Calimero

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For the Italian saint with this name, see Calimerius.
Calimero

Calimero poster showing two of the main characters.
カリメロ
(Karimero)
Anime television series
Directed by Yugo Serikawa
Studio Toei Animation
Network NET (now TV Asahi)
Original run October 15, 1974 – September 30, 1975
Episodes 47
Anime television series
Studio Toei Animation
Network TV Tokyo
Original run October 15, 1992 – September 9, 1993
Episodes 52

Calimero (カリメロ Karimero) is an Italian/Japanese cartoon about a charming, but hapless anthropomorphized cartoon chicken; the only black one in a family of yellow chickens. He wears half of his egg shell still on his head. Calimero originally appeared on the Italian television show Carosello on July 14, 1963, and soon became a popular icon in Italy.

The characters were created by the animation studio Organizzazione Pagot and originated as a series of animated advertisements for Miralanza AVA soap products shown throughout Italy. At the end of each episode, it turns out that Calimero is not actually black, but only very dirty, and becomes white after being washed by the advertised soap products.

The characters were later licensed in Japan as an anime series, twice. The first was made by Toei Animation and ran from October 15, 1974 to September 30, 1975, and the second, with new settings and characters, was made in 1992. Altogether, 99 Japanese episodes were made (47 in the 1974 Toei series, and 52 in the 1992 Toei series). The series mostly consists of the many adventures of Calimero and his friends as they solve mysteries and make documentaries. However, their adventures usually get them into quite a bit of trouble. The first series was also broadcast on European networks such as TROS (Netherlands and Belgium), ZDF and RTL II (Germany) or TVE (Spain).

Characters

1972 series

  • Calimero (カリメロ) – The hero of the show. Calimero is voiced by Katsue Miwa.[1]
  • Priscilla (プリシラ) – Calimero's girlfriend, a shy bird with common sense. Priscilla is voiced by Michiko Nomura.[1]
  • Peter Jobatta (ピーター ジョバッタ Papero Piero in the Italian original spot) – Peter is voiced by Kaneta Kimotsuki.[1]
  • Buta (ブータ) – Buta is voiced by Masako Nozawa.[1]
  • Deppa (デッパ) – Deppa is voiced by Sachiko Chijimatsu.[1]
  • Calimero's mother (カリメロの母 Cesira in the italian original spot) – Calimero's mother is voiced by Masako Nozawa.[1]
  • Calimero's father (カリメロの父 Gallettoni in the Italian original spot) – Calimero's father is voiced by Ken'ichi Ogata.[1]
  • Mr. Owl (フクロウ先生) – Mr. Owl is voiced by Jōji Yanami.[1]

1992 series

  • Calimero – Calimero is voiced by Shinobu Adachi.[1]
  • Priscilla – Priscilla is voiced by Akemi Okamura.[1]
  • Peter (ピーター) – Peter is voiced by Akirasa Ōmori.[1]
  • Giuliano (ジュリアーノ) – Giuliano is voiced by Yūji Ueda.[1]
  • Susie (スージー) – a wealthy girl duck. Susie is voiced by Natsumi Sasaki.[1]
  • Roshita (ロシータ) – Roshita is voiced by Hiroko Kasahara.[1]

Influence in popular culture

  • Calimero is the name and subject of a Welsh language song by the band Super Furry Animals [2]
  • French singer Brigitte Fontaine collaborated with the band Stereolab on a song of the same name [3]
  • The slang nickname during the 1970s-1980s for military policemen in the Israeli Army was Calimero, due to their egg-shaped white helmet; the same was the case in Spain
  • In the Netherlands and Belgium, the term "Calimero complex" is used to denote someone who thinks the world is against them because they are an underdog; often the character's lines from the show are cited, "They are big and I is [sic] small and that is not fair, oh no!" (translated back from the Dutch, with intentional error).[4] Similarly in Slovenia the word "Calimero" is still (~ 30 years after last national TV airing) used to call someone who thinks the world is against him because he is an underdog "He is such a Calimero" or "Don't be such a Calimero".

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 "カリメロアニメ紹介" (in Japanese). Chara Pit. Retrieved December 17, 2010. 
  2. ↑ The lyrics in Welsh say "Calimero wyt ti'n gwisgo wy ar dy ben" (Calimero you're wearing an egg on your head)
  3. ↑ The lyrics in French say "Je suis Caliméro, le vilain poussin noir" ("I'm Calimero, the naughty black chicken").
  4. ↑ Otte, Anja (5 May 2009). "Calimero". Flanders Today. Retrieved 6 June 2012. 

External links

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