Masha and the Bear 1.1.1 - How They Met

Two years ago I wrote about the Russian TV series "Masha and the Bear", and I said I felt tempted to review the series, episode by episode. I soon changed my mind. I'd never reviewed any TV series in detail. After my experience writing about "Smallville" I've decided to start at last. It's a relatively small series, with only 92 episodes of six minutes each. I've watched the episodes with my grandson Oliver many times over in random order, but now I intend to watch them in order. When I say "in order", I mean the order in which they've been put in Netflix. This isn't the same order that they were originally broadcast on Russian television, but it's close enough. Netflix has put the episodes in groups of three.

The first episode, "How they met", was first broadcast on 7th January 2009 and introduces the main characters. Masha is a young girl who lives in a disused railway station. The series' creator, Oleg Kuzovkov, says that she's three years old, but she seems too precocious for that age. I'd estimate her age as closer to five or six. Why does she live alone? That's a question we shouldn't ask. It's a fantasy, a fairy tale, so we shouldn't ask about her parents. She doesn't live completely alone. She shares her home with a dog, a goat, a pig and a few hens.

While wandering through the forest she comes upon the house of a brown bear, who also lives alone. He used to be a performer in the Moscow Circus, but now he's retired. He wants to live a quiet life without any disturbances, so Masha is a shock to him. She's playful and mischievous. He's unable to calm her down. His feelings towards her are mixed. At times he's so annoyed that he wants to be rid of her, but in his loneliness he's happy to have her around and develops feelings for her. In the future episodes we rarely see Masha at home, she's always at the bear's house. Maybe I should call him Bear with a capital B.

Is "Masha and the Bear" a children's programme? Yes and No. It's amusing to small children, especially the slapstick scenes, but it's very cleverly written with scenes that only adults can understand. If you insist on calling it a children's programme, it's the best children's programme ever made. Oliver has sat watching it for hours, ever since he was three. I always watched his videos over his shoulder, and "Masha and the Bear" fascinated me from the start. I could see that it's more than a normal children's programme.

Despite the episodes only lasting six minutes each, there's gradual character development as the series continues. I'll write about the characters as they appear. Some are regulars, while others only appear rarely, but there's continuity.

If you haven't yet watched "Masha and the Bear", I strongly recommend it. Watch it with your children or watch it by yourself. It's worth it. "Masha and the Bear" is the best TV series ever to come out of Russia.

As you can see, the artwork is perfect. It's created by a team of 70 artists and animation experts. It's incredible. Even with a team this large, each six-minute episode needs about three months to complete. The series is still ongoing, but be patient while you're waiting for new episodes.