people's favourite cartoon/animated series of all time.
The series follows the comical adventures of Wolf (Волк), trying to catch – and presumably eat – Hare (Заяц). It features additional characters that usually either help the hare or interfere with the Wolf's plans. The original film language is Russian, but very little speech is used, usually interjections or at most several sentences per episode. The series' most common line is the eponymous "Nu, pogodi!", yelled by the wolf when his plans fail. It also includes many grunts, laughs, and songs.
The Hare, commonly transliterated into English as Zayats (Russian: Заяц), is portrayed as a supposedly positive hero. He is less developed than the Wolf, and most of his actions are simply reactions to the Wolf's schemes. In later episodes, the role of the Hare becomes more active and developed, and he even manages to save the Wolf on several occasions. The Hare is portrayed as a percussionist in a number of episodes. The character was originally voiced by Klara Rumyanova.
The Hare is often mistaken as a female due to his appearance and voice; however, the Hare's gender is never explicitly indicated. The Russian word for hare, заяц (zayats), is of masculine gender. The female equivalent is зайчиха (zaychikha).
The Hare is almost always seen wearing the same green T-shirt and dark green shorts, unlike the Wolf's ever-varying wardrobe. There are rare exceptions, however: in the prologue of Episode 8, he appears in an ice-skating outfit, and later on in the same episode, he is dressed with intentional absurdity as the grandfatherly Ded Moroz (Father Frost), the silliness of which is only heightened by the Wolf then appearing as his granddaughter, Snegurochka, also known as the Snow Maiden.
The Wolf, commonly transliterated into English as Volk (Russian: Волк), is initially portrayed as a hooligan who eagerly turns to vandalism, abuses minors, breaks laws, and is a smoker. His appearance was inspired by a person the director Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin saw on the street, specifically a man with long hair, a protruding belly, and a thick cigarette between his lips. The character was originally voiced by Anatoli Papanov.
His most common line throughout the series when things are not going as he expected is "Nu, pogodi!" At the end of an episode (and at the end of the pre-title introduction), the Wolf usually exclaims the series' titular phrase, "Nu, Zayats... Nu, pogodi!" which translates as "Well, Hare... Well, just you wait!".
In spite of his rough appearance, many of the Wolf's attempts to catch the Hare are often characterized by unexpected abilities on his part (including figure skating, ballet, gymnastics, and waltzing) for humorous contrast. He can also play the guitar very well and rides a powerful rocker motorbike. In the first episode, while climbing a high building to catch the Hare, the Wolf whistles the popular mountaineer song, "A Song About a Friend" (a signature song of Vladimir Vysotsky). In spite of these talents, most of the Wolf's schemes eventually fail or turn against him.
During the late Soviet and post-Soviet era, however, the Wolf gradually became more buffoonish than menacing. In the last episode (#20), for example, the Wolf is seen chewing a lollipop instead of smoking and his drawing style is reminiscent of new Russian cartoons (Russian: Новые русские мультфильмы) rather than the old Soviet slapstick genre. The Wolf became increasingly timid or even outright cowardly during this time period, contrasting sharply with his initially "macho" persona and actor's voice.
The Wolf's most characteristic piece of clothing is his bell-bottoms which can ambiguously be either part of the naval uniform or the 1970s fashion. He is most often seen in a pink shirt with a yellow necktie, but occasionally (Episode 7) appears in a naval undershirt (telnyashka) and in Episode 8, he appears in drag, impersonating the Snegurochka. In Episode 11 he wears a jacket in the beginning, but soon removes it when chasing the Hare. Not infrequently, he loses most of his clothes during the chase, going on in his chintz underpants only (those are a realistic depiction of Soviet-style underwear), though in episode 6, he retains only his shirt and pulls it down to cover up his "naked" hindquarters. Humorously, all of his clothing below the waist has a special opening for his tail.
In Episodes 1–16 the Wolf's hairstyle is basically unchanged, though in Episode 14 his hair gets briefly done in a style not unlike Elvis Presley's. In Episode 17 he wears a ponytail, and in Episode 18 his forelock is cropped and the mullet is tied into a ponytail. However, in the three final episodes he resumes his earlier hairstyle of episodes 1–16.
