He first appears in a story published in 1973 (“Uncle Fyodor, Cat and Dog”). Then he becomes the hero of a series of Soviet cartoons based on this and other works by Eduard Uspensky.

History of creation

The cat Matroskin has a prototype - a friend of the writer Eduard Uspensky, editor of the satirical film magazine “Fitil” Anatoly Taraskin. Cat Matroskin “inherited” this man’s prudence, thoroughness and homeliness, and at the same time he was supposed to inherit the surname. However, Taraskin asked Uspensky not to name the fictitious cat by his name, because he considered it too caricatured.

Matroskin first appeared on screens in 1975, two years after the release of the story “Uncle Fyodor, the Cat and the Dog,” in the cartoon of the same name, directed by Yuri Klepatsky and Lydia Surikova. Uspensky himself wrote the script for this cartoon. And the cat Matroskin was voiced by the actress, who later became a famous comedian and TV presenter (in the Ukrainian version), and actress Svetlana Kharlap (in the Russian version).

However, this screen incarnation of Matroskin remains not very famous. Real glory received an image created in a series of cartoons about adventures in Prostokvashino, filmed by director Vladimir Popov: “Three from Prostokvashino” (1978), “Vacation in Prostokvashino” (1980) and “Winter in Prostokvashino” (1984).

The scripts for all three were written by Eduard Uspensky, and the tailed-striped hero was voiced by, whose voice everyone now tries to imitate, on occasion portraying the cat Matroskin in speech. The design of the animal characters for the cartoons was created by production designer Nikolai Erykalov.

Image and plot

Cat Matroskin is an economic and practical hero, a rationalist, inclined to save, and strives to benefit from everything. He calls his own nickname his surname. At first he lived in Moscow, with a certain professor who studied the language of animals. There Matroskin, in turn, learned the human Russian language and began to talk with people.

Then he became homeless, lived in the entrance of a residential high-rise building, where he met Uncle Fyodor. Then, together with a new friend and dog Sharik, he moved to the village of Prostokvashino, where he found himself in an ideal environment for himself. He took up farming and realized his dream of having his own cow that would produce milk.

The hero looks for practical benefits in everything and is upset when he does not find it, at times going too far. I am inclined to reproach the dog Sharik with the fact that he is of no use in the household, but is only “expenses.” He quarrels with Sharik because the impractical dog spent money on fashionable sneakers instead of felt boots. Sometimes he uses the milk his cow gives him to fill all the containers in the house.

He has a lot of useful skills: he can operate a sewing machine, cross-stitch, play the guitar, write and read, and also count, which is undoubtedly a useful skill for a farm cat. He also sings songs with a guitar.

In Uspensky’s new stories, which were published already in the 90s, the cat Matroskin demonstrates a penchant for entrepreneurship and fits well into new realities, where the hero’s practical ingenuity and ability to find a way out of a difficult situation come in handy (“Uncle Fyodor’s Aunt, or Escape from Prostokvashino ", "New orders in the village of Prostokvashino").

In the cartoon “Three from Prostokvashino,” the cat Matroskin meets Uncle Fyodor and goes with him to the village of Prostokvashino. On the spot, the friends meet a dog named Sharik, and he shows the new acquaintances an empty house where they can live. Meanwhile, parents in Moscow submit an advertisement in the newspaper about the disappearance of a boy, and the heroes have to meet a self-interested villager who expects to receive a bicycle as a reward for “surrendering” Uncle Fyodor.

In the cartoon “Holidays in Prostokvashino” the hero and his dog Sharik continue to live in the village. And Uncle Fyodor, who had previously returned to Moscow with his parents, again goes “AWOL” and comes to them for the holidays. The parents of an independent boy, who did not plan to vacation in Prostokvashino, are going to Sochi together. In the village, Matroskin is busy with a cow that gave birth to a calf, Gavryusha, and Sharik is interested in photography.

