Topo Gigio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Topo Gigio was the lead character of a children's puppet show on Italian television, in the early 1960s. The character was created by artist Maria Perego in 1958 and has been customarily voiced by actor Giuseppe (Peppino) Mazzullo.
Topo Gigio, a soft foam mouse with dreamy eyes and childish personality, was very popular in Italy for many years — not only on TV but also in children magazines, such as the classical Corriere dei Piccoli, animated cartoons, movies, and merchandising. Its popularity spread to the world after being featured on Ed Sullivan's weekly TV show in the U.S. Today Topo Gigio still has a cohort of faithful fans, and has become an icon of Italian pop culture. He performs regularly at Zecchino d'Oro festival and other programs created by Antoniano and RAI. In 1965, a feature length motion picture Le Avventure di topo Gigio (The Magic World of Topo Gigio) was released internationally.
The endearing puppet has made appearances and has a fan base in many other countries — including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Perú.
[edit] References in Popular Culture
- In Japan, Topo Gigio was the protagonist of "Topo Gigio and the Missile War" (1966, dir. Kon Ichikawa) and a 1988 cartoon produced by Nippon Animation.
- In Latin America, Topo Gigio became a smash hit in 1968, widely remembered even now, featuring Braulio Castillo, Julio Aleman and later, Raul Astor (Raúl Ignacio Spangenberg). Gigio had several LPs with songs sung by Gabriel Garzón. The show was produced in Peru, and then in Mexico. He made a comeback for the 2006 Germany World Cup, in short segments of a sports show.
- A mention of Topo Gigio was made in the 1999 film Being John Malkovich. In the film Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is in control of John Horatio Malkovich (John Malkovich); while instructing a class of puppetry, he angrily corrects a student's poor performance of the marionettes, stating without emotion, ""It is just Topo Gigio."
- Another mention occurs in the 1994 film The Santa Clause. When Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is giving alternative names for Santa Claus to the police officer in the interrogation scene, Scott imitates Ed Sullivan when he says the name "Topo Gigio." This is a reference to at least one episode of the Ed Sullivan Show in which Topo dresses as and imitates Santa.
- The music video for Billy Joel's hit song, "Tell Her About It", which puts Joel on the stage of the Ed Sullivan show, begins with Ed Sullivan saying, "Thank you, Topo Gigio."
- On an episode of Fantasy Football League during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, a 'lookalikes' segment commented that Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar resembled Topo Gigio.
- Guardian Guide journalist Charlie Brooker, in his Screen-Burn column [1] likened All Saints Natalie Appleton to Topo Gigio after her appearance in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
