Niue 1 Dollar Silver Coin 2010 Hare and Wolf
Cartoon Characters Series
Obverse: A profile portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In the central part of the coin: a stylized image of the celluloid with selected scenes depicting interesting cartoon characters. To the left, at the top, along the edge the inscription: ELIZABETH II, to the right: 1 Dollar, the mark of the Mint: MW. At the bottom the inscription: Niue Island.
Reverse: In the central part of the coin: the characters of the Wolf and Hare (depicted using pad printing), with the celluloid in the background and selected frames from the cartoon. At the top the inscription in Russian: Ну, погоди! (Nu, pogodi!).
Country: Niue Islands.
Year: 2010.
Face Value: 1 Dollar.
Metal: Silver.
Fineness: 925/1000.
Weight: 14,14 g.
Diameter: 32,0 mm.
Mintage: 8000.
Certificate COA: Yes.
Cartoon Characters Series
Scooby-Doo Yogi Bear Tweety Reksio Bolek and Lolek Hare and Wolf
Nu, pogodi!
Nu, pogodi! (Russian: Ну, погоди!; "Well, Just You Wait!") is a Soviet/Russian animated series produced by Soyuzmultfilm. The series debuted in 1969 and became popular in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries. The latest episode was produced in 2006.
The series follows the comical adventures of a mischievous yet artistic wolf, Wolf (Волк), trying to catch—and presumably eat—a hare, Bunny (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's clothing is much less varied than the Wolf's. He is nearly always seen in the same green T-shirt and blue shorts. However, in the prologue of Episode 8 he appears in an ice-skating outfit, and later on in this episode he is dressed as Ded Moroz, a character not typically performed by young boys, which makes the scene deliberately absurd (it becomes even more absurd when the Wolf joins dressed as 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. The character was originally voiced by Anatoli Papanov.
On the other hand, many of the Wolf's attempts to catch the Hare are often characterized by uncanny abilities on his part (including figure skating, ballet, gymnastics and waltzing) for humorous contrast. The Wolf can also play the guitar very well and ride the powerful rocker motorbike.
His most common line throughout the series is "Nu, pogodi!", which he says in various situations when things are not going the way as he expected. At the end of an episode (and at the end of the pre-title introduction), the Wolf usually, but not generally recites "Nu, Zayats, nu pogodi!" (Well, Hare, just you wait!), which is a trademark of the series.
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's image slowly denigrates into a more cartoonish and less criminal persona. In the latest 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 has also adopted a lot of cowardly attitudes in many situations since the first episodes, which more or less oppose his initial 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). 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). Humorously, all of his bottom clothes have 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 two final episodes he resumes his earlier hairstyle of episodes 1-16.
In Episode 8, the Wolf appears in the drag, impersonating the Snow Maiden.
Production 1960s to 1980s
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 Vesolaya karusel ("Merry Carousel", ru:Весёлая карусель) 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.