In the cartoon “Winter in Prostokvashino,” the thrifty Matroskin quarrels with the dog Sharik, who squandered his money and bought sneakers for the winter instead of felt boots. The characters do not speak to each other directly and transmit messages from one corner of the house to another, using the postman Pechkin as an intermediary. Later, Matroskin makes peace with the dog: when they come to New Year Uncle Fyodor and his father arrive, and together the heroes have to pull out the Zaporozhets stuck in the snow.

The farm cat Matroskin, a lover of cows and milk, adorns the labels of dairy products produced by the Russian brand Prostokvashino.

The famous cat has been depicted in bronze several times. The monument to Matroskin and Sharik can be found in Khabarovsk on city ponds. Bronze heroes sit on a bench and talk. And in 2015, a monument to actor Oleg Tabakov was unveiled in Saratov, and the cat Matroskin became the second figure in this composition.

Based on the cartoon “Three from Prostokvashino”, a series of video games was created in 2005-2009, in which Matroskin is present as one of the characters.

Quotes

Matroskin the cat remains a favorite character of cartoon fans different ages, and the hero’s lines are still heard. For example, Matroskin’s commentary on how Uncle Fyodor eats a sandwich:

“You’re eating a sandwich wrong, Uncle Fyodor. You hold it with the sausage facing up, but you should put the sausage on your tongue, it will taste better.”

Other quotes also circulated widely:

“If we don’t give in to each other, we won’t have a house, but Communal apartment. Quarrelsome."

“There are people who are just the opposite. The less they think, the greater the benefit.”

“Oh, we have this Sharik! The hunter has been found! There is no income from you, and only expenses...”

"- Well and what is it? What kind of folk art is this?
- Oh, you grayness! This is the Indian national folk hut. It's called "Whoops"!
- We made it! We, one might say, found him in a trash heap, washed him, cleared him of all the dirt, and here he is drawing figments for us...”

“Who will think about us? Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern?

“... according to the receipt, there is only one red cow, we took her alone according to the receipt, we will hand over one so as not to violate the reporting.”

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We loved the heroes of Prostokvashino very much in childhood and adore them now. There is a lot to learn from them. Uncle Fyodor, unlike his parents, knows very well what is most important in life. The charismatic Matroskin does not mince words. And Sharik, a modest fellow and kind soul, says what he thinks and is happy to help everyone. We also like the harmful Pechkin and eccentric parents - sometimes we recognize ourselves or our friends in them.

website collected 45 statements from the characters of the cartoon “Prostokvashino”, many of which we know by heart. But we are still ready to watch the cartoon and repeat them again and again.

Rules of life for the cat Matroskin

• - You're eating a sandwich wrong, Uncle Fyodor. You hold it with the sausage facing up, but you should put the sausage on your tongue - it will turn out tastier.
• - Just think, I can also embroider... and on a typewriter too...
• - For example, what will you write out?
  - I will order Murzilka.
  - And I’m saying something about hunting.
  - I won’t do anything. I will save.
• - In this weather, they sit at home and watch TV. Only strangers are wandering around... Let's not open the door!
• - How to wash?
  - Yes! We need to get less dirty!
• - He thinks about hares... And who will think about us? Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern?
• - We made it! We, one might say, found him in a trash heap, washed him, cleaned him so cleanly, and here he draws figments for us...

• - Why are we all without milk and without milk, you can die! I should buy a cow.
• - According to the receipt, there is only one red cow, we took her alone according to the receipt. We will rent one so as not to violate reporting!
• - And we have already made peace. Because working together for my benefit unites.
• - Whiskers, paws and tail - these are my documents!

Sharik's rules of life

• - If everyone starts cutting down Christmas trees for the New Year, we will only have stumps instead of a forest. It’s good for old ladies when there are only stumps in the forest. You can sit on them.
• - He was probably not like you, he was good man, since the ship was named after him. And he wouldn’t cut down the Christmas tree! Not like some...
• - My health is not very good. Either the paws ache, or the tail falls off. And the other day I started shedding. The old wool is falling off me, even if you don’t go into the house. But the new one is growing clean and silky, so my hairiness has increased.
• - It’s better to buy meat at the store.
  - Why?
  - There are more bones there.
• - Yes, I would be glad to quit, but Matroskin will rip my head off. After all, money was paid for the gun. And my life... is free.
• - And if your cow were smarter, she wouldn’t give milk, but carbonated water.

