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46-482: Cheburashka (Russian: Чебурашка , IPA: [tɕɪbʊˈraʂkə] ), also known as Topple in earlier English translations, is a fictional character created by Soviet writer Eduard Uspensky in his 1965 children's book Gena the Crocodile and His Friends . The character subsequently appeared as the protagonist in a series of stop-motion animated films directed by Roman Kachanov for Soyuzmultfilm ,

92-597: A city and are hand puppets operated in live action rather than stop motion. Only occasionally Swedish public service TV would broadcast a segment of the Russian original, dubbed in Swedish. While many Swedes may visually recognize Cheburashka, they will generally not associate these characters with the ones Russian children know. The first episode premiered in 1973. Around 600 to 700 episodes were shown in Sweden in total, in

138-431: A cub, who lives in a tropical forest. He accidentally gets into a crate of oranges, eats his fill, and falls asleep. The crate is eventually delivered to a grocery store in an unnamed Russian city (hinted to be Moscow), where the rest of the main story unfolds. The puzzled store manager finds the creature in the crate when he opens it; he takes him out and sits him on the table. The creature's paws are numb after staying in

184-487: A hat, a bow tie, and a coat, and plays the accordion. Gena works in a zoo as a zoo animal. Gena's favorite songs are "Such a Pity that One's Birthday Happens Only Once a Year" and "The Blue Train Car", both of which are extremely popular with children. Cheburashka and Gena have their adventures made more difficult by a character named "Старуха Шапокляк" (Old Lady Shapoklyak ). She is a mischievous but charming old lady. Shapoklyak

230-635: A playwright, screenwriter and TV presenter. His works have been translated into 25 languages and spawned around 60 cartoon adaptations. Among the characters he created are Cheburashka and Gena the Crocodile , Uncle Fyodor and Kolobki brothers . He was awarded Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" , 4th class in 1997. Uspensky was born in Yegoryevsk , in Moscow Oblast into a Russian family. His father Nikolai Mikhailovich Uspensky came from

276-399: A series of many years and the last episode was screened as a special in 1988. The animated series was broadcast on Sveriges Television . Cheburashka is male, has a bear-like body, and is about the size of a 5-year-old child. He is a toddling creature with huge round ears on the side of his head that droop when he is discouraged. He has feet without legs, big black eyes, a snub nose. His voice

322-578: A trip to the Soviet Union, so they were visually identical to Cheburashka and Gena. "Drutten" means "one who has tumbled down", as one meaning of the Swedish colloquial verb "drutta" is "to fall or tumble down". In the TV series Drutten och Jena  [ sv ] , also Drutten och Krokodilen , the two characters sang and told different stories from those in the USSR, lived on a bookshelf rather than in

368-466: Is (e.g. a colloquial name for a small bottle of lemonade – from the brand name "Cheburashka"). There is also a rocket launcher called Cheburashka, used during the Russo-Ukrainian war . In the 1990 satirical claymation film Grey Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood , produced by Garri Bardin , Grey Wolf eats Gena and Cheburashka, along with other fantasy characters. Cheburashka

414-616: Is a complete remake of the original Gena the Crocodile cartoon, while the three others ("Cheburashka and the Circus" and two episodes of "Shapoklyak's Consultation Center") have different stories. The Russian-language compilation film of the Japanese remake shorts also titled Cheburashka  [ ru ] premiered in Russia on 5 June 2014, but the distribution was temporarily revoked due to copyright dispute with Eduard Uspensky Later

460-420: Is also one of the few Russian animation characters to be the subject of numerous Russian jokes and riddles. The popularity of Cheburashka grew a lot after it became an animated film. The word "Cheburashka" is also used in a figurative sense to name objects that somehow resemble the creature (such as an An-72 aircraft which, when seen from the front, resembles the character's head) or are just as pleasing as it

506-671: Is high-pitched and childlike. Cheburashka is an optimist as he only sees the best in people and is chirpy even in the gloomiest situation. Sergei Kapkov, animation historian and managing editor of Soyuzmultfilm, has said that Cheburashka "is absolutely useless and hopeless. He is like a stranger who doesn't understand a thing but just has one global idea, and that is to make friends and have others ... make friends with each other". For Leonid Katz, an art historian in Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, Israel, Cheburashka represents

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552-444: Is shared by both channels, but the premiere launch was expected on Russia-1 . YBW is responsible for financing the project; according to preliminary data, production costs were to amount to at least 600 million rubles . The film contains a large amount of computer graphics. Cheburashka himself was created using motion capture technology. It was integrated into the film using the full CG blending method. Principal photography of

