How did Cheburashka appear? The history of the creation of cheburashka

Cheburashka is one of those cartoon characters that we continue to feel sympathy for, even as adults. We will not retell in detail the work itself “Crocodile Gena and his friends” (he is his hero), but we will find out the following point: why Cheburashka was called Cheburashka.

And who is the author?

There can be no discrepancies in the answer to this question: the character appeared from the pen of the Soviet and Russian writer, screenwriter, author of children's books Eduard Uspensky. It happened in 1966. At the same time, another of his works was published - “Down the Magic River”. Ouspensky became popular. To the answer to the question: "Why was Cheburashka called Cheburashka?" - we will turn a little lower.

The birthplace of the writer is the city of Yegorievsk (Moscow region). After graduating from school, he entered the Moscow Aviation Institute. In the same period, his first literary works appeared in print.

To date, the writer's place of residence is also the Moscow region. The author's works continue to be published by Samovar publishing house. We hope that there are no difficulties with the answer to the question: "Who wrote Cheburashka?" - from readers this material will not be.

The character himself became famous after the cartoon about the crocodile Gena and his friends (1969) was released.

The original version of the book introduced readers to a clumsy, unsightly creature. Small ears, brown coat - so in in general terms his appearance was described. The appearance of the good-natured image of Cheburashka, which is distinguished by big ears and big eyes, we owe to the production designer

By the way, in the period of the 1990-2000s, the writer had to participate in disputes regarding the authorship of this image. It was about its use in the names of various children's institutions, in different goods (this was a common practice in the Soviet period).

We remembered who wrote Cheburashka. Next, let's list the options for the name of the character.

Animal from hot countries

There is a version that in childhood future writer played with soft toy, apparently not the best quality. She was of a strange appearance: with large ears and the same big eyes. It was not possible to understand to which order of animals of the world it belongs. Then the fantasy of the parents suggested the name of the animal - Cheburashka. Hot countries were chosen as the place of his residence. So far, we have given one version of why Cheburashka was called Cheburashka.

summer, girl, coat

Ouspensky himself gives an explanation for this name of a fictional character in one of his interviews. A little daughter grew up in the family of the writer's acquaintances. One of the purchases that her parents decided to please her with was a small fur coat. It was a warm summer outside. The fitting of new clothes took place under Eduard Uspensky. The girl was dragging a large fur coat across the floor, it was inconvenient for her to walk. After she's in Once again stumbled and fell, the father said: “Cheburakhna again!” Ouspensky became interested in the meaning of an unusual word. A friend explained to him the meaning of the word “cheburah”. It means "to fall".

You can also learn about the origin of the word from the dictionary of V.I. Dahl. It also gives the meaning that we have already given, and such as “crash”, “stretch”. Dal also mentions the word "cheburashka". Various dialects define it as "a checker of a burlatsky strap, it is hung on the tail" or as "a roly-poly, a chrysalis, she rises to her feet herself, no matter how she is thrown." The word also has figurative meanings.

Book version of the title

In order to understand another option why Cheburashka was called Cheburashka, let's recall the plot of the book itself. So, favorite food unknown to science animal, who lived somewhere in the south, were oranges. On one of the hot days, he climbed into a box with adored fruits found on the shore. Eat well and sleep well. Then the boarded up box ended up in our country and was delivered to the store. After opening the box, instead of the expected fruit, a plump furry creature appeared before the store director. Having no idea what to do with him, the director decided to put the animal on a box. The animal could not resist and fell. The director burst out the phrase: “Fu you, what a Cheburashka!” And so this name was assigned to the character.

Our story about Cheburashka comes to an end. I would like to add some interesting facts to it.

To date, many monuments have been erected to this hero and his friends. sculptural compositions. You can meet them in settlements, as the village of Gaspra (Yalta, Crimea), the city of Ramenskoye near Moscow, the city of Khabarovsk, the city of Kremenchug, the city of Dnipro.

Since 2003, Muscovites have been holding a charity event "Cheburashka's Birthday" every August weekend. It is aimed at helping orphans.

In Moscow, in kindergarten No. 2550 (Eastern administrative district) in 2008, the opening of the Cheburashka Museum took place. It stores typewriter. It was on it that the story of a character beloved by both children and their parents was created.


On August 14, 2018, one of the most beloved children's writers, whose works have become classics of literature and animation, Eduard Nikolaevich Uspensky, passed away. His books have been sorted into quotes in the post-Soviet space, his characters are very popular in Japan, his books have been translated into 20 languages ​​of the world. And thanks to him, everyone knows exactly how to eat a sandwich correctly - “You need sausage on your tongue.”

