The beginning

According to the story, Cheburashka is a funny little creature, unknown to science, who lives in the tropical forest. He accidentally gets into a crate of oranges, (possibly American or Australian as the crates are labeled in English) eats his fill, and falls asleep. Cheburashka is not a personal name; it is a species name invented by the puzzled director of the shop where he is found.

The salesman takes the animal out and sits him on the table, but his paws are numb after the long time spent in the crate, and he tumbles down ("cheburakhnulsya" (чебурахнулсЯ), a Russian colloquialism, "tumbled" in English) from the table onto the chair and then from the chair, where he could not sit, for the same reason, onto the floor. The director of the shop, who witnesses the scene, called him Cheburashka. Words with this root were archaic in Russian; Uspensky gave them a new lease on life.

  Friends

Cheburashka is male, has a bear-like body, large round ears, and is about the size of a 5-year-old child. In the tale, he hangs around with a friendly crocodile Gena, who wears a hat and a coat, walks on his hind legs and plays an accordion. He works in a zoo as a crocodile. Gena's favorite songs are "Birthdays Happen Only Once a Year" and "Blue Wagon".

In the cartoon, Cheburashka and Gena have their adventures made more difficult by a character named Old Lady Shapoklyak, from French chapeau claque, a kind of top hat. Shapoklyak is a mischievous but charming old lady. She is tall and thin, wears a hat and a dark-coloured dress, and carries around the rat-like creature С Lariska С in her purse to help her play pranks on people. The chorus of her theme song contains her motto, "One won't ever get famous for good deeds."

 
  Bookmark and Share

  Cheburashka

Cheburashka and Gena

Cheburashka is a Russian cartoons character, and there are several licensed products on the market, such as children's anecdotal books and stuffed toys. He is also one of the few Russian animation characters to be a subject of numerous Russian jokes and riddles. 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 nice as it is (e.g. a colloquial name for a small bottle of lemonade Р from brand name "Cheburashka"). Cheburashka has also been chosen as the official mascot for the Russian Olympic Team in the following games: * 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece * 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy (with white fur) * 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China (with red fur) * 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada (with blue fur) 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 approx. 700,000 Japanese between summer 2001 and spring 2002.