598-402: Is tall and thin, wears a chapeau claque hat and a dark-coloured dress, and carries around a pet rat, Lariska, in her purse to help her play pranks on people, though near the end of some stories she turns around and helps the protagonists. The refrain of her theme song contains her motto, "One won't ever get famous for good deeds" Russian : Хорошими делами прославиться нельзя . The rights to

644-492: Is the highest grossing film in the Russian box office history. Olga Kuzmina voiced Cheburashka, while Sergei Garmash portrayed Gena, a gardener (the film version of Crocodile Gena). In the 1970s a number of children's television shows, radio shows, records and magazines were produced in Sweden with the characters Drutten and crocodile Jena (Gena). These two characters were based on a couple of Cheburashka and Gena dolls bought on

690-418: Is the message of his stories, which stress that where you're from doesn't matter as much as kindness. Cheburashka is an iconic Russian cartoon-character who later became a popular figure in Russian jokes (along with his friend, Gena the Crocodile ). According to the creator of the character, Eduard Uspensky, Cheburashka is an "animal unknown to science", with large monkey-like ears and a body resembling that of

736-694: Is the song "Balloon", which was performed by the Russian band "My Michelle", and the songwriter is Tatyana Tkachuk. The song was released on digital platforms on January 1, 2023. Cheburashka premiered on December 23, 2022 at the Karo October 11 cinema center in Moscow on New Arbat Avenue , and the wide release in the Russian Federation was for January 1, 2023 with the help of Central Partnership . The film earned back its initial budget of 850 million rubles in three days, subsequently becoming

782-449: The "ideal". As he notes: "In the film he is completely innocent. He represents all that was lost, all that was maybe impossible, all that was dreamed of". After being turned down by the zoo as an "animal unknown to science", Cheburashka gets hired as a window display for a discount store selling factory seconds because he resembles one, residing in a phone booth. In the tale, he befriends an anthropomorphic crocodile named Gena , who wears

828-465: The Cheburashka character and image have been heavily debated in court. In 1994, Eduard Uspensky (the writer) copyrighted the character's name and image and proceeded to sell the rights to various countries. Leonid Shvartsman , the art director of the animated films, has tried to prove in court that he was the creator of Cheburashka's visual appearance and that this copyright should be separate from

874-528: The Cheburashka films (as part of the " Ghibli Museum Library ") were made available to Japanese cinemas on the same date as Hayao Miyazaki 's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea . An English-dubbed edition of the first 3 animated films was released in 1987, titled The Adventures of Charlie and Cubby . During the 2018 Armenian protests Cheburashka was used from many protesters as a symbol to mock Serzh Sargsyan due to

920-460: The Polish uprisings. In 1941 with the start of the war the family was evacuated to Siberia where they spent two years. They returned to Moscow later on. After graduating as an engineer, Uspensky earned his living by writing and producing animations. Besides writing and producing, Uspensky has enjoyed a professional role as a long-lasting figure in radio and television. He was among the founders of

966-475: The animal to the festival, where Rimma plans to launch a candy-filled rocket. At night, Gena sneaks into a tent to apologize to the animal for abandoning him and shares memories of his late wife, Lyuba. The animal forgives him, and they plan to leave, but Grisha accidentally gets trapped inside the rocket set to launch. The animal heroically rescues Grisha by gliding down with him just before the rocket explodes. The next day, Gena, his family, and friends celebrate

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1012-432: The animal's birthday, where the animal reveals his new name, "Cheburashka," derived from the sound he makes when falling. Rimma, now remorseful and stripped of custody of Sonya, apologizes to Gena's family. Gena forgives her and invites her to join the celebration, where she plays a song on the harmonica. In a post-credits scene, Gena and Cheburashka ride a motorcycle and are stopped by a policeman, who orders, "Take that off

1058-470: The animal, while the farmers manage to escape. Meanwhile, on the Black Sea Coast of Russia , an elderly gardener named Gena works at the arboretum and struggles to mend his strained relationship with his daughter, Tanya. Tanya lives with her husband Tolya and their son Grisha in a small chocolate shop as they prepare for an annual festival. Gena's life becomes more difficult when he insults Rimma,

1104-428: The animal’s presence amazes him and prompts him to speak for the first time. This newfound bond encourages Gena to teach the animal to speak and read, which helps repair his relationship with Tanya. However, trouble arises when Rimma's associate, Larion, steals Tanya's prized chocolate recipe book. Tanya and Tolya consider withdrawing from the festival, but Gena, with the help of his friend Valera, convinces Rimma to return

