Gena the Crocodile

Gena the Crocodile (Russian: Крокодил Гена, Krokodil Gena) is a fictional, friendly crocodile in the series of animation films Gena the Crocodile, Cheburashka and Shapoklyak by Roman Kachanov (Soyuzmultfilm studio). He debuted in the 1966 novel Gena the Crocodile and His Friends by Eduard Uspensky.[1]

USSR stamp depicting Gena and Cheburashka, 1988.

The 50-year-old Gena works in a zoo as an attraction. In his spare time, he plays the garmon and likes to sing. His two best-known songs are "Pust' begut neuklyuzhe..." and "Goluboy vagon" ("The Blue Train Car"). The crocodile's name is a typical diminutive of the Russian male name Gennady.

Gena and Cheburashka, the title character in the series, are best friends.

One rainy day, which happens to be his birthday, Gena sings the song "Пусть бегут неуклюже пешеходы по лужам..." ("Let the pedestrians run clumsily over puddles..."), which contains the famous line: "Such a pity that one's birthday happens only once a year." This song, written by Vladimir Shainsky, has since become known as "Gena the Crocodile's Song". It continues to be extremely popular among Russophones of various ages and generations, and was also made popular in Finland by M. A. Numminen as "Minä soitan harmonikkaa" ("I Play the Accordion").

He is voiced by Vasily Livanov in the animated films.

References

Hellman, Ben (2013). Fairy Tales and True Stories: The History of Russian Literature for Children and Young People (1574 - 2010). Brill. p. 550. ISBN 9789004256385. Retrieved 22 May 2020.

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[1] Hellman, Ben (2013). Fairy Tales and True Stories: The History of Russian Literature for Children and Young People (1574 - 2010). Brill. p. 550. ISBN 9789004256385. Retrieved 22 May 2020.