Well, Just You Wait!

Well, Just You Wait![1] (Russian: Ну, погоди!, tr. Nu, pogodi!, IPA: [ˈnu pəɡɐˈdʲi]) is a Soviet, later Russian, animated series produced by Soyuzmultfilm. The series debuted in 1969 and became popular in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries. 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.[2] The last episode was produced in 2006.

Well, Just You Wait!
Also known as	Ну, погоди!
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Felix Kandel Arkadi Khait Aleksandr Kurlyandsky
Directed by	Gennady Sokolsky (pilot only) Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin Vladimir Tarasov Aleksey Kotyonochkin
Voices of	Anatoli Papanov Klara Rumyanova Igor Khristenko Olga Zvereva
Country of origin	Soviet Union (episodes 1–16) Russia (episodes 17–22)
Original language(s)	Russian
No. of episodes	22 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	10 minutes approx.
Production company(s)	Soyuzmultfilm (episodes 1–18) Studio 13 (episodes 17–18) Christmas Films (episodes 19–22)
Release
Original network	Советское Центральное Телевидение (1969–1991) 1-й канал Останкино/Общественное Российское Телевидение/Первый канал (1991–2006)
Original release	14 June 1969 – 6 October 2006

A screenshot from episode #7
From left to right: Hare and Wolf.

The series follows the comical adventures of a mischievous yet artistic 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 titular "Nu, pogodi!", recited by the wolf when his plans fail. It also includes many grunts, laughs, and songs.

Characters

The Hare

The Hare, commonly transliterated into English as Zayats (Russian: Заяц), is portrayed as a supposedly positive hero. He gets much less screen time and 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 he is actually a male. Also 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, aka the Snow Maiden.

The Wolf

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.[3] 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 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 get 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.

Other characters

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. 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 to be 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).

Production

1960s to 1980s

The writer Aleksandr Kurlyandsky created the script of Nu, pogodi! together with Felix Kandel and Arkady Khait. Kurlyandsky is the only one of them who worked on all 20 episodes of the series.

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.[4] Most directors of Soyuzmultfilm rejected the script, but Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin was convinced by the idea.[5] 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.[6][7]

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.[8] Svetozar Rusakov was responsible for the visual design of the series, including its characters.[9][10] 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.[11]

The first episode aired in 1969.[12] 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.[13][14] 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.[4] Nonetheless, production soon resumed, though without Kandel, as Nu, pogodi! viewers were among the highest party leadership.[15]

Episode 16, the last film created during the Soviet era, aired in 1986.[12] The series was put on hold after the death of Anatoli Papanov in 1987.

1990s to present

Anatoli Papanov as depicted on a 2001 stamp, voice of the Wolf in episodes 1 to 16. Production was put on hold after his death, but archived voice recordings of him were later used for the 17th and 18th episode.

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.[12] 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![16] 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.[17]

Aleksey Kotyonochkin, son of Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin, worked with his father on episodes 17 and 18 as their art director. More than a decade later, Aleksey himself directed two episodes of Nu, pogodi!

In February 2005, the supermarket chain Pyaterochka announced that they had purchased the rights to create two new Nu, pogodi! films.[18][19] 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.[15][17][20]

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.[20] The actors Igor Khristenko and Olga Zvereva became the new voices of Wolf and Hare, respectively.[15] It was stated that their voices are "virtually indistinguishable" from the original ones.[5]

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.[15][20]

On 16 September 2005, a costume parade was held on the Arbat in honour of the cartoon's revival.[21] The premiere of episode 19 took place on 22 December of the same year.[22] Unlike the previous two episodes, the Pyaterochka-funded shorts are free of advertising, the sponsor is only mentioned in the credits.[20]

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 Perekryostok.[23]

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.[24]

Cultural references

Sister Alenushka Weeping about Brother Ivanushka (painting by Viktor Vasnetsov, 1881), Russian variant collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.

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.

Critical and popular reception

A USSR stamp from 1988, depicting Nu, pogodi!

The series was, for many years, hugely popular among the Soviet public, and it is popular in the Federation 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 class. For his part, Vyacheslav Kotyonichkin 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.[14]

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.[14] Thematically, Nu, pogodi! places greater emphasis on various real-life situations and locations.