Uncle Fyodor's rules of life

• - I'm nobody's. I'm my own boy. Your own.
• - Hello! Take me to live with you. I will protect everything for you...
  - What more! We ourselves don’t live anywhere. You come to us in a year, when we have acquired a household.
  - You, Matroskin, shut up. A good dog has never bothered anyone.

Rules for the life of Uncle Fyodor's father and mother

• - I live like a peasant serf.
  - Why else?
  - That’s why! I have four evening dresses, silk. And there is nowhere to put them on.
• - So, choose: either me or the cat!
  - Well, I choose you! I’ve known you for a long time, but this is the first time I’ve seen this cat.
• - This picture on the wall is very useful: it blocks the hole in the wallpaper.
• - If we went crazy, it wouldn’t be both of us at once. They go crazy one by one. It's just that everyone gets sick with the flu.
• - Our roads and weather in winter are such that riding academicians are already meeting. I saw it myself.
• - I believe that the most valuable gift for a woman is a bag of potatoes.
• - I would unscrew the ears of this guy with big ears!
• “You need to have dogs, cats, and a whole bag of friends in the house.” And all sorts of hidden blind man's buffs. Then the children will not disappear.
  “Then parents will start disappearing.”
• - Of course, I love nature. But not to such an extent that you ride around on trains in concert dresses!
• - Our apartment broadcasts to me “What? Where? When?" reminds! You won’t understand what is where and when it will all end!
• “We absolutely need to get a second child somewhere.” To remove the severity. And anger.
• - Honey, let's leave your resort and go to Prostokvashino!
  - Be patient! I wore two evening dresses, two more left!
• “It’s bad for us without him, but he feels good there.” He has a cat there that you can grow and grow into. He is behind him like behind a stone wall.
• - If I had such a cat, I might never have married.

Matroskin is the most popular cartoon character based on the work of Eduard Uspensky. He is smart, economical, and it was in his mouth that most of the phrases that later became popular were put into his mouth.

Birth of a character

It’s curious that Matroskin’s cat turned out to have several prototypes at once.

Prototype No. 1. Book
The writer Eduard Uspensky wrote Matroskin based on his friend Anatoly Taraskin, who was then working at the film magazine “Fitil”. Initially, the cat was supposed to be called “Cat Taraskin”. The writer, of course, told Taraskin himself about his idea. “I’m painting a cat, he’s thrifty, smart, hard-working - I’m painting him based on you. I gave him your last name...”, he said in one of the telephone conversations. Taraskin did not like this idea, so the cat had to be urgently renamed Matroskin. According to Uspensky, Taraskin later regretted that he did not share his last name.

Prototype No. 2. cartoon
What can I say, the cartoon Matroskin has surpassed many times in popularity book hero. The cartoon was ripped off for quotes not only thanks to its outstanding script, but also thanks to the actors whose voices the characters spoke. According to Oleg Tabakov, who voiced the cat Matroskin, at that time there were two “human analogues” of the cat in his life: his eldest son Anton and the father of his first wife Ivan Ivanovich Krylov. “Together they gave birth to this symbiosis of the cat Matroskin,” he said in an interview.

How they drew Matroskin

Probably everyone noticed that the characters changed from cartoon to cartoon. The reason for this is the change of production designers.

In the first episode (“Three from Prostokvashino”, 1978), the production designers were Nikolai Yerykalov and Levon Khachatryan. Khachatryan painted human characters, and Yerykalov painted the Cat, Sharik, Cow and Gavryusha.

During the work on the cartoon, there was a moment when Khachatryan suggested dressing the animals, but director Vladimir Popov objected that he did not know where to put their tails. So the cat Matroskin was left without clothes.


