Sergei Garmash, honored as a People’s Artist of Russia, spoke with FAN about the experience of filming Cheburashka and working with a virtual hero. He described the process as very specific, yet not insurmountable. In his view, the project demanded a new kind of collaboration between human actors and digital creation, a balance that could be achieved with clear intent, careful timing, and a steady sense of the scene’s emotional core. He suggested that the challenge lay less in the technicalities and more in the mindset: to approach a hybrid character with the same honesty and spontaneity as any live counterpart. The veteran actor’s reflections imply that the on-set atmosphere, the rhythm of the scenes, and the shared responsibility for the character’s believability all come together in a way that becomes second nature once the work begins, even when a portion of the performance resides in animation or motion capture.
Garmash clarified that Cheburashka was not entirely a creature of air and pixels. A smaller-built partner, actress Ekaterina, worked alongside him on set to provide real-world interaction and give the moment-to-moment dynamics a tangible quality. In addition to Ekaterina, Olga Kuzmina contributed the voice that animated Cheburashka, while the character also relied on three models to achieve the appropriate physical presence. The actor emphasized that this form of acting is not the greatest obstacle because the core aim remains the same: you know what you’re doing, you understand your character’s goals, and you calibrate your performance to harmonize with the virtual figure. From his perspective, the atmosphere of the shoot initially prepares everyone for a coexistence with a cartoon character, and that preparation becomes the compass guiding the performances toward authenticity and cohesion. This approach allows the players to bridge the gap between live action and animation, making the final fusion feel natural rather than forced.
In his assessment, the experience on Cheburashka sparked a hopeful intuition: the audience would embrace the film, and its success would echo beyond expectations. The project’s release began on January 1, and during that period it achieved notable commercial momentum. The film’s box office climbed past a substantial threshold, surpassing 3.5 billion rubles in earnings. This achievement marked a landmark moment, setting a new benchmark after the earlier record held by the comedy Kholop, which had crossed the three-billion mark. Garmash’s perspective on the film’s trajectory aligns with the broader industry sense that Cheburashka linked strong performances with cutting-edge production techniques to deliver a widely appealing cinematic experience. The film’s commercial performance reflects both the audience’s willingness to engage with a modern reinterpretation of a beloved character and the collaborative artistry that allowed a hybrid creation to resonate with viewers across generations.