List of episodes

The episodes of Nu, pogodi! were not named but rather numbered. Each episode has a different setting:

Nº	Setting	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
0	"Pilot"	Gennady Sokolsky	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	6 May 1969 (1969-05-06)
1	"City and Beach"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	14 June 1969 (1969-06-14)
The Wolf climbs up the building where the Hare resides by a clothes-hanging rope. The Hare cuts the rope and the Wolf free-falls into the Police's vehicle. The Wolf goes to the beach and caught sight of the Hare playing water ski. The Wolf chases the Hare around and finally gets pulled away by a canoe.
2	"Fairground at Night"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	18 July 1970 (1970-07-18)
The Wolf carries a guitar around and starts singing while the Hare passes by. He swallows the Hare's balloon and becomes afloat. The Wolf chases the Hare around the fairgound but fails to catch him at the last minute.
3	"All Ways to catch the hare"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	29 May 1971 (1971-05-29)
The Hare goes cycling on a bright day. The Wolf intends to chase him with his badass motorbike. Everything quickly runs downhill.
4	"Sportsman Despite Will"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	26 June 1971 (1971-06-26)
The Wolf goes to a stadium, looking all chic and sporty. He engages in a bunch of sport activities but messes everything up.
5	"Some ideas of a Wolf"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	23 September 1972 (1972-09-23)
The Wolf spies on the Hare by a monocular and then bags him as he hops down the stairs. The Wolf hides the bag in a telephone booth. The Hare gets out and traps the Wolf instead. Later, the Wolf disguised himself as a watermelon and almost caught the Hare but Mr. Hippopotamus comes to the rescue. The Wolf gets his head stuck in a bus's door while chasing the Hare. They runs into a train station where the Wolf runs into Mr. Hippo again.
6	"Countryside Entertainment"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	21 April 1973 (1973-04-21)
The Wolf follows The Hare during a parachute session and ends up in a chicken coop. He then runs around messing up the farm. He dresses himself as a scarecrow on a train that the Hare takes.
7	"Sea Wolf"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	12 May 1973 (1973-05-12)
The Wolf makes his stowaway on a cruise ship. This is the only episode that the Wolf does not say "Nu, pogodi!" in the intro act. After a lot of mishaps, the Wolf and the Hare allied and stayed friend (for a while).
8	"An Unforgettable Carnival Party"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	5 January 1974 (1974-01-05)
9	"It's hard to be a TV star"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	4 September 1976 (1976-09-04)
While the Wolf was watching sports on television (presumably soccer), his television switches to a channel featuring the Hare singing. Furious, the Wolf destroyed his TV and rushed to the TV station to capture the Hare. The episode featured different settings used in the chase (rock band, circus, knights, magician), ending at the magician sending the Wolf back to his house.
10	"Unexpected change of places"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	9 October 1976 (1976-10-09)
The Hare came to a construction site watching workers demolishing and constructing buildings, while the Wolf resorted in different equipments to catch him. However, all of Wolf's plans ended up in vain. Even worse, the Wolf ended up in hospital when trying to escape a closed building. The episode was worthy for reference back to the first scene in first episode (the Hare was watering the flowers, while the Wolf was climbing the rope to catch him), but as a parody, the roles were switched.
11	"Circus"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	30 July 1977 (1977-07-30)
12	"Museum"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	8 April 1978 (1978-04-08)
13	"Olympics 1980 in Moscow"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	17 May 1980 (1980-05-17)
Connected to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Misha appears.
14	"Electronic Hare"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	2 June 1984 (1984-06-02)
A visit of Wolf and Hare to the center of high technology turned wrong when a Hare-shaped robot turned rogue and tried to capture the Wolf. At the bring of being captured, the Wolf resorted in Hare's help, turning off the rogue robot; however, the Hare used another robot to kick the Wolf out the center. The episode featured science fiction theme of artificial intelligence and high level of automation.
15	"Hare choir"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	22 June 1985 (1985-06-22)
The Hare is performing in a choir, and the Wolf sneaks into the theater to grab him. During his pursuit of the Hare, the Wolf finds himself performing on stage, first as a choir master, then as a ballet dancer. Eventually the Wolf captures the Hare and tries to sneak him out of the building in a guitar case, but a mix-up causes him to leave with nothing but a guitar.[25]
16	"A fairytale confusion of the senses"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Arkady Khait	27 September 1986 (1986-09-27)
17	"Jubilee or the nightmare of a wolf"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin, Vladimir Tarasov	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky	1 April 1993 (1993-04-01)
18	"It's cool in the supermarket"	Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin, Vladimir Tarasov	Aleksandr Kurlyandsky	24 June 1994 (1994-06-24)
19	"Beach Ideas"	Aleksey Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky	22 December 2005 (2005-12-22)[22]
20	"Chocolate Hare"	Aleksey Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky	7 October 2006 (2006-10-07)
21	"Christmas and New Year[26]"	Aleksey Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky	21 December 2012 (2012-12-21)
22	"Catch the star on New Year's Eve![26]"	Aleksey Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky	23 December 2017 (2017-12-23)
23	TBA	Aleksey Kotyonochkin	Felix Kandel, Aleksandr Kurlyandsky	2020 (2020)[27]