Still from the cartoon “Three from Prostokvashino”, 1978

When it came to filming a sequel, Vladimir Popov invited Arkady Sher to take part in the film instead of Nikolai Yerykalov. According to the latter, the reason was that while working on the first episode, Yerykalov delayed the preparatory period.

Sher was allowed to redraw all the characters in his own way.


Still from the cartoon “Holidays in Prostokvashino”, 1980

Sher said that he saw Uspensky’s characters as completely different, but since the first series existed, he had to stick to the types already known to the audience. However, from the second to the third series the characters changed: the cat became fatter and got a hat with a pompom.


Still from the cartoon “Winter in Prostokvashino”, 1984

However, despite the change of artists, each New episode“Prostokvashino” was received with delight by the audience. The film's characters become heroes of jokes, monuments are erected to them, and numerous creators fight for patents for their images, which have turned into brands.

The cat Matroskin comes to the store and says:
- Let me pork tenderloin and some bones.
- Bones for Sharik, right?
- Come on, the bones are for Pechkin! He retired...

Uncle Fyodor walks by and sees Matroskin the Cat chewing a sandwich with the sausage down.
- What, Matroskin, does it taste better with the sausage down?
- No, I just can’t see this sausage anymore!

Prostokvashino. For outstanding services to the village and in connection with the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet, the cat Matroskin was awarded the title “cat Admiralkin”.

A stoned guy gets into a taxi on Nevsky Prospekt:
- To Prostokvashino!
- Where is it?
- Where where? Don't try to rhyme!

Prostokvashino. Evening. Sharik runs in:
- Matroskin! There your cow gave birth to kittens!
Matroskin is so lazy:
- My cow, I do what I want...

It also seems to me that the first downshifter was Uncle Fedor. And what? The son of a singer and academician escaped from the city back to nature and found his simple agrarian happiness in the village of Prostokvashino in the company of a dog, a cat, a little jackdaw and a postman.

The village of Prostokvashino was captured by the Germans. Pechkin was appointed headman. In the morning they look - Pechkin is hanged. On the gallows.
Well, let's go find out:
- Sharik, did you hang Pechkin?
- No, I have a photo gun, I run for half a day after game to take a photo, and then I run for half a day to give it back.
- Uncle Fyodor - you?
- No, I just arrived, I ran away from my mom and dad.
- Matroskin - you?
- I can also shoot with a machine gun and start a tank...

The cat Matroskin brings a bag to the landfill and pours out kittens with horns.
Ball:
- Matroskin, where did you get them?
Matroskin:
- My cow - I do what I want...

Excited Uncle Fyodor runs into the house:
- Matroskin! Your cow gave birth to a striped calf!
Matroskin, with dignity:
- Mrrrr.. My cow. I do what I want!

The cat Matroskin is sitting at the table, drinking yogurt and jelly, turning on the radio and listening. They broadcast on the radio: “An American Boeing 747 plane crashed over Prostokvashino.”
Cat out loud:
- Oh, this Sharik, what a hunter.

The occupiers storm Prostokvashino. Suddenly the cat Matroskin from the trench with grenades: “Bang! Bang!” The smoke cleared - no one was alive! Matroskin, hanging a grenade launcher on his shoulder:
- And I can embroider on a typewriter!

The Germans captured Prostokvashino. They walk around the huts and look. Suddenly, in Uncle Fyodor’s hut they saw Pechkin hanged.
They catch Uncle Fyodor and ask:
- Who hanged Pechkin?
“I don’t know,” he says, “I went for mushrooms.”
They catch Sharik:
- Did you hang Pechkin?
“No,” he answers, “I went for mushrooms.”
They catch Galchonok, but he gets into trouble:
- I went for mushrooms, I went for mushrooms!
Here Matroskin in felt boots climbs down from the stove. The Germans run up to him and shout:
- You, striped bastard, hanged Pechkin?
- And I can also shoot from a car!