Cheburashka Plushes

No, it's not Dumbo nor is it your old chum Timmy - the fourth grader who's ears seemed larger than dinner plates. The brown, big-eared creature is named Cheburashka (Чебурашка in Russian) and the little guy was conceived by Eduard Uspensky in the 1960s. At first glance, Cheburashka shares similarities with popular Japanese icons such as Hello Kitty or Tarepanda as follows:

» Simplistic facial structure with requisite blank stare
» Diminutive stature and short limbs
» Somewhat androgynous and non-threatening
» Simple color scheme

Where Cheburashka derails the Japanese design convention for cute characters is the massive ears. They're nearly as big as Che's head and would probably serve well as radar arrays or solar panels. Despite the strange dimensions and lack of golden spiral harmony in the beast, Japanese as well as Chinese have taken a liking to Cheburashka. Animated films with titles such as "Cheburashka Goes to School," "Old Witch Shapoklyak," and "Gena the Crocodile and His Friends" from Russian studio Soyuzmultfilm have all made the rounds in Asia and Japan. The Japanese refer to Cheburashka as "Tieburasika."

To take advantage of the popularity of Cheburashka, Japanese toy company Omron has started preorders for three toys based on the brown animal. The first is a 16cm plush which features three variants. The actual Cheburashka figure is the same but the color of the Чебурашка sign that it holds is different. Next up is an 18cm plush with two styles on offer - one where Cheburashka holds an orange and another where the cuddly creature stands with arms to its side like a plank. We're likely not going to stock the third set of Cheburashka toys which are little matted plushes with loops on top. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late July 2007 at US$12 for each 16cm plush and US$16 for each 18cm plush.