I will not be surprised if the Little Creature would start speaking in Russian one of these days. Who knows, whatever it is that he’s babbling about these days, he must be babbling in Russian already.
He and I stumbled upon Masha and the Bear animated series while we were browsing through YouTube, while watching the Green Gummi Bear, Despicable Me Minions and Baby Einstein.
I did some research and found out that the animated series is based on a Russian folk tale of the same title. In the folk tale, Masha, the precocious child outsmarted the bear who wanted to keep her in his home. In the animated series, there’s this energetic, bouncy, mischievous little girl darting back and forth, here, there and everywhere, most of the time driving her animal friends, especially Bear (Mishka), nuts.
I guess one of the reasons why I love Masha and the Bear so much is because Masha’s antics, her quick little footsteps, her giggling, her curiosity, her boundless energy and of course, her bangs, remind me of the Little Creature. Probably, a lot of parents see their kids in Masha (and themselves in the Bear).
“Mishka! Mishka!” Masha calls her friend. I did some more research (ok, I’m officially obsessed!). Is it in reference to the 1980 Moscow Olympics Bear Mascot?
Watching the series in Youtube over and over has become our nightly ritual. I don’t even know anymore if we’re watching it for the Little Creature or for me.
All I could hear are lots of “zhvdskys” and “nyhks” and “shchkas” from Masha (Matryoshka! Babushka! Tetris! Perestroika! Ushanka! Eh, these are the only Russian words I know. Oh, wait, “medved” is bear, right?) but the show succeeds in getting the humor, charm, innocence, friendship, and good-naturedness across and in breaking down language barriers.
If I could understand Russian, or if only there are episodes in English (Action item for hubby: find out please!), I’m sure, whatever Masha is saying is even funnier.
Look at that funny face. It’s just oozing with cuteness.
Masha laughing makes the Little Creature laugh, too, especially during the opening sequence.
Masha sticking out her tongue makes the Little Creature laugh even harder.
Masha loves lollipops shaped like a rooster.
I love it when Masha says, “Oi! Oi! Oi!”
Masha in an Ushanka! What a delight!
Watching Elmo and Pocoyo every night with the Little Creature would drive me crazy but I could watch Masha and the Bear over and over and over.
Forty Eleven Thousand Things 
Mishka is what we call a bear… it’s sort of hard to explain, but medved is a bear, and mishka is also bear… something you would call a bear when you like the bear. Hmmm. I am not making sense.
Ok, one’s name could be, say, Carla – but if you like the person, you might call her Carlush. Or Carlita. It’s nice.
Same with medved and mishka. Nothing to do with the Olympics 🙂
Mishka, Misha, is also a form of the male name Mikhail – the Russian equivalent of Michael.
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like a term of endearment? thanks for the explanation. I want to know more about the series but the sites about it that are in English seem very limited. We’re so hooked on the series. These days, I find myself humming to the music and the songs. Masha’s expressions really crack up my son. 🙂
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Yes, endearment.
I haven’t watched them yet myself – but from what I’ve heard, the dialogues are cleverly written to appeal to grown-ups, the subtle meaning of which is lost on the kiddies. So everyone can enjoy.
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I discovered “Masha i Medved” by accident when trying to find a russian cartoon for my son. My wife always wanted to show him lovely but old cartoons from 1970’s and 1980’s. I do not deny that Soyouzfilm cartoons are lovely and very nice, but Masha is sooooo fun ! Moreover, my son who is almost 1year 1/2 old now, is really like her in the daily life: running everywhere, making us crazy but lol too, laughing all the time and loud, doing many things he should not…
Now, we are all watching Masha at home when it’s lunch time for our son. The problem is that we are ALL watching the movie, and nobody eats…. :))))))
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Exactly! Masha reminds me of my son, too, that is why I myself love watching the cartoons. 🙂
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Hi there every one, here every person is sharing these
kinds of experience, therefore it’s good to read this website, and I used to pay a quick visit this web site everyday.
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We have recently discovered Masha also and are completely hooked. I’m pretty sure my 17month old is also speaking Russian. In some of the episodes she points and says ” yonka, yonka” she does it a lot in the one where she ruins mishka’s Christmas tree and details Santa. My 4 year old has been saying it all over but we have no idea what it means. It’s good to know there are others out there that share this obsession!
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My little one seems to have moved on but i could watch the episodes over and over and over… 🙂
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I do not have kids, but love to watch this cartoon. So happy to learn that I’m not the only obsessed one 🙂 . Love your blog!!!
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I love this show. I found it when my wife was watching videos of Kinder Surprise eggs being opened and we saw a toy of the rabbit. I thought it looked like Rocko from his Modern Life, but whatev. One day, I decided to watch it with my near-two-year-old daughter to she if she’d go for it, and so far it’s kept her interest for quite a while. It’s hilarious and adorable, and of course Masha reminds me of my li’l babypie.
Bonus: I’ve been trying to teach myself the Cyrillic alphabet off and on for a while (if time would allow it) and Masha i Medved does kinda help.
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We also used to watch videos of Kinder Surprise and other sorts of eggs with toys inside 🙂 my toddler has moved on to the usual things little boys like (dragons, dinosaurs…) so I really miss watching Masha n Medved.
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