Soviet animation · 1969
Gena the Crocodile
Крокодил Гена
Story through the endingThe first Soviet puppet film adapts the meeting and the House of Friendship. A sleepy animal emerges from imported oranges and is called Cheburashka after tumbling over. Gena, lonely after his zoo shift, posts an advertisement. Galya and the new arrival visit him, and the group decides to help other lonely residents.
Story & key events
Plot details and spoilers ahead.
Shapoklyak and Lariska disrupt the work, yet a broader group joins the builders. Chandr and Tobik demonstrate how different creatures can become companions. The house is completed, but its builders no longer need introductions: they have made friends already. Shapoklyak is carried away by balloons, and Cheburashka finds a place in the community.
Place in the world
The House of Friendship begins as a proposed building for lonely people and animals. By working together, its builders find the friendships they were trying to provide. The important transformation happens during construction: the house becomes a sign of a community that already exists, rather than a machine that produces friends.
Eduard Uspensky created the literary characters. Roman Kachanov developed the Soviet films with him, and Leonid Shvartsman designed the recognisable screen images. Klara Rumyanova voices Cheburashka and Vasily Livanov voices Gena in the original cycle. Music, puppet animation and writing all contribute to the characters’ identity.