Cheburashka

Cheburashka (or also known as Chebi) is the deuteragonist of the Russian cartoon Gena the Crocodile and His Friends and titular character of the Russian live-action film of the same name or also known as Chebi: My Fluffy Friend.
== At First ==
Cheburashka (Russian: Чебурашка), 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 by Roman Kachanov (Soyuzmultfilm studio), the first of which was made in 1969, with songs composed by Vladimir Shainsky.
== History ==
Cheburashka is an iconic Russian classic cartoon character who later became a popular character 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 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, and takes him out and sits him on the table. The creature's paws are numb after staying in 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 of Vladimir Dahl gives the meaning of "cheburashka" as another name for the roly-poly toy.)
== Appearance ==
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 is high-pitched and childlike. 
== Personality ==
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 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 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.
== Antagonist ==
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 is tall and thin, wears a hat, a dark-coloured dress, and bloomers, 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 chorus of her theme song contains her motto, "One won't ever get famous for good deeds."
== Trivia ==
* In 2023 film, it is unknown how Cheburashka got to planet earth.
== Gallery ==
File:Cheburashka - photo.jpg
File:Cheburashka - photo Stop Motion.jpg
File:Cheburaska in moto.webp
File:Gena the Crocodrile & Cheburashka - 3d animated version.jpg|Cheburashka with Gena the Crocodrile
File:Gena the Crocodrile & Cheburashka - book version.jpg
File:Gena the Crocodrile & Cheburashka .jpg
File:Poster of Gena the Crocodrile ANIMATED.jpg
File:Cheburashka, Gena the Crocodrile, Old Lady Shapoklyak and Rat - render .webp
Category:Cartoon Heroes
Category:Book Heroes
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:Titular
Category:Male
Category:Kids
Category:Anthropomorphic
Category:Animals
Category:Nurturers
Category:Dimwits
Category:Optimists
Category:Supporters
Category:Neutral Good
Category:False Antagonist
Category:Thieves
Category:Honest
Category:Loyal
Category:Rescuers
Category:Friend of a Villain
Category:Good Vs. Good
Category:Sidekicks