The story also features a supporting cast of animal characters, the most commonly appearing of whom is the physically strong and heavy Hippopotamus (Russian: Бегемот Begemot), who participates in various roles (e.g., a museum caretaker, shop keeper, passer-by, doorkeeper, etc.) and whom the Wolf usually annoys and has to run away from. In Episode #5 (1972), the Hare finds the Wolf hidden among watermelons (the Wolf's cap camouflages him in the scene). The Hare recommends to the passing Hippopotamus, who's also looking to buy melons, one which actually winds up being the Wolf's head. The Hippopotamus squeezes Wolf's head to test the ripeness of the "watermelon", and inadvertently forces him out of hiding. The episode ends with Wolf (on a washbowl) sliding down into the Moscow Metro and slamming head-on into, and ending up under the Hippopotamus.
Another repeating character is the Cat (Russian: Кот Kot), who is an illusionist and appears in several stage performances throughout the series. The Cat is shown to be a good magician, but very self-absorbed and highly sensitive to applause. In Episode #9 (1976), the Cat traps the Wolf in his levitation act (which saves the Hare from being caught). He drops the Wolf twice in his act to acknowledge and accept the applause from the Hare.
One of the most appearing on-screen secondary characters in a single episode is the Walrus (Russian: морж Morzh), who is the uniformed navy captain of the ship in Episode #7, who keeps interfering with the Wolf's attempts at boarding the ship and/or attempting to capture the Hare. However, once the Wolf is on board, he pretends to mop the deck in front of the Captain, tricking him into believing he is one of the crew members. The Captain is later seen closing the lid on top of the boat's storage room, which results in the Wolf and Hare being trapped together in the darkness.
Other animals are shown in the series, including bears, red foxes, elephants, beavers, dogs, and pigs (in a swimming suit with three bras).
Each 10-minute episode starts with a logo of the studio (Soyuzmultfilm in episodes 1-18, Studio 13 in episodes 17 and 18, and Christmas Films in episodes 19 and 20), after which a prologue begins. The prologue is a separate short story, approximately 2 minutes long, at the end of which the Wolf shouts "Well, [rabbit], just you wait!". After that, the screen shows the show's title and episode with the opening credits roll. The remainder of the episode is covered by the main plot, also ending with Wolf shouting "Well, just you wait!".
The original script for Nu, pogodi! was created for the animation studio Soyuzmultfilm in Moscow by the writers Felix Kandel, Arkady Khait, and Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, whose works included humourist and satirical writings. Most directors of Soyuzmultfilm rejected the script, but Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin was convinced by the idea. However, Gennady Sokolsky was the first person to direct the cartoon, more specifically a pilot of it, which was given the name Nu, pogodi! A two and a half-minute short film with character designs very different from the later series was created, but it already featured the Wolf's titular catchphrase. It was shown as part of the first episode of the animation magazine Happy Merry-Go-Round in 1969.
Kotyonochkin wanted the Wolf to be voiced by the actor and singer Vladimir Vysotsky, but was not given permission by the officials. The actor Anatoli Papanov was approved instead. Actress Klara Rumyanova, who commonly voiced cute and small characters, received the role of the Hare. Svetozar Rusakov was responsible for the visual design of the series, including its characters. In case of the music, the majority of the soundtrack throughout the series during Soviet times was edited directly from existing international records, though there were also original compositions.
The first episode aired in 1969. Nu, pogodi! was not intended to become a long-running series, but the cartoon reached immense popularity and Soyuzmultfilm received many letters from viewers asking for more adventures of Wolf and Hare. Therefore, production of new shorts continued into the 1980s. However, it was temporarily halted for political reasons after the seventh episode in 1973, as script writer Felix Kandel and his family wanted to emigrate to Israel, but were denied by the Soviet authorities. Nonetheless, production soon resumed, though without Kandel, as Nu, pogodi! viewers were among the highest party leadership.
Episode 16, the last film created during the Soviet era, aired in 1986. The series was put on hold after the death of Anatoli Papanov in 1987.
It turned out that all outtakes of Papanov's work for the series had been archived. The voice samples were used for the creation of the 17th and 18th episodes in 1993. They were produced by Soyuzmultfilm in collaboration with the Ukrainian Institute for Professional Advancement of Film, Television and Radio Workers (credited as Studio 13) and were co-directed by Vladimir Tarasov. The 17th episode in particular was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Nu, pogodi! Both shorts are notable for their use of product placement for the sponsor of the films, AMT, as well as for Nokia. Kotyonochkin's son Aleksey Kotyonochkin, who had also become an animation artist, took part in their production, although he had unsuccessfully tried to convince his father to not to participate. The two episodes were met with negative reactions.
