| Calimero | |
|---|---|
| Calimero character | |
 Calimero poster showing two of the main characters. | |
| First appearance | Carosello |
| Created by | Nino Pagot Toni Pagot Ignazio Colnaghi |
| Voiced by | Ignazio Colnaghi Davide Garbolino (2013–present) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Chick |
| Gender | Male |
| Origin | Italy |
| Calimero | |
| カリメロ (Karimero) | |
|---|---|
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Yugo Serikawa |
| Studio | Organizzazione Pagot Toei Animation |
| Original network | ANN (NET) |
| Original run | July 14, 1963 – September 30, 1975 |
| Episodes | 47 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Tsuneo Tominaga,Shigeru Ueda |
| Music by | Junnosuke Yamamoto |
| Studio | Telescreen |
| Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
| Original run | October 15, 1992 – September 9, 1993 |
| Episodes | 52 |
| Anime television series | |
| Studio | Gaumont Animation |
| Original network | TF1 (France) Rai 2 (Italy) TXN (TV Tokyo) (Japan) |
| English network | |
| Original run | October 7, 2013 – September 25, 2016 |
| Episodes | 104 |
Calimero is an animated television series about a charming but hapless anthropomorphized chicken; the only black one in a family of yellow chickens.[1] He wears half of his egg shell still on his head. Calimero originally appeared on the Italian television showCarosello 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. The creators of the main character wereNino Pagot,Toni Pagot andIgnazio Colnaghi.[2] 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 ananime series twice, titledCalimero (カリメロ,Karimero). The first was produced by K&S and animated byToei Animation and ran from October 15, 1972, to September 30, 1975; the second, with new settings and characters, was made byTelescreen in 1992. Altogether, 99 Japanese episodes were made (47 in the 1972 Toei series, and 52 in the 1992 Telescreen 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 second series was never renewed for a second season. English dubbed versions for the first two anime series were never officially released, though dubbed pilot episodes do exist. However, the series did come out in other languages. The original 1970s shorts and the third CGI series were released in English, however. The first series was also broadcast on European networks such asTROS (The Netherlands),ZDF andRTL II (Germany) orTVE (Spain).
A third animation series about the character, incomputer animation, premiered inTF1 in 2013. The production team includes France’sGaumont Animation, rights owner Calidra, Italy’s Studio Campedelli and Japanese partnersTV Tokyo andKodansha. The series also aired on several other TV channels, including onDisney Junior in the United Kingdom and Australia.[2]
A mobile game titledCalimero's Village was released for iOS and Android in 2015 byBulkyPix.[5]
The main character in the anime series has had a lasting impact in the vocabulary of some countries, either because of his looks, with an egg shell on his head, or because of his frequent complaining about being unfairly treated by others:
