June 26, 2020

The reboot of a classic Russian cartoon features some modern updates.

The classic cartoon “Ny pogodi!” is getting revamped in 2020, and, according to Soyuzmultfilm Director Boris Mashkovtsev, viewers should expect at least one significant change in the new episodes.

Whether you grew up watching it or first saw it in a Russian language class, we all remember that rascally wolf “Volk” chasing “Zayets” (a rabbit) with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Now, however, Volk will be cutting out this bad habit. “In the episodes for which stories are being created, Volk does not smoke at all," said Mashkovtsev. "If now Volk smokes, the information will be distorted, the audience themselves, no matter what they say now, will generally evaluate the fact of smoking in a different way.”

Volk quitting smoking isn’t the only big change coming to the reboot. Three new secondary characters are being introduced: the badger Tim, the hedgehog Shu, and the deer Ulya. According to Marina Malygina, Soyuzmultfilm press secretary, the original cartoon features multiple memorable secondary characters, such as a hippo and piglets. The new secondary characters are just a continuation of that experience, and are not meant to overtake the main characters, Volk and Zaets.

According to Malygina, “Badger Tim is a young sportsman, always on the move, kind and responsible. Hedgehog Shu is a small researcher with glasses, an inventor. Deer Ulya is an emotional beauty, active and positive. They will participate in the plot, but the main focus, of course, will remain Volk and Zaets.”

The reboot will still maintain the original’s slapstick comedy by relying more on actions than dialogues. And of course, the catchphrase “Ny, Zaets, pogodi” (“Well, Rabbit, just you wait”) will remain the same.

As to the timing of the reboot’s release, Mashkovtsev predicts it will be sometime in the second half of 2020. The director reminded fans that this is a creative process and that, “however long it takes, that’s how long it will take.”

Tags: smoking cartoons

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