Losharik tells the story of a circus animal composed of brightly coloured juggling balls, created as a juggler wishes that he was a lion tamer.

[7] The co-author of the screenplay, Genrikh Sapgir, had also translated the poems of Soviet Jewish poet Ovsei Driz [ru], one of which was animated in 1968 as Ball of Wool [ru] by director Nikolay Serebryakov, depicting an elderly woman who finds a magic ball of wool in a snowstorm, and knits a world that takes on its own life.

[8] The screenplay was by Gennady Tsyferov and Genrikh Sapgir, with Tamara Poletika [ru] as the art director, and Yuri Norstein as the animator.

[9] According to Poletika, the suggestion for Losharik having three legs rather than four came from the prominent art director Lev Milchin, and that the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow had asked for two of the film's preliminary sketches.

[9] Despite being popular with both children and adults, and described as "a poignant story about a dream, striving for perfection, and betrayal" Ufimtsev "claimed that he could not fully realize his plan, and the result upset him.

"[9][10] Cultural historian David MacFadyen observes that the film addresses a number of themes prominent in Soviet society.

"[2] The film emphasises "affective variety and multiplicity", making use of crosscuts to "show fragmented events or a diversity of characters".

[12][13] The character also appeared in Gennady Tsyferov's children's book Losharik and Other Fairy Tales (Russian: Лошарик и другие сказки), published in 2014.

[14] The creation of the name Losharik as a portmanteau appeared in a similar form with the 2003 animated series Smeshariki (Russian: Смешарики), released in English as Kikoriki.

[15] Losharik became the nickname of the Project 210 submarine built by Sevmash between 1988 and 2003, the name referring to the unique design of its pressure hull, consisting of seven interconnected spheres.