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 2001, the characters were re-used (albeit with Zayats being replaced with a chipmunk) for a series of 'next' bumpers for Teletoon, produced by Chuck Gammage Animation.[28]

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."[29]

Cast and crew

Directors

• Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin − 1–18
• Vladimir Tarasov − 17–18
• Aleksey Kotyonochkin − 19–21

Screenplay

• Felix Kandel (credited as Felix Kamov) − 1–7 and 19–21
• Arkady Khait − 1–16
• Aleksandr Kurlyandsky − all

Main animators – character development

• Svetozar Rusakov − 1–16
• Aleksey Kotyonochkin − 17–18
• Svetlana Davidova − 19 and 21

Voices

• Anatoli Papanov (Wolf) − 1–16 (17 and 18 uses archive footage)
• Klara Rumyanova (Hare) − 1–18
• Igor Khristenko (Wolf) − 19–21
• Olga Zvereva (Hare) − 19–21
• Boris Novikov (Referee Dog) – 13
• Maria Vinogradova (Japanese Hare) – 13
• Vladimir Soshalsky (Hippopotamus) − 15, (Wolf from the Red Hood) – 16
• Sergei Chekan (AMT Announcer) – 17

English Voice

• Les Tremayne (Wolf) – 1–18
• June Foray (Rabbit) – 1–18
• Campbell Lane (Hippo) – 15
• Walter Massey (Walrus) – 7
• Vlasta Vrána, Terrence Scammell (Bear) – 4,8

Camera

• Yelena Pietrova − 1–6
• N. Klimova − 7
• Svetlana Koscieieva − 8–14
• Aleksandr Chekhovski − 15–16
• L. Krutovskaja − 17–18

Sound directors

• Georgi Martyniuk − 1–10
• Vladimir Kutuzov − 11–18

Editors

• Tatyana Sazonova − 1–7
• Margarita Micheeva − 8–18

Animators

• Viktor Arsentev − 1–15
• Oleg Komarov − 1–13
• Viktor Likchacev − 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15
• Oleg Safronov − 1, 2, 9, 10, 14 and 15
• Vladimir Krumin − 1, 5, 10, 11, 13 and 14
• Fedor Eldinov − 1, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 15 and 16
• Vladimir Zarubin − 2, 4 and 9
• Leonid Kayukov − 2, 5 and 7
• Valery Ugarov − 3, 8 and 16
• Sergey Dezhkin − 3
• Yury Butyrin − 3, 4, 8 and 9
• Svetlana Barthelow − 3, 4, 8 and 9
• Vladimir Arbekov − 8, 12 and 17
• Aleksandr Panov − 7
• Aleksey Bukin − 8
• Aleksandr Davydov − 10, 13 and 17
• Aleksandr Dorogov − 14–16
• Nikolay Fyodorov − 12
• Aleksandr Mazaev − 15 and 16
• Sergey Avramov − 14
• Olga Orlova − 16

Music

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.[11] 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.[30]

Sometimes the words of the songs were modified or altogether substituted to correspond to the action, and a New Years holiday song (duet between Papanov and Rumyanova that later became a popular standard[31]) 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".