1150-430: The book in exchange for the animal, which Rimma’s granddaughter Sonya adores. Though reluctant, Gena makes the exchange, recalling how he had to part with Tanya when she was young. Despite retrieving the book, Tanya resents Gena for giving up the animal. Determined to make amends, Gena and his friends – Valera, an ice cream vendor named Galya, and others – plan a rescue mission. They find out that Rimma and Sonya have taken

1196-553: The city of Yelets and was a distant relative of Tikhon Khrennikov . He served as a high-ranking official in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . Eduard's mother Natalia Alekseyevna Uspenskaya ( nee Dzurova) was an engineering technologist from Vyshny Volochyok . She came from a merchantry social estate . Her paternal ancestors were Poles who were resettled in Russia after one of

1242-494: The crate for so long, and he tumbles down ( чебурахнулся , cheburakhnulsya , a Russian colloquialism meaning "tumbled") from the table, onto the chair, and then onto the floor. This inspires the store manager to name him Cheburashka . Words with this root were archaic in Russian; Uspensky gave them a new lease on life. The Explanatory Dictionary of the Live Great Russian language (1882) of Vladimir Dahl gives

1288-483: The distribution certificate was restored. The Russian titles of the episodes in it are «Чебурашка и цирк» ( Cheburashka and the Circus ), «Чебурашка идет в зоопарк» ( Cheburashka Goes to the Zoo ) и «Советы Шапокляк» ( Advices of Shapoklyak ). A full-length film titled Cheburashka , directed by Dmitry Dyachenko , with Central Partnership and Yellow, Black and White producing, was released on 1 January 2023. Cheburashka

1334-625: The dog Sharik, the three set up a home in the country, a village called Prostokvashino (Простоквашино, from the Russian for buttermilk , простоквашa). After finding a treasure, Uncle Fyodor can afford to buy a tractor that runs on soup and potatoes, and a portable sun to do the heating during the winter. The book was made into a successful animated film, Three from Prostokvashino (and its two sequels). Uspensky continued with Uncle Fyodor in other books, which have not, however, been as successful. Uspensky published other books with human-like animal characters. Cheburashka (2023 film) Cheburashka

1380-685: The film started in September 2021 in Sochi , Krasnodar Krai , using the Sochi Arboretum park, on the sea embankment and the Sanatorium named after G.K. Ordzhonikidze were used as locations. The filmmakers moved to the cities of Pyatigorsk , Kislovodsk and Yessentuki , Stavropol Krai , and then to Moscow for field recordings. The creators specifically chose such places to create a sense of timelessness. The soundtrack for this film

1426-463: The film's success, Soyuzmultfilm signed a deal to produce a sequel. The film begins in an orange grove in Spain , where farmers are picking oranges. A mysterious, furry animal with large ears that loves to eat oranges appears and begins stealing them. Frustrated, the farmers set a trap with oranges as bait and successfully capture the creature. However, a sudden hurricane sweeps away all the oranges and

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1472-422: The first of which was made in 1969, with songs composed by Vladimir Shainsky . Even today Cheburashka is still renowned in the former Soviet Union, and has been called the "Soviet Mickey Mouse" by external observers. Although only four short animated films have been produced featuring Cheburashka, he is still a national symbol in the former USSR and Russia, and is famous outside of it. One reason for his popularity

1518-413: The highest-grossing film in the history of the Russian box office. On January 5, film screenings were attended by 1.2 million viewers, and the fees for that day amounted to 396.5 million rubles. As of January 6, 2023, the film's box office receipts amounted to more than 2 billion rubles, as the sixth film of domestic production that has overcome this threshold. The film is one of only 13 films to have passed

1564-473: The longest-running Russian children's TV show Good Night, Little Ones! and the popular radio program Radio Nanny produced with the aim of featuring songs and humorous dialogue as integral elements of an educational radio program explaining concepts in grammar, mathematics, scientific subjects, and courteous behavior to children. From 1991 to 2016 he hosted the musical TV and radio talk show Ships Used to Enter Our Harbour where he and his guests recollected

1610-588: The meaning of "cheburashka" as another name for the roly-poly toy . Soviet censors tried to stifle the Cheburashka films, because they made fun of nitpicking bureaucrats, factory directors, and the Young Pioneers ; Cheburashka and Gena couldn't join the Young Pioneers because they didn't know how to start a Pioneers' bonfire and could not march. The phrase "only the best can be on the Pioneers"

