Masha and the Bear ( ) is a Russian preschool comedy computer-animated series created by Oleg Kuzovkov and produced by Animaccord Animation Studio, loosely based on the oral children's folk story of the same name. The show focuses on the adventures of a little girl named Masha and her caring friend, the bear (miška) that always keeps her safe from disasters.
Masha and The Bear is the most watched preschool series in the world, with 36 times more requests than the average. It is also the fifth most-watched youth series (0–18) worldwide, just ahead of Peppa Pig.
Many of the episodes have been successful on YouTube. In particular, the Russian-language version of the episode "Маша плюс каша" ("Maša plûs kaša" or "Recipe for Disaster") has almost 4.5 billion views as of April 2022, making it the site's twelfth most viewed video of all time, and the most viewed video on YouTube that is not a music video.
The show was first launched 2016 of June. It was the first Russian-produced animated TV show to be released in 4K.
Plot
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.
In each episode of the show, Masha is portrayed as a bright 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. 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, 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.
Characters
Main
Masha
Masha (a diminutive form of Maria) is a 4-year-old girl who is portrayed as naughty and hyperactive, and always thinks about playing. She lives in a house near a railway station; near her house there is a path that leads to the Bear's house. Masha loves the bear very much, but in her games she tends to create problems for him. In the series, neither Masha's parents nor the parents of her friends are shown. She loves sweets, jumping in a bucket, and looking at drawings of her and Bear. Masha's character combines the characteristics of 4-year-old (making grammatical errors when speaking, crying when she is not given what she wants) with adult skills (playing tennis, fishing, making preserves, playing electric guitar and throwing tantrums). In the episode "God Save the Queen", it is revealed that Masha has super strength, as she managed to pull a multi-ton train near her house just to give an elegant reception for the Lion King. She is voiced by Alina Kukushkina in Russian, and in English by Elsie Fisher. In subsequent seasons, Masha was dubbed by Rebecca Bloom (ep. 27–39), Angelica Keamy (ep. 40–52), Giulia De Carvalho (53-91), and now dubbed by Kaitlyn McCormick. She is usually shown wearing a white shirt under a purple dress with a purple hood covering her short hair.
Bear
The bear is a retired circus Kamchatka brown bear who lives in a house hollowed out of a tree in the forest. His past occupation makes him very talented in performing arts (like juggling, unicycling, and even stage magic) although he's also known to dabble into other hobbies and even some intellectual pursuits. Some episodes feature flashbacks in which he remembers his childhood as a cub in the same house. In the Russian-language version, Masha calls him "Mishka" (Russian: Мишка, a diminutive form of Russian name Misha, lit. "Mikey", fig. "Little Bear"), the traditional name given to bears in Russian tales. He is a huge bear with a big heart and he is Masha's father-like figure, as well as a friendly figure to her. He was voiced by Boris Kutnevich & Irina Kukushkina. He earlier also resided in Moscow.