Andrei Derzhavin, keyboardist of Mashina Vremeni, wrote the musical score for the 19th and 20th episode.

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.[15][20]

Soundtrack

Episode 1 – "The Beach"

• Song about a Friend [Песня о Друге]
• Last Electric Train [Последняя Электричка]

Episode 2 – "The Fairground at Night"

• Ferris Wheel [Чертово колесо] (Muslim Magomaev)
• The Laughing Hussar (Hazy Osterwald-Sextett)
• A song about Hares [Песня про зайцев]

Episode 3 – "Road and Construction Site"

• Kalinka (Orchester Günter Gollasch)
• В.Игнатьев — Карусель (Victor Ignatiev – Carousel)
• My Little Suede Shoes (Billy May)
• Entrance of the Gladiators (Julius Fučík)

Episode 4 – "The Stadium"

• King-Winner [Король-Победитель]
• Cha-cha-cha, Jamaica (Vladimir Chizhik)
• Brass Orchestra [Orkiestry Dęte]

Episode 5 – "The City and the Train Station"

• By the Long Road [Дорогой Длинною]
• O Sole Mio
• El Choclo

Episode 6 – "The Countryside"

• Yas was Mowing Clover [Касiў Ясь канюшыну] (Pesnyary)
• Jujalarim (Sugra)
• Sabre Dance [Танец с Саблями] (Aram Khachaturian)
• At the Kolkhoz Poultry Farm [На Колхозной Птицеферме] (Mescherin Ensemble)

Episode 7 – The Sea Voyage"

• Only Us Только Мы (Friendship)
• Boat Dance
• Balaton (Studio 11)
• Toy [Игрушка] (Victor Ignatiev)

Episode 8 – "The New Year Celebration"

• Snow Maiden [Снегурочка]
• Joker (Orchester Günter Gollasch)
• A Banda (Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass)
• John Grey [Джон Грей] (Matvei Blanter)
• La Cumparsita

Episode 9 – "The TV Studio"

• Little Man (Franck Pourcel)
• Tired Toys are Sleeping [Спят усталые игрушки]
• A Priest had a Dog [У Попа Была Собака]
• Caravan Twist – Bill Haley & His Comets
• Wheels (The String Alongs)
• The Football March

Episode 10 – "The Construction Site"

• Kazachok [Casatschok] (including Katyousha verse) (Dmitri Dourakine)
• Popcorn I [Воздушная Кукуруза I] (Gershon Kingsley)
• Blue is the Night (Terry Snyder and the All Stars)
• Strip Tease in Rhythm (Helmut Zacharias)
• Jolly March of the Builders [Весёлый марш монтажников] (Nikolai Rybnikov)
• Meetings (Claudia Shulzhenko)

Episode 11 – "The Circus"

• Entrée March from Circus – Isaac Dunayevski
• Easy Livin' Coming Closer PopCorn (James Last)
• Trompeten Muckel (James Last)
• Spinning Wheel (Ted Heath Orchestra)

Episode 12 – The Museum"

• Lotto-Zahlen (Klaus Wunderlich)
• Corn Flakes (Klaus Wunderlich)
• Drums A-Go-Go
• Zorba [Зорба]
• Onde Del Danubio
• Triumphal March – Helmut Zacharias

Episode 13 – "The Olympic Games"

• Flight of the Bumblebee (Hummelflug) [Полёт Шмеля] (Klaus Wunderlich arrangement)
• Cannonball (Pete Tex)
• How High the Moon (James Last)
• Dolannes Melody
• Moliendo Cafe (Perez Prado and His Orchestra)
• Train Forty-Five

Episode 14 – "The Nu-Tech House"