1656-399: The rights for the literary character. On 13 March 2007, Shvartsman and his lawyer lost a 4.7 million ruble lawsuit against BRK Cosmetics and Eduard Uspensky. Shvartsman alleged that Uspensky illegally sold the rights to the Cheburashka image (which was allegedly not his to sell) to BRK Cosmetics, which used it on toothpaste packaging. The defence argued that the artist who drew the character for

1702-406: The similarity on their appearance. Among others, during a protest, a protester masqueraded as Cheburashka urged Sargsyan to resign, while another one lit his on fire. Eduard Uspensky Eduard Nikolayevich Uspensky (Russian: Эдуард Николаевич Успенский ; 22 December 1937 – 14 August 2018) was a Soviet and Russian children's writer and poet, author of over 70 books, as well as

1748-611: The so-called street folklore, which included Russian chanson and blatnaya pesnya . The songs were performed by both professional and amateur singers, politicians, actors and people of various occupations. In addition to children's books, Uspensky's creative output also includes plays and poems. Uspensky was diagnosed with stomach cancer 10 years before his death, which later went into remission in 2011 after chemotherapy treatment. His cancer later re-emerged and he succumbed to it on 14 August 2018 in his country house (Puchkovo village, part of Moscow's Troitsky Administrative Okrug ). He

1794-493: The strict headmistress of the local chocolate factory, putting his job at risk. After the hurricane, oranges begin falling throughout the city, and the furry animal finds its way to Gena's home. Mistaking Gena’s orange helmet for a giant orange, the animal causes chaos before Gena captures him. Initially resistant, Gena gradually warms up to the creature and decides to keep him, calling him a " Belarusian Shepherd Dog" when questioned by others. During Grisha's birthday celebration,

1840-417: The toothpaste had never seen the animated films and had created the character himself after the impressions left from reading Uspensky's books. Shvartsman argued that the character on the packets was allegedly an exact copy of the one in the animated films. Cheburashka is now a staple of Russian cartoons, and there are several licensed products on the market, such as children's joke books and stuffed toys. He

1886-420: The two billion ruble mark. Cheburashka became the highest-grossing Russian film in the history of domestic distribution, having collected more than 3.09 billion rubles, and the highest-grossing film in the history of Russian film distribution, outperforming James Cameron's Avatar . The amount of fees exceeded 4 billion rubles. During the month of January, the film was watched by over 20 million Russians, and

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1932-543: The wheel." Cheburashka responds indignantly, "I am not an 'it'!" Dmitry Dyachenko directed the film. Yuliana Slashcheva is the chairman of the board of the Soyuzmultfilm film studio, and Eduard Iloyan is the general producer of Yellow, Black and White studio. They were engaged in the creation of the cartoon in tandem with the STS and Russia-1 channels. The start of filming was scheduled for 2021. The film adaptation

1978-567: Was added as a compromise. Cheburashka Arere? was released by GoHands in Japan, 26 episodes, 2009–2010. In 2007, the new animation, titled Cheburashka was announced by Ffango Entertoyment of South Korea and TV Tokyo Broadband and Frontier Works of Japan. Directed by Makoto Nakamura and written by Mikhail Aldashin  [ ru ] and Michiru Shimada , the animation  [ ja ] premiered on 8 December 2010 in Japan. It consisted of four shorts. One ("Hello Cheburashka")

2024-485: Was buried at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery . Uspensky's first book about Uncle Fyodor, Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat , was first published in Russian in 1974. The main character is a six-year-old boy who is referred to as 'Uncle Fyodor' because he appears serious-minded, self-reliant and responsible. After his parents don't let him keep Matroskin, a talking cat, Uncle Fyodor leaves his home. With

2070-541: Was chosen as the official mascot with the main mascots for the Russian Olympic Team in the following games: Cheburashka also became known in some countries outside the former Soviet Union (and of the Soviet Bloc ). He became very popular in Japan after an animated film series about him was shown in 15 cinemas all over Japan and was watched by about 700,000 between summer 2001 and spring 2002. In 2008,

2116-583: Was theatrically released in Russia on January 1, 2023, by Central Partnership . The film grossed more than 225 million rubles on the first day of release, and 837 million rubles in the first three days. After fifteen days of release, the film had already earned over 4 billion rubles, making it the highest-grossing Russian film . It also became the first film to gross more than ₽ 5 billion. Cheburashka received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics and audiences. Critics highly praised its visual effects, but criticized it's predictable story. Following

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