Cheburashka (film)

Cheburashka (Russian: Чебурашка, Cheburashka) is a 1971^[1] Soviet/Russian animated film directed by Roman Kachanov.

Awards

• 1971 — the All-Union film festival — a prize and an award for the best animated film
• 1972 — "A song of a crocodile of Gena" — the winner of the Song of Year festival, after a standing and long ovation, to organizers of a festival was necessary to allow to give an encore of the song (the rare occurence in the history of "Songs of year")

Plot summary

Cheburashka wishes Crocodile Gena a happy birthday and gives him a toy helicopter as a gift. After meeting some pioneers, they decide to be pioneers themselves. They build a playground for the local children and collect scrap metal, after which they become pioneers.

Creators

• Film director: Roman Kachanov
• Scriptwriters: Eduard Uspensky, Roman Kachanov
• Art director: Leonid Shvartsman
• Operator: Theodor Bunimovich
• Composer: Vladimir Shainsky
• Sound technician: Georgy Martynyuk
• Animators: Yuriy Norshteyn, Maya Buzinova, Natalya Dabizha

Cast

• Klara Rumyanova as Cheburashka
• Vasily Livanov as Gena the Crocodile
• Vladimir Ferapontov as Gena (singing voice)
• Tamara Dmitrieva as Pioneers

Soundtrack

This film opens with a song called "Let Them Run Clumsily" (Rus:Пусть бегут неуклюже) of Vladimir Shainsky on Alexander Timofeevsky's words sounds, which is a popular birthday song in Russia.

Popularity

• After a release of the first movies about the Cheburashka — it became very popular in the USSR.
• Since then the Cheburashka — the hero of many Russian jokes.
• At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens it was chosen as a mascot of Russian Olympic national team.
• At the 2006 Winter Olympics a symbol of the Russian National team the Cheburashka changed clothes in white winter fur. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing the Cheburashka was "dressed" in red fur.
• At the winter Olympic Games 2010 the Cheburashka mascot became the owner of blue fur.

Monuments to the Cheburashka

• The monument representing the Cheburashka, Gena the crocodile and Shapoklyak is established in 2005 in the city of Ramenskoye situated near Podmoskovye (sculptor Oleg Yershov). Also a monument to the Cheburashka it was planned to establish in 2007 in Nizhny Novgorod.
• One more monument to a crocodile of Gena and the Cheburashka, along with sculptures of other heroes of the Soviet animated films, is established in Khabarovsk near city ponds, near the ice arena.
• Also the monument to the Cheburashka and Gena the crocodile is established to Kremenchuk (The Poltava Region, Ukraine).
• On the small market "HTZ" to Kharkov (Ukraine) near booths with confectionery there are monuments of heroes of the Soviet animated films and fairy tales. Among them there is also a monument of the Cheburashka and Gena the Crocodile.
• In Rostov-on-Don in park of Ostrovsky, at the left near a main entrance there are plaster sculptures of a crocodile of Gena and Cheburashka.

Interesting facts

• In the first animated film "Gena the Crocodile" the editorial board of "Soyuzmultfilm" connected with ideological department of KGB saw analogy to construction of CMEA in construction of a lodge of friends, and the movie was distributed with the lowest third category therefore the film group didn't get an award for the movie, and the picture wasn't recommended for a wide release.
• Absurd claims of an editorial board were and to the second movie "Cheburashka". Expressed opinion that this movie discredits the pioneer organization. On request of editing the director of the movie Roman Kachanov inserted a remark into a picture: "In pioneers take the best".
• The song of the Crocodile of Gena was translated into the Finnish language, and also on Japanese, English, German, Swedish, Bulgarian, Polish and other languages. In all these countries Roman Kachanov's movies "Gena the Crocodile", "Cheburashka" and "Shapoklyak" at different times came out.
• In 2003 at the Tokyo international fair of animation the Japanese firm SP International got at "Soyuzmultfilm" of the right for distribution in Japan of animated films about the Cheburashka till 2023.
• In the 1990th years Eduard Uspensky got the rights for the Cheburashka trademark used earlier in such goods as candies and children's cosmetics.
• Into English the Cheburashka was translated as "Topple"
• Since 2004 the Cheburashka became a mascot of Russian Olympic national team.
• On May 29, 2008 in the territory of kindergarten number 2550 in East administrative district of Moscow the museum of the Cheburashka was open.

References

External links

• At Worldcinemadirectory
• Cheburashka at Animator.ru
• Cheburashka at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Cheburashka at the Internet Movie Database