Reworkings of the Songs of Gena the Crocodile: Textology and Existence

Фолклористика 9/2 (2024):
Аутор: Uliana A. Petukhova
Текст:

The article deals with the reworkings of the songs of Gena the Crocodile, one of the main characters of a Soviet cartoon series (directed by Roman Kachanov). The reworkings of two songs will be considered—“Пусть бегут неуклюже” (“Let them run clumsily” from the cartoon “Cheburashka”, 1971) and “Медленно минуты уплывают вдаль” (“Slowly the minutes float away” from the “Shapoklyak”, 1974).
The research material includes the field material collected in the summer of 2024 in the Moscow region, the recordings of children’s, soldiers’ and students’ folklore, and the Internet folklore. Using the comparative typological method, the text variants have been compared and analyzed: variations in words, composition, themes, as well as the functioning of the texts—as a well-wishing song, in children’s environment, in memes.
The article shows that the theme of the song “Let them run clumsily” is quite important—this song is mainly used as a happy-birthday song (less often—to wish all the best on other calendar and personal holidays), with the lyrics reworked in accordance with the biographical data of the addressee. The visual code is the most significant for the song “Slowly the minutes float away into the distance”—frames from the cartoon in which the song is played are used in memes. Particular attention is drawn to the Russian word “катиться” (‘to roll’), whose set of meanings is actively interpreted in alterations as their most likely unconscious basis.

Кључне речи: : : cartoon characters, song reworking, written folklore, song practices, visual code.