Shapoklyak was a popular villain from a story about Cheburashka

Cheburashka

Cheburashka , also known as Topple in earlier English translations, is a character in children's literature, from a 1966 story by the Russian writer Eduard Uspensky. In Estonian the character is called Potsataja...

 written by Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n writer Eduard Uspensky. The first appearance of Shapoklyak (in the movie) was in the animated film Gena the Crocodile (1969) by Roman Kachanov

Roman Abelevich Kachanov

Roman Abelevich Kachanov was a Russian animator, one of the founders and leaders of Russian stop-motion animation.Kachanov was the director and screenwriter of the trilogy about Cheburashka, Gena the Crocodile and Shapoklyak.- Early years :...

 (Soyuzmultfilm

Soyuzmultfilm

Soyuzmultfilm is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Over the years it has gained international attention and respect, garnering numerous awards both at home and abroad. Noted for a great variety of style, it is regarded as the most influential animation studio of the former Soviet Union...

 studio).

She appears as an old woman, wearing an outdated hat and carrying a purse, in which she carries her pet rat Larisa. In the film Cheburashka Goes to School

Cheburashka Goes to School

Cheburashka Goes to School is a 1983 Soviet film directed by Roman Kachanov.-Plot summary:Gena figures out that Cheburashka does not know how to read.Gena tries to find Cheburashka a School, but the school is closed for maintenance....

(1983) she admits, that has not received secondary education and is sent to school together with Cheburashka

Cheburashka

Cheburashka , also known as Topple in earlier English translations, is a character in children's literature, from a 1966 story by the Russian writer Eduard Uspensky. In Estonian the character is called Potsataja...

. Her name is the Russian word for the hat she wears — borrowed from the French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 word chapeau claque which sounds funny for the Russian ear.

External links

• Shapoklyak at Animator.ru
  Animator.ru
  Animator.ru is a Russian website chronicling the films, people and studios of the animation industry in Russia, the former Soviet Union and the CIS. It also includes a forum, a news block, a photo-gallery and an animators labour exchange...