Cheburashka

( Listen russian Чебурашка? / I ) Cheburashka is a film and fictional character, originally from the Soviet Union. Was invented in the figure of the Russian children's author Eduard Uspensky, who is known for his humorous and politically unencumbered writing style in Russia. Cheburashka first appeared in the film by the great Russian animator novel Katschanow in 1969. It is a fantasy animal with oversized ears, a friendly face and a shaggy brown coat. The name is the colloquial Russian verb чебурахнуться ( tscheburachnutsja, German fall ) borrowed: and when the animal is first discovered, it falls over and over again, as it is seated. In the German edition of the children's book Cheburashka is translated Kullerchen (1974) and plop (1988).

To figure

Cheburashka is found from a fruiterer in an orange crate, he probably comes from the tropics. He is a science so far completely unknown animal, probably he fell asleep after eating oranges in the box and was transported to his new home. He has brown fur and very large ears. The greengrocer brings Cheburashka first to the zoo, which the animal does not want to record. Cheburashka now comes to a shopkeeper, for which he is to work in the shop window, and lives in a phone booth. As the lone crocodile Gena seeks friends and hang up for this purpose piece of paper in the city, Cheburashka and Gena meet and live together from now on.

While coming in the book for the Soviet Union before typical persons and things, just is not refined to the country or city of this earth it is. Crocodile Gena lived in a very large city and was employed as a crocodile at the zoo. A mischievous grandmother called Chapeau Claque - plays the two always bad tricks.

For new awareness came Cheburashka, when he was declared the official mascot for the Russian Olympic team for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in 2004. Also at the Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006, he was - but with white fur - the mascot of the Russian participants. In 2008, he was with red fur mascot of Russian national team at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 and 2010 with blue fur at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. At the Olympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi, Russia will be Cheburashka as a mascot in all three national colors.

Cheburashka is still to be found today as a plush toy in the states of the former Soviet Union. Since 2001, there Cheburashka in Japan.

• Crocodile Gena and his Friends ( Крокодил Гена и его друзья ) ( 1966) - Book ( E. Uspensky )
• Cheburashka and his friends ( Чебурашка и его друзья ) ( 1970) - play (E. Uspensky and R. Katschanow )
• Crocodile Gena on vacation ( Отпуск крокодила Гены ) ( 1974) - play (E. Uspensky and R. Katschanow )
• The business of the crocodile Gena ( Бизнес крокодила Гены ) ( 1992) - Book ( E. Uspensky )

German editions

• Cheburashka and Crocodile. Wien: Betz, 1978, ISBN 978-3-7641-0141-1.
• Crocodile Gena and his friends. Berlin: Children's Book Publishing, 1988, ISBN 978-3-358-00496-8. . Leipzig: Leif, 2005, ISBN 978-3-89603-214-0.

English editions

• Topple and the Crocodile. London: Hutchinson, 1980 ISBN 978-0-09-141670-6.

Cartoons

Cartoons with Cheburashka are puppet animation films in the classic animation technique. There are four Tscheburaschkafilme:

Meanwhile, the films are released on DVD in Germany. Russian -language versions are available in some Russian book mailers in Germany. For October 2009, TV Tokyo plans to start a anime series to Cheburashka.

Music

The second film from 1971 contains the song of crocodile Gena, also called birthday song ( Unfortunately birthday is only once a year ), which became one of the most popular Russian children's songs and is in many places today sung in Russian-speaking countries for birthdays. A German interpretation of the song was recorded by Gerhard Schöne. The third film which also contains very well-known song Goluboi Wagon ( Blue car). These songs were composed by Vladimir Schajinski. Two other songs from the movies, Yes - Chapeau Claque - (I'm Chapeau Claque - ) and Teper yes Cheburashka ( Now I 'm Cheburashka ), are less well known.