The naive Cheburashka, the intellectual crocodile Gena, the charismatic old woman Shapoklyak, the independent Uncle Fedor, the controversial Pechkin, the janitor from Plasticine Crow - all his heroes became real encyclopedia Russian life. His books and cartoons have long been sorted into quotes, and they miraculously and today they help fathers and children to find a common language.

How it all began



The first literary work of Eduard Nikolaevich Uspensky is the book "Uncle Fyodor, the Dog and the Cat". He wrote this story while working in the library summer camp and could not even imagine that both adults and children would love his fairy tale so much.


And when a cartoon was made based on the book, the army of fans of Uncle Fyodor and his friends increased many times over. By the way, each cartoon character had his own prototype - one of the members of the team that worked on the cartoon or their relatives.

Cheburashka and all-all-all



The story of Cheburashka and the crocodile Gena was invented by Eduard Uspensky in Odessa. He accidentally saw a chameleon in a box of oranges and decided to embellish this story a little. The writer made a friendly and sweet animal out of a chameleon, but he didn’t really break his head over a name for him: Cheburashka! So the writer's friends called their little daughter, who was just learning to walk.
However, all other residents fairyland also did not appear out of nowhere. Ouspensky did not try to hide that his first wife became the prototype of Shapoklyak, and the young friends of the crocodile Gena were kids who lived in the same yard with the writer.

worldwide fame



Nobody expected this, and Ouspensky himself in the first place. But his fairy tale about Cheburashka made a splash, and not only in the vastness of the USSR. In Japan, a strange animal with huge ears became a favorite character. And in Sweden, comics based on the works of Ouspensky were published more than once. In Lithuania, the cartoon was translated into the state language, with some changes in the names of the characters. And in Russia, August 20 is declared the birthday of Cheburashka.

plasticine crow

Ouspensky's poem "Plasticine Crow" was born quickly and spontaneously. Once, for almost a whole day, he hummed an attached Irish folk song, and he himself did not notice how Russian words fell on this motive. As a result, the work, on which the cartoon was later shot, was born in just half an hour.

However, from the ease of its birth, the fairy tale did not lose at all and became really popularly loved.

And quite uncartoon projects



Were in creative biography Eduard Uspensky and projects that had nothing to do with cartoons, but they were still dedicated to children. He was the creator and host of the popular children's program "Abgdijk" and was the first to open a system of interactive communication with young viewers. He taught the kids the alphabet and grammar from the TV screen, for which he received a lot of grateful feedback from parents. Later, Ouspensky would write the book School of Clowns, which is still an excellent study aid today.

In the 1980s, Uspensky hosted the Pioneer Dawn radio program and turned to his young listeners with an unusual request - to send them invented or heard horror stories. The result of such creative communication was a book of stories with unusual plots, and each child could feel involved in writing it.

Travel lover

Ouspensky loved to travel, and at the same time he knew exactly in which countries his books were translated and what were his favorite characters in a particular country. Explain why in different countries he himself could not be popular with different characters, and preferred to simply rejoice at the popularity of his books.


Some recent years Eduard Nikolaevich fought with cancer. In August 2018, he returned home from Germany, where he was undergoing treatment, and his condition deteriorated sharply. He refused hospitalization and last days spent at home without getting out of bed. On August 14, he passed away. Bright memory...

Remembering the work of Eduard Uspensky, the story of that.

Eduard Nikolaevich Uspensky was born on December 22, 1937 in the city of Yegorievsk, Moscow Region. Father - Uspensky Nikolai Mikhailovich (1903-1947), an employee of the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Mother - Uspenskaya Natalya Alekseevna (1907-1982), mechanical engineer. On December 22, 2012, Eduard Uspensky celebrated his 75th birthday. Eduard Uspensky had two brothers - the elder Igor and the younger Yuri. Father, Nikolai Mikhailovich, had two higher education, V free time he preferred hunting, to which he sometimes took his sons with him, and was fond of dog breeding.


When the war began, Eduard, along with his brothers and mother, was evacuated beyond the Urals, where they lived for four years. Natalya Alekseevna was with the children, worked in a kindergarten. Nikolai Mikhailovich traveled all over the country and was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his work.


E. Uspensky vaguely remembers the period of his life spent beyond the Urals. One day a real miracle happened - he and his brothers received a package from the front - chic German toys. This was a real event, Eduard Nikolaevich remembered for the rest of his life a wonderful traffic light, on which the bulbs lit up. In 1944 the family returned to Moscow. E. Uspensky remembers well the city with darkened windows, each of which hung black curtains in case of bombing.


At first, the boys did not get along: it seemed to Edward that a stranger had entered his territory. But when Uspensky was in the 10th grade, the guys became friends. In 1945, Eduard Uspensky went to school. When Edward was 10 years old, his father passed away. Natalya Alekseevna married Nikolai Stepanovich Pronsky, who had a son, Boris, who was the same age as Eduard.