In February 2005, the supermarket chain Pyaterochka announced that they had purchased the rights to create two new Nu, pogodi! films. The idea to support the production of new episodes arose during a corporate party of the company in 2003. Late Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin's son Aleksey was offered to direct them, but initially hesitated to accept, as he was not sure whether the standards set in Soviet times could be achieved, and also because of the failure of the 17th and 18th episode. He eventually agreed and assembled a team of young animators at the studio Christmas Films, their average age being 30. The production was funded by Pyaterochka with a budget of 400,000 dollars.
The scripts were written by Nu, pogodi! co-creators Aleksandr Kurlyandsky and Felix Kandel again, the latter being involved in the creation of new episodes for the first time in more than three decades. The actors Igor Khristenko and Olga Zvereva became the new voices of Wolf and Hare, respectively. It was stated that their voices are "virtually indistinguishable" from the original ones.
It was not possible anymore to simply insert popular international music into the shorts like during Soviet times, as copyright had to be taken into account now. The budget did not allow for obtaining music rights. Therefore, it was decided to approach a domestic artist, namely Andrei Derzhavin of the band Mashina Vremeni, who immediately agreed to create a diverse soundtrack. In an interview, Kotyonochkin noted that Nu, pogodi! and Mashina Vremeni debuted the same year.
On 16 September 2005, a costume parade was held on the Arbat in honour of the cartoon's revival. The premiere of episode 19 took place on 22 December of the same year. Unlike the previous two episodes, the Pyaterochka-funded shorts are free of advertising, the sponsor is only mentioned in the credits.
For two years, the latest two Nu, pogodi! episodes were largely unavailable to the public and were only shown at certain film festivals. However, in late December 2007 a DVD was finally released in Russia which contained the two films, as well as a making-of film and comics drawn by Aleksey Kotyonochkin. As of now, it is available only in the supermarket chains Pyaterochka and Perekrestok.
Regarding questions on a possible continuation of the series, Kotyonochkin stated in 2006 that it is "impossible to produce the series endlessly" and that they didn't intend to "copy Tom and Jerry". If a follow-up was made, it would be very different from the existing films according to Kotyonochkin, possibly a full-length film in the format of 3D animation with a brand new story.
The female Fox singer in Episode 15 is based upon Alla Pugacheva. The Hare's subsequent performance in the drag is a parody of one of her songs popular at the time.
A cameo of a sitting girl in Episode 16 refers to Viktor Vasnetsov's painting Sister Alenushka Weeping about Brother Ivanushka. The key is that Alyonushka is the heroine of the folk-tale Brother and Sister. She apparently mistakes the Wolf, who had been transformed into a goat, for her brother.
The series was, for many years, hugely popular among the Soviet public, and it is popular in Russia to this day. The critical reaction of the director's colleagues was less favourable. The director's son Aleksey Kotyonochkin recalls how, although nobody said it to his father outright, the animators and directors of Soyuzmultfilm generally considered Nu, pogodi! to be of low quality. For his part, Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin was not a follower of auteur films (many of which were being made at the studio at the time) and considered them to be examples of someone needlessly showing off.
Kotyonochkin disliked subtext and tried to create very simple, straightforward scenarios. The main idea of the series was simple: don't hurt the little guy or you will yourself get into a foolish situation. Because the series was so popular, however, it was often a subject for critical discussion and speculation – namely, that the series represented the struggle between the intelligentsia (Hare) and the working class (Wolf). Aleksey Kotyonochkin dismisses these interpretations as groundless.
Since the 1990s, when the fall of the Iron Curtain allowed better exchange of films, both Russian and Western audiences have noted similarities between Nu, pogodi! and American cartoons, the most noticeable being Tom and Jerry. The director has admitted that he was learning from Disney animated films which were brought into the USSR from Germany immediately after World War II, particularly Bambi. However, he did not see any Tom and Jerry episodes until his son bought a VCR in 1987. Thematically, Nu, pogodi! places greater emphasis on various real-life situations and locations.
