Featured Russian Media: Gena the Crocodile's Birthday Song

Of the Russian cultural nuggets my wife would LIKE me to learn, this song is near the top.  It's pretty much as popular as "Happy Birthday" is as a celebration song for birthdays.  A crocodile sings about his birthday in this Russian clay-mation short:

The video translation is as follows:

Let pedestrians toddle
And the rainwater gurgle
As it streams underneath their feet
Let pedestrians wonder
Why this day full of thunder
Makes me look so jolly upbeat.

Look, I play my concertina
As they pass me on their way.
It would make me the total winner
If my birthday was EVERY day!

A magician, no whopper!
Shall alight his light blue chopper
And will do magic tricks for a laugh.
“Happy Birthday!” he’ll cheer
And, I hope, makes appear
Hundred Eskimo Pies with a puff.

Look, I play my concertina
As they pass me on their way.
It would make me the total winner
If my birthday was EVERY day!

My wife doesn't totally agree with the translation, saying that the demeanor of the song is more, "It's a bad day, but I'm happy.  People don't really understand it, but the reason I'm happy is it's my birthday."

More interesting to me is the prevalence of crocodile characters in Russian media.  As far as I can tell, there are no crocodiles that live in Russia (save possibly the south-central regions) but they show up in quite a few post WWII films aimed at children.  They may also be in other works (books, advertisement, etc) but I am ignorant of any others.