In those years there was little food, but a lot of good literature was produced. Stepfather, Nikolai Stepanovich, often bought books, but hung a lock on the cabinet so that the guys would not open it and take the books to the store. The boys moved the closet, removed back wall, dragged books, but did not take them anywhere, but read a lot. Reading has become one of their favorite activities.


At first, Eduard Uspensky studied poorly, but in the 7th grade he broke his leg, ended up in the hospital and began to "read textbooks." While in treatment, he read mathematics, returned to school quite savvy in this subject and began to study better than anyone in the class. Over time, Eduard Uspensky became the best mathematician of the school, at all regional and city Olympiads he took top places, and at the All-Union Olympiad for the 10th grade he received a diploma signed by several academicians. This letter is kept by Eduard Nikolaevich all his life.


In the 10th grade, the children became interested in writing poems and stories. Eduard did not stand aside, although before that he took part only in the design of wall newspapers. Children's poems by E. Uspensky began to be published as humorous in the Literaturnaya Gazeta, they sounded in the radio program Good Morning!


IN school years Uspensky was a pioneer leader - while studying in grades 9-10, he raised children in grades 3-4: he took them with him on ski trips, invented various games. Thanks to his influence, younger students began to study better. In those years, Eduard Uspensky got used to working with children, he learned their interests. All this gave impetus to his future compositions for schoolchildren.


After graduating from school, E.N. Uspensky entered the Moscow Aviation Institute. During his student years, he worked literary creativity, has been in print since 1960. Even in the student theater of the Moscow Aviation Institute, E. Uspensky began to write sketches for the stage. His collaboration with the theater became very important point- Eduard Nikolaevich got his first understanding of the intricacies of humorous episodes and skits there. In 1961, Eduard graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute with a degree in instrumentation engineer. For three years he worked as an engineer at the second Moscow Instrument Plant, where autopilots were produced. supervised big group, which was engaged in the hydraulic station.


In March 1965, together with Felix Kamov, he headed the author's group of the famous student theater "TV". The stage of the theater was designed as a large television screen - gauze was stretched over the frame, and with a certain backlight, the screen emitted a blue glow. Young guys, almost 20-year-old boys, in the absence life experience and real knowledge showed awareness and wrote insightful satire. There was nothing like it then, not only on the amateur, but also on the professional stage. "TV" toured in different cities of the USSR. TO famous theater had a lot to do with interesting people- M. Zadornov, L. Izmailov and others. In 1965, a collection of poems by E.N. Uspensky "Everything is in order." creative path E. Uspensky started as a humorist.


His plays, written jointly with R. Kachanov, gained immense popularity: His plays, written jointly with R. Kachanov, gained immense popularity: “Cheburashka and his friends” (1970) “Bakhram’s Legacy” (1973) “Vacation of Crocodile Gena” (1974) and others. Eduard Nikolaevich became widely known as the author of children's books: “Gena the Crocodile and His Friends” (1966) “Down the Magic River” (1972)


In 1980-1990, he published a series of wonderful children's books: "Vacations in Prostokvashino", "Uncle Fyodor, a dog and a cat", "Gingerbread man is on the trail", "Colorful family", "Red Hand, Black Sheet, Green Fingers" ( scary stories for fearless children) and others.


While writing historical novel"False Dmitry II real" (released in 1999) Eduard Nikolaevich, in order to distract himself, came up with new character- Toad Zhabycha, not the first strange creature created by the writer. Toad Zhabich is a large intelligent toad that with surprising ease begins to live the life of an ordinary Russian man era of change, trying to earn money, tries his hand at politics and at the same time loves children and dogs.


E.N. Ouspensky decided to create his own publishing house. This is how the "Samovar" appeared. Ouspensky ordered famous writers so-called "fun textbooks": in mathematics, on the declaration of human rights, programming. E.N. Uspensky wrote textbooks on literacy and electronics, "Crocodile Gena's Business" taught children the beginnings of business. Textbooks were sold out, schools ordered them, but soon Eduard Nikolaevich realized that work in a publishing house was incompatible with writing, and decided to devote himself exclusively to creativity.


E.N. Ouspensky composes plays. His works have been translated into more than 25 languages ​​and are published in Finland, Holland, France, Japan, the USA and other countries. based on his books art films: - “There, on unknown paths” (based on the story “Down the Magic River”, USSR, 1982), - “Year good baby”(based on the story of the same name by E. Uspensky and E. de Grun, USSR-FRG, 1991).