• Petersburger Nächte (Hugo Strasser)
• Besame Mucho (Klaus Wunderlich)
• Million Alyh Roz (Alla Pugacheva)
• Grass by the House [Трава у Дома] [Trava u Doma] – Zemlyane
• Get Up Action (Digital Emotion)
• Go Go Yellow Screen (Digital Emotion)
• Bavarian Affair (The Black Hole) – Empire (Methusalem)
• The Beauty and the Beast (Digital Emotion)
• Shaky Railcar [Качается вагон]

Episode 15 – "The House of Culture"

• Iceberg [Айсберг]
• Swan Lake – Dance of the swans – Tchaikovsky
• Beneath the Roof of Your House [Под Крышей Дома Твоего]

Episode 16 – "In the World of Russian Folk Tales"

• Sea, Sea [Море, Море] (Yuriy Antonov)
• Green Light [Зеленый свет]
• Komarovo [Комарово]

Episode 17 – "Exotic Land on Island"

• Korobushka [Korobeiniki]
• Don't Put Salt in my Wounds [Не Сыпь мне Соль на Рану]
• Lambada – Kaoma
• March of Stalin's air force [Марш сталинской авиации]

Episode 18 – "Supermarket"

• Taganka [Таганка] – Shufutinskiy [Шуфутинский]
• On the Hills of Manchuria [На сопках Маньчжурии]
• Hafanana (Afric Simone)

Episode 19 – "Airport and Beach"

Episode 20 – "Dacha Community"

• Chocolate Bunny (Шоколадный заяц)

Video games

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.

Title	Details
Nu, pogodi! (Ну, погоди!) 1984 – LCD game[32]	Notes: LCD game Nu, pogodi! Released under the Electronika brand. It is an unlicensed clone of Egg, a title in Nintendo's Game & Watch line. The Wolf takes the role of the original wolf character, whilst the Hare replaces the cock.
Nu, pogodi! Vypusk 1: Pogonya (Ну, погоди! Выпуск 1: Погоня) 5 April 2002 (2002-04-05) – PC[33]	Notes: Platform game / Beat 'em up Developed and published by SoftClub. The title translates to "Well, Just You Wait! Part 1: Chase".
Nu, pogodi! Vypusk 2: Kruglyy schot (Ну, погоди! Выпуск 2: Круглый счёт) 17 May 2002 (2002-05-17) – PC[34]	Notes: Puzzle game Developed by K-D Lab and published by SoftClub. The title translates to "Well, Just You Wait! Part 2: Round Score".
Nu, pogodi! Vypusk 3: Pesnya dlya zaytsa (Ну, погоди! Выпуск 3: Песня для зайца) 11 December 2003 (2003-12-11) – PC[35]	Notes: Adventure game Developed by K-D Lab and published by SoftClub. The title translates to "Well, Just You Wait! Part 3: Song for the Hare".
Nu, pogodi! Vypusk 4: Dogonyalki (Ну, погоди! Выпуск 4: Догонялки) 20 May 2005 (2005-05-20) – PC[36]	Notes: Platform game Developed by DiP Interactive and published by SoftClub. The title translates to "Well, Just You Wait! Part 4: Tag".
Nu, pogodi! Vypusk 5: Po sledam zaytsa (Ну, погоди! Выпуск 5: По следам зайца) 24 December 2010 (2010-12-24) – PC[37]	Notes: Platform game / Beat 'em up Developed by A. Yefremov and published by SoftClub. The title translates to "Well, Just You Wait! Part 5: On the Trail of the Hare".

