“Masha and the Bear” is a Russian preschool comedy computer-animated television series that was created by Oleg Kuzovkov and produced by Animaccord Animation Studio. It is loosely based on the oral children’s folk story of the same name. The series follows the adventures of a little girl named Masha and her caring friend, a bear (miška), who always keeps her safe from disasters.
“Masha and the Bear” holds the distinction of being the most watched preschool series in the world, receiving 36 times more requests than the average. It is also the fifth most-watched youth series (ages 0-18) globally, ranking just ahead of “Peppa Pig” [1].
The show has gained significant popularity on YouTube, with several episodes achieving great success. One notable example is the Russian-language episode “Маша плюс каша” (“Maša plûs kaša” or “Recipe for Disaster”), which has garnered nearly 4.5 billion views as of April 2022. This makes it the twelfth most-viewed video of all time on YouTube and the most-viewed non-music video [2].
The series consists of six seasons, with Season 5, launched in June 2020, being the first Russian-produced animated TV show to be released in 4K resolution [citation needed].
Masha is a four-year-old girl who lives in the forest with her pig, goat, and dog. In the first episode, it is shown that all the animals in the forest are afraid of her, as she is constantly forcing them to play with her. Then Masha sees a butterfly and inadvertently follows it inside the home of the Bear, who has gone fishing. While playing there, she makes a big mess. When he returns, he sees the disaster caused by Masha. The Bear tries to get rid of Masha but after multiple failed attempts, the unlikely duo become friends.[3]
In each episode of the show, Masha is portrayed as a bright but mischievous little girl who loves exploring the world around her. Masha’s shenanigans result in unexpected but entertaining situations that are at the heart of the show’s episodes. The kind-hearted Bear is always trying to keep Masha out of trouble, but often ends up the unintended victim of her mischief. There are several supporting characters in the series, including Masha’s cousin Dasha, a penguin adopted by the Bear, a young panda cub from China (the Bear’s cousin), two wolves who live in an old UAZ ambulance car, a tiger that used to work with the Bear in the circus, and a Female Bear that is the object of the Bear’s affections. Characters also include a hare, squirrels and hedgehogs, a pig called Rosie, a goat, and a dog who all live in Masha’s front yard.[4]