Uncle Fyodor, dog and cat: Matroskin and Sharik (1975). Uncle Fyodor, dog and cat: Mom and dad [continuation of the story based on E. Uspensky's story "Three from Prostokvashino"] (1976). Uncle Fyodor, dog and cat: Mitya and Murka (1976). Three from Prostokvashino: [The first film of the trilogy] (1978). Holidays in Prostokvashino (1980). Winter in Prostokvashino (1984). Crocodile Gena (1969). Cheburashka (1971). Shapoklyak (1974) Cheburashka goes to school (1983). About Vera and Anfisa (). Baba Yaga vs. (1980). Why does a camel need an orange? (1986). The Inheritance of the Magician Bahram (1975). New Year's song (1983). Octopuses (1976). The investigation is conducted by koloboks (). Plasticine Crow (1981). Antoshka (1969). Red, red, freckled (1971). and many, many others.




In his free time, Eduard Nikolaevich plays tennis, paragliding from the Krylatsky Hills, loves skiing, riding which he enjoys fast gliding. Famous all over the world children's writer he loves animals very much - he has two dogs and birds (parrots, an owl, a raven) at home, which the whole family takes care of under his leadership.





I must say that this simple question (or rather, the answer to it) is not so unambiguous as it seems at first glance. funny hero literary works, cartoons, concurrently being the official symbol of the Russian national team on Olympic Games, at one time became a stumbling block in several litigations at once. About why this happened, and who actually invented Cheburashka, we will try to tell in our article.

literary character

On the one hand, this is a bookish image. And the writer Eduard Uspensky came up with it. Yellow eyes (like an owl). Round big head (like a hare). The tail is fluffy and short (like a little bear). By the way, in the first editions of the book about Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena, published even before the appearance of the famous cartoon in 1966, the animal looked different. So his image was seen by two other artists Alfeevsky and Kalinovsky. In short, we can say: not at all similar!

cartoon character

The bright and unforgettable image of Cheburashka from the Soviet cartoon, published in 1969, was created by the animator Leonid Shvartsman (real name is Israel Aronovich Shvartsman). And after that, in all the other cartoons about Cheburashka, it is this brilliant soviet artist created the characters. So the right to the cartoon animal belongs to him.

Name origin

According to Uspensky's tale, an unknown animal, when transported along with oranges, strove to “cheburah”, that is, to fall, simply speaking. Hence the name - Cheburashka. In Dahl's dictionary, the concept of "cheburakh" is described as: "crash", "stretch", "fall". And the word "cheburashka" means: a doll like a roly-poly, which, no matter how you throw it, gets to its feet.

Brand Sharing

Litigation between Uspensky and Shvartsman began after the collapse of the USSR, in the nineties. The peak was in 2004-2007. The artist drew attention to the fact that the image of Cheburashka in the first editions of the books differs significantly from the cartoon character drawn later. And there is clearly a difference. Therefore, it is still reasonable to talk about two different author's characters: a cartoon character and a literary hero.

As Eduard Uspensky said, the image of Cheburashka was born thanks to a picture he once saw: “I was visiting my friend and saw a little girl dressed in a thick fur coat with a large collar. The fur coat was big for the girl, and she constantly fell - she would take a step and fall. My friend said: "Oh, cheburahna!" So I heard this word for the first time.

According to the Explanatory Dictionary of Vladimir Dahl, the word "cheburashka" meant "doll, roly-poly, who himself got up on his feet, no matter how you throw him." The verbs "cheburahat" and "cheburahnut" were used in the meaning of "throw, throw, overturn with thunder, bang, slap."

Thanks to the efforts of the artist Leonid Aronovich Shvartsman, Cheburashka became one of the most beloved cartoon characters of the USSR. “In the process of making the film, the tail fell off. The animated Cheburashka has eyes like a human child. He got big ears, a frame around his face. And, of course, a charm came, which is not in the drawings of other artists,” notes Shvartsman.

The word "cheburashka" has existed for a long time, and, contrary to popular belief, it was not the writer Eduard Uspensky who invented it. IN " explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language," compiled by V.I. Dahl, it is reported that "cheburashka is an old toy, a doll, a roly-poly, which, no matter how you throw it, will still get on its feet."

Another scientist - lexicographer S.I. Ozhegov in his Dictionary of the Russian Language cites two words used in common parlance - cheburahnut and cheburahnut, close to the meaning of "throw, fall or hit with noise."

It is known that in the old circus, acrobat clowns were called cheburashki. In order to make the audience laugh, they cheburahalis on the arena, ie. with a squeal, screams fell into the sawdust and floundered in them, trying to kill the audience with laughter.




So Eduard Uspensky owns the plot of the book and its writing, and he gave the name to his hero, resurrecting a long-forgotten word to life.

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