Bruno Bozzetto


Bruno Bozzetto is an Italian cartoon animator, creator of many short pieces, mainly of a political or satirical nature. He created his first animated short "Tapum! the weapons' story" in 1958 at the age of 20. His most famous character, a hapless little man named "Signor Rossi", has been featured in many animated shorts as well as starring in three feature films: Mr. Rossi Looks for Happiness, Mr. Rossi's Dreams, and Mr. Rossi's Vacation.

Biography

In 1965, Bozzetto produced his first feature-length animated film: West and Soda, a parody of American Western films. In 1968, Bozzetto released VIP my Brother Superman, a superhero spin-off. However, his best-known work is probably the 1976 feature film Allegro Non Troppo, a collection of short pieces set to classical music in the manner of Walt Disney's Fantasia, but more humorous in nature, economical in execution and with more sophisticated narrative themes. After a long break, Bozzetto produced a live-action film in 1987, Under the Chinese Restaurant, his last feature film work until assisting on the pilot for Mammuk, an animated film set in prehistoric times.
1990 saw the release of Grasshoppers , which was an Academy Award nominee for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
In 1995, he produced an animated short for Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network Studios' What a Cartoon! series entitled Help? and in 1996, in cooperation with RAI and with the support of Cartoon, he created The Spaghetti Family a 26-episode cartoon television series.
In recent years, Bozzetto has turned the animation from traditional cel to flash cartoons, most notably with the award-winning Europe and Italy, a witty and graphically elegant commentary on European vs. Italian socio-cultural attributes. This comic also inspired the creation of the Polandball meme.

Filmography

Feature films

This list is only a short sampling of the many shorts Bozzetto has put out over the years.