See also

• History of Russian animation

References

1. Giannalberto Bendazzi (2016). Animation: A World History: Volume II: The Birth of a Style – The Three Markets. — Boca Raton: CRC Press, p. 289 ISBN 978-1-138-85481-9
2. Well, Just You Wait! turned to be the most beloved animation in Russia by RIA Novosti, 26 February 2014 (in Russian)
3. Fomina, Oksana (3 March 2005). «Ну, погоди!» теперь работает в супермаркете. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 14 May 2015.
4. Автор «Ну, погоди!» Феликс Кандель рассказал о загадке Иерусалима. polit.ru (in Russian). 1 February 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
5. "Ну, погоди!" возвращается. NEWSru (in Russian). 2 September 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
6. Kurlyandsky, Aleksandr (6 November 2006). «ВЕСЕЛАЯ КАРУСЕЛЬ» НА ЖЕЛТОМ ЭКРАНЕ ТЕЛЕВИЗОРА. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 15 May 2015.
7. Жил-был веселый человек. Аркадий Хайт ("Once Upon The Time There lived a Jolly Man. Arkady Khait"), a documentary
8. День рождения мультика «Ну, погоди!»: Волк мог быть страшилищем с голосом Высоцкого. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). 1 July 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
9. Скончался один из создателей «Ну, погоди!». polit.ru (in Russian). 1 August 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
10. Светозар Русаков, который нарисовал "Ну, погоди!". animator.ru (in Russian). 2 December 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
11. interview with Alexander Goldstein, music supervisor on episodes 7–14
12. Romanova, Olga (2 September 2006). "Ну, погоди!", или беготня на фоне "застоя". polit.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 15 May 2015.
13. Умер режиссер-мультипликатор Вячеслав Котеночкин. NEWSru (in Russian). 2 November 2000. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
14. Kapkov, Sergey (2 June 2007). Алексей Котеночкин: "Отец никогда не делал фильмов с фигой в кармане". Gazeta (in Russian). №109. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007.
15. Kobelev, Aleksey (8 September 2005). "Ну погоди!" возвращается. Pro-Disney Animation (in Russian). Archived from the original on 11 October 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
16. "WELL, WAIT! (PART 17)". Animator.ru. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
17. Livsi, Elena (1 October 2005). Мультик «Ну, погоди!» возвращается!. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 16 May 2015.
18. "Пятерочка" снимет продолжение "Ну, погоди!". Lenta.ru (in Russian). Rambler Media Group. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
19. "Ну погоди!" возвращается (in Russian). Pyaterochka. 1 March 2005. Archived from the original on 20 March 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
20. Malyukova, Larisa (2 December 2005). НУ, ПОГОДИЛИ ДВЕНАДЦАТЬ ЛЕТ И СНОВА — «НУ, ПОГОДИ!». Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 14 May 2015.
21. Герои возрожденного мультфильма "Ну, погоди!" торжественно прошли по Арбату. NEWSru (in Russian). 1 September 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
22. Сегодня пройдет премьера новой 19 серии мультфильма "Ну, погоди!". polit.ru (in Russian). 2 December 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
23. http://kotenochkin.livejournal.com/242735.html%5B%5D
24. Вышла 20-я серия "Ну, погоди!" – продолжения снимать не будут. NEWSru (in Russian). 2 November 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
25. Episode 15 at YouTube
26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ssaZzA6nbU&t
27. "Новые серии "Ну, погоди!" покажут в 2020 году". BFM.ru – деловой портал (in Russian). Retrieved 7 February 2020.
28. https://web.archive.org/web/20111029121030/http://www.cganim.com/work/. Archived from the original on 29 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
29. http://bostonherald.com/news/offbeat/view/20120830russian_tv_cartoon_villain_gets_to_keep_smoking/srvc=home&position=recent Russian TV cartoon villain gets to keep smoking
30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixXyj2T0IxM
31. footage of Papanov/Rumyanova duet on YouTube
32. Komyagina, Olga (1 August 2014). Игрушки 80-х: электронные «Ну, погоди!», пистоны и бумажные куклы. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 13 May 2015.
33. Игра «Ну, погоди! Выпуск 1: Погоня» для PC (in Russian). SoftClub. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
34. Игра «Ну, погоди! Выпуск 2: Круглый счет» для PC (in Russian). SoftClub. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
35. Игра «Ну, погоди! Выпуск 3: Песня для зайца» для PC (in Russian). SoftClub. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
36. Игра «Ну, погоди! Выпуск 4: Догонялки» для PC (in Russian). SoftClub. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
37. Игра «Ну, погоди! Выпуск 5: По следам зайца» для PC (in Russian). SoftClub. Retrieved 27 May 2015.

External links

• Well, Just You Wait! on IMDb
• Nu, pogodi! at Animator.ru
• Nu, pogodi! episodes 1–16 and pilot on YouTube (Soyuzmultfilm's official channel)