Cheburashka (2023 film)

Cheburashka, also known as Chebi: My Fluffy Friend (Russian: Чебурашка) is a 2023 Russian live-action/computer-animated children's comedy film directed by Dmitry Dyachenko. The film is an adaptation of the 1960s Eduard Uspensky's children's book Gena the Crocodile and His Friends, and its Soviet cartoon adaptation about adventures of Gena the Crocodile and Cheburashka. The film stars Olga Kuzmina as the titular character along with Sergei Garmash, Fyodor Dobronravov, and Elena Yakovleva. The idea for the film was put into motion as early as 2020, but filming began in early 2021 at the Sochi Arboretum.

Cheburashka was theatrically released in Russia on January 1, 2023, by Central Partnership.

Cheburashka set a box office record among Russian films released on January 1: it grossed more than 225 million rubles on the first day of release, and 837 million rubles in the first three days. After fifteen days of release, the film had already collected over 4 billion rubles, making it the highest-grossing Russian film. It also became the first film to gross more than ₽5 billion.

Cheburashka received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics and audiences. Critics highly praised its visual effects, though the story was considered to be predictable. Following the film's success, Soyuzmultfilm signed a deal to produce a sequel and the whole franchise.