CHEBURASHKA: SOVIET CHARACTER-TURNED-RUSSIAN MASCOT SWEEPS AWAY JAPAN

These days, characters on screen are rendered so skilfully by indefatigable artists that it’s more often than not very hard to tell whether they are computer-produced images or real people. Many celluloid protagonists who at first impress audiences later prove to be short-lived. But the-devoid-of-any-special-effects Cheburashka is of a remarkable longevity – he is more than 40 years old. Many Russians grew up with Cheburashka’s stories and, not long ago, it was appointed Russia’s Olympic Mascot. Nowadays, Cheburashka is a brand that draws attention of foreign consumers.

“A Creature Unknown to cience”

Cheburashka is a fictional creature with huge round ears, big owlish eyes and brown fur, who walks on his hind legs. He is the fruit of Eduard Uspenskiy’s imagination, author of the children’s book, Ghena the Crocodile and His Friends, the first in the series. But Cheburashka’s physical appearance, to which we all have grown accustomed, is the work of animator Leonid Shvartsman. Based on Uspenskiy’s books, four cartoons were made from 1969 to 1983: Ghena the Crocodile, Cheburashka, Chapeauclaque and Cheburashka Goes to School.

According to the preface of Ghena the Crocodile and His Friends, Cheburashka was a defective toy which used to belong to the author as a child: “[It is] a clumsy plush animal with a bizarre name of Cheburashka. He was made at the toy factory, and made so badly that it was impossible to tell who exactly he was – a hare, dog, cat or Australian kangaroo altogether.”

Uspenskiy made up the flawed-toy version exclusively for kids, whereas the true story behind Cheburashka’s etymology was revealed in one of the writer’s interviews: “I once paid a visit to my friend’s place. His little daughter was trying on a fluffy fur coat, constantly falling down because her feet kept getting entangled in it. After her each fall, her father would say: ‘Poor thing, she took another cheburah’. This word was new to me and I asked for its meaning, which turned out to be ‘to take a fall’. Based on this word, my protagonist’s name came about.”

According to the plot, Cheburashka is an unknown tropical animal who climbed into a crate of oranges, fell asleep and was transported to Russia, to a greengrocer. The shop’s owner called the little critter “Cheburashka”, because he could barely stand upright, constantly taking a cheburah, having stuffed himself with oranges during the journey.

In a strange town, Cheburashka’s adventures begin: he makes friends, both human (a little girl called Galya) and animal (Ghena the Crocodile, Chander the Lion). Their nemesis is a nasty old hag called Chapeauclaque (her name derives from the old-fashioned opera hat that she dons) and her tamed rat, Lariska.

When the first series of cartoons about Cheburashka emerged, it immediately won recognition. Ever since then, Cheburashka has been a character in numerous Russian jokes, and the songs from the cartoons’ soundtracks are known by heart by most Russians.

Cheburashka the Mascot:“The Embodiment of Beauty and uccess”

Cheburashka, who has withstood the test of time and is generally recognised as Russia’s animated sweetheart, has been appointed the Official Mascot of the Russian Olympic Team. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the Cheburashka talisman was in his “natural” brown colour; during the 2006 Games in Turin, he changed his colour to white; and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Cheburashka acquired red fur, in line with the Chinese belief that red is the most auspicious, lucky color. The next Games in Vancouver will see Cheburashka in blue, which will complete this original implementation of the Russian tricolour. According to the Organising Committee, “the Olympic Cheburashka is a genuine embodiment of beauty and success.”

Pokémon Give Way!

Cheburashka has been popular in Japan since 2001. The Japanese say that they love not only him for his cute looks, but also the Russian cartoons about Cheburashka, in which puppets rather than drawn characters are used. In Japan, where puppets are part of the country’s ancient history and therefore paid special respect, it is the way the puppets of Soviet cartoons move that is of great significance.

Uspenskiy is reported to have given Japanese animators the rights to use the images and characters from his book for a cartoon series of their own making: 50 episodes of a half-hour each. In general, the plot will remain the same, although the Japanese animators have made some changes to the protagonists’ appearances. These cartoons have been showing in Japan’s cinemas for some time, and a DVD of cartoons and a CD of Cheburashka’s songs are being prepared for release.

The industry for making new batches of “Chebie”(how the Japanese call their new favourite from Russia for short) is in full swing. In Tokyo’s toy store Hakuhinkan, Russia’s big-eared symbol has taken up a whole department. Our Chief Editor’s young showed me a plush Cheburashka toy, a book about him in Japanese with Soviet cartoons shots as illustrations, and a lunch box and pencil case with Cheburashka’s face on them – all bought in Japan.

As we can see, one of the few Soviet-era literary characters (“whether a cat, sloth or both”) has successfully adjusted to the current economic reality. Such is the journey of Cheburashka from being a mere cartoon character to a well-promoted brand. By Maria Staritsyna