"Spoils our children" Fuss over new film "Cheburashka" in Moscow

The Soviet cartoon character Cheburashka is familiar to young and old in Russia. A new film takes advantage of this. But the character is arousing aversion among war propagandists in particular.

DPA

24.01.2026, 22:15

dpa

A new Russian children's film about a cartoon character known from Soviet times is a hit at the box office - and at the same time the target of fierce attacks from national conservative circles in Moscow. The feature film "Cheburashka 2" with real actors and the animated character has topped the cinema charts in Russia for three weeks. According to the "Kinobusiness" portal, the film has grossed around 5.6 billion roubles (around 57 million francs) since its release. It is therefore on course to overtake its predecessor "Cheburashka 1" and become the most successful Russian film of all time.

The plot is relatively simple: the lives of Cheburashka and his friend and mentor Gena in Sochi are turned upside down when a greedy entrepreneur wants to take away their house for an amusement park. Cheburashka's attempts to help cause chaos - and a rift between him and Gena. But in the end - after an odyssey through the wilderness - all is well and the two reconcile.

Like its predecessor, the film builds on the emotional attachment many Russians have to the character of Cheburashka. The furry mythical creature with the big ears was created in 1966 by the well-known writer Eduard Uspenski. Cheburashka, who emerged from a box of oranges, later made his triumphal march in a series of Soviet animated films, in which he won the hearts of children with his love of oranges, but also with plenty of wit and kindness.

Criticism from nationalists: Cheburashka is a homeless cosmopolitan

However, neither the new family comedy nor its main hero Cheburashka are well received by all Russians. One of the harshest critics is, of all people, the politically influential right-wing nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin. The ardent supporter of the war against Ukraine, who is considered one of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin's whisperers, described Cheburashka as a "rootless cosmopolitan" some time ago. This is a fighting term that was used to castigate and persecute pro-Western intellectuals - especially Jews - at the end of the Stalin era.

In his latest outbursts, Dugin even spoke of a symbol of the devil. "Cheburashka is the concentrated form of the bullshit I've been fighting against all my life," he wrote on his Telegram channel shortly after the film's release.

He had previously criticized Cheburashka as the epitome of profiteering and mental retardation, which had led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Dugin is considered an advocate of a Eurasian superpower under Russian leadership. He had called for the destruction and incorporation of Ukraine long before the war began. His daughter Darya Dugina, also a war propagandist, died in a car bomb attack in 2022.

Criticism comes from parliament

Dugin is no longer alone in his criticism. When the Russian parliament's culture committee met last week, the discussion about state film funding quickly degenerated into a general reckoning with alleged traitors to the fatherland in the cinema industry and calls for stricter controls on filmmakers.

Many of those who had not managed to flee to the West were now producing fairy tale films. Before the war, they had followed the example of Andrei Zvyagintsev (a well-known Russian director who addressed the country's social problems in films such as "Leviatan" and "Elena") and made films that dragged Russia into the mud, claimed MP Ivan Mussatin.

Film on film: without clear morals and role models

Cheburashka also got his comeuppance: the film "corrupts our children", complained Dmitry Pevtsov, deputy head of the culture committee. The once popular actor has been a member of the State Duma for several years and has recently made headlines with his ultra-conservative views and war propaganda.

The film lacks clear morals and a role model figure, Pevtsov complained, whereupon another MP called for even stricter censorship. For years, the Russian state has in any case preferred to finance war films or those in which the main hero conforms to the moral compass of the conservative state leadership.

At a Duma session on the financing of children's and animated films, MPs also criticized the fact that these films do not fulfil their "educational function" enough. For example, more large families should be portrayed in order to anchor Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's demand for a higher birth rate, demanded Communist MP Maria Prussakova.

Ministry of Culture stands up for Cheburashka

Deputy Culture Minister Shanna Alexeyeva announced the guidelines for film financing at the event. Russia should be shown as a modern country for self-realization. "Heroism and the sacrifice of our fighters" should also find a place in funded films.

However, Alexeyeva also showed herself to be an advocate for Cheburashka. After all, almost ten million Russians have seen the film by now; and if it wasn't so interesting, they would hardly have gone to the movies, she said.