Gena the Crocodile (film)
1969 Soviet animated film directed by Roman Kachanov
Gena the Crocodile (Russian: Крокодил Гена, romanized: Krokodil Gena) is a 1969 Soviet stop motion animated film directed by Roman Kachanov in Studio Ekran studio. This film introduces the characters Gena the Crocodile, Cheburashka, and the old lady Shapoklyak. The film was based on Eduard Uspensky's stories about the characters.
This film was popular in the Soviet Union and spawned three sequels: Cheburashka (1972), Shapoklyak (1974) and Cheburashka Goes to School (1983).
Plot
Gena the Crocodile works as an attraction at an urban zoo, spending his days performing and returning each evening to his solitary apartment. Growing tired of playing chess by himself, Gena decides to find friends and posts advertisements around the city. His efforts are soon rewarded when various animals and people respond. First comes a girl named Galya with a homeless puppy named Tobik. They are soon joined by the mysterious and lovable creature Cheburashka, who is discovered inside a box of oranges. Later, a lion named Chandr arrives, confessing that he has no friends, to which Tobik happily offers his friendship.
The public source identifies “Gena the Crocodile (film)” as 1969 Soviet animated film directed by Roman Kachanov. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gena, Crocodile and film.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1965370. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1969, 1972, 1974 and 1983.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gena the Crocodile (film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.