Note: The episodes of Nu, pogodi! were not named but rather numbered. Each episode has a different setting:
There was also a promotional 30 min. long episode show including various characters from Soviet cartoons released in 1981 called The Lost Episodes. The show featured three never before seen sequences of Nu Pogodi! of approximate 10 min. length and were not re-released for home entertainment in spite of various full episode collections. They can, however, be seen on television on some channels during children cartoons time and are viewable through web video recordings (such as YouTube).
In August 2012, it was decided television airing of the cartoons would not cut out scenes of the Wolf smoking because of laws prohibiting material "deemed harmful to children". An agreement was made, "We will not cut anything, not even one cigarette."
A number of memorable tunes were written or selected to match the action sequences of the cartoon. The majority of the soundtrack was edited directly from various international lounge and dance LP records from the 1960s–1980s, many of which were part of the music supervisors' personal collections. These recordings were not listed in the credits, so the origins of some remain obscure today.
Some of the known performers whose music was featured in Nu Pogodi are Chico Buarque, Herb Alpert, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Digital Emotion, Günter Gollasch, Vyacheslav Mescherin, Bill Haley, Ted Heath, Leroy Holmes, Halina Kunicka, James Last, Muslim Magomayev, Paul Mauriat, Hazy Osterwald, Pesnyary, Edita Piekha, Franck Pourcel, Perez Prado, Alla Pugacheva, Eric Rogers, Earl Scruggs, Igor Sklyar, Terry Snyder, Studio 11, Mel Taylor, Klaus Wunderlich, Billy Vaughn, Helmut Zacharias, Zemlyane, Yuriy Antonov and Blue Effect.
The opening credits theme was edited from Vízisí (Water Ski), written by Hungarian composer Tamás Deák and performed Magyar Rádió Tánczenekara & Harmónia Vokál.
Sometimes the words of the songs were modified or altogether substituted to correspond to the action, and a New Year's holiday song (duet between Papanov and Rumyanova that later became a popular standard) was written especially for the series. Originally, the cult Russian singer/actor Vladimir Vysotsky was cast for the voice of Wolf, but the studio did not get the approval they needed from a Soviet state organization to use him. However, some homage to Vysotsky remains, as in the opening episode, Wolf is whistling his "Song of a Friend".
When the 19th and 20th episode went into production, times had changed and the music rights would have to obtained first, which was not possible with the budget. A national artist, Andrei Derzhavin of the band Mashina Vremeni, was contacted instead, who composed the music for the films. The shorts also feature excerpts of preexisting Mashina Vremeni works.
Episode 1 – "The Beach"
Episode 2 – "The Fairground at Night"
Episode 3 – "Road and Construction Site"
Episode 4 – "The Stadium"
Episode 5 – "The City and the Train Station"
Episode 6 – "The Countryside"
Episode 7 – "The Sea Voyage"
Episode 8 – "The New Year Celebration"
Episode 9 – "The TV Studio"
Episode 10 – "The Construction Site"
Episode 11 – "The Circus"
Episode 12 – "The Museum"
Episode 13 – "The Olympic Games"
Episode 14 – "The Nu-Tech House"
Episode 15 – "The House of Culture"
Episode 16 – "In the World of Russian Folk Tales"
Episode 17 – "Exotic Land on Island"
Episode 18 – "Supermarket"
Episode 19 – "Airport and Beach"
Episode 20 – "Dacha Community"
Episode 21 – "New Year"
Nu, pogodi! has been adapted into a number of video games. In 1984, an LCD game titled Nu, pogodi! was released in the Soviet Union. Between 2002 and 2010, the Russian video game company SoftClub released five different PC games based on the cartoon series.
In 2019, Soyuzmultfilm announced an upcoming remake of Nu, Pogodi. Volk and Zayats were given new designs and three new characters were introduced; Ulya the Roe Deer, Shu the Hedgehog, and Tim the Badger. One of the only living original creators, Felix Kandel, expressed his displeasure at seeing the remake and offered to pay the studio to not release it. The political party Communists of Russia requested that the State Duma ban Soyuzmultfilm from making the remake. Soyuzmultfilm planned to release the remake in winter 2020, but was forced to delay several times and announced finally a release of winter 2021. The series was made of 26 7-minute episodes and a second season in works for a future release. The first season was named "Kanikuly (Holidays)". The series got modernized for a younger demographic and audience. It also received an English dub under the title I'll Get You!
The first episode was released on 17 December 2021, to mass negative reviews. Episodes are available online as well.