Tom & Jerry vs. Nu Pagodi!

Every once in a while you just need to appreciate old school cartoons.

In this post I'll give you a little blast from the past and possibly culture shock. Below are two cartoons that are very similar in their plot and concept of survival of the fittest so to speak. One may be more familiar to the majority of readers, the other to some more than others. I've provided a little background before each clip (thanks wiki).

Note the slight, yet ever present differences in the American vs. Russian cartoon.

Enjoy.

Tom and Jerry is an American series of theatrical animated cartoon films created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, centering on a never-ending rivalry between a cat (Tom) and a mouse (Jerry) whose chases and battles often involved comic violence. Hanna and Barbera ultimately wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry shorts at the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood, California between 1940 and 1957.

Nu, pogodi! [Ну, погоди!] which translates to "Well, Just You Wait!" is a Soviet/Russian animated series produced by Soyuzmultfilm. The series was created in 1969 and became a popular cartoon of the Soviet Union. The series follows the comical adventures of a mischievous yet artistic wolf trying to catch (and presumably eat) a hare.

"Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”

Alright - I know I'm not the only one who is kind of (really) excited about Winnie the Pooh the movie coming out on July 15th. Kudos to the person who decided to bring this classic back and into theaters. The world needs more genuine, old school cartoons. I'll drop a little knowledge in his honor. Pooh was born in 1924 as a character in a poem called "Teddy Bear" by A. A. Milne. By 1926 he had an entire book written about him and his buddies called Winnie-the-Pooh (what are the chances?).

When Milne died in 1953 his wife kept Pooh alive and gave him away to Walt Disney (in exchange for royalties), who released multiple animated productions beginning in 1966.

So he's been around for a while. A lot of us grew up with this little wise guy. Well, a lot of you grew up with him. As much as I love Winnie the Pooh, he was not the first bear I was introduced to. I grew up in Russia (and then in a very Russian setting when I came over to NY).  While you guys were hanging out with Pooh Bear, I was watching Vinni Puh (created by Soyuzmultfilm in 1969)... 

  

Oh! The places you'll go.

I wouldn't say that I'm always looking for inspiration. That's because I don't like to say that I'm really ever looking for anything. Looking insinuates exerting a conscious effort which can end up putting me into a stressful situation, and that's not what inspiration is about at all. Inspiration should come easily.

Rather than looking for inspiration, I prefer to think that I am simply perpetually open to it. There are so many incredible people in this world and our prerogative is to take a little bit of perspective from everyone. Some of my most admired people who I can go on about for days on end include Buddha, Albert Einstein, Socrates - but today there is someone particular in mind who I'd like to dedicate a post to. His name is Theodor Seuss Geisel. Otherwise known as Dr. Seuss.

What I find so astounding about Dr. Seuss is not only his views on every day things, but his methodology of sharing them. He took some pretty powerful ideas and over time shared them via 46 timeless childrens books. Being able to relay such strong life lessons to little kids is truly a talent. Who hasn't heard "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."? Or "“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Good for kids, but enjoyable at any age because let's be serious - there's a little kid in all of us.

I've put together a few of my own personal favorites.