Interview with Pietro Pinetti and Giorgio Scorza, respectively CEO of Studio Bozzetto and Movimenti Production, ready to bring on the small screen Topo Gigio, Signor Rossi and many other new and original IPs.
In Milan, in a quiet and lush courtyard, there is the place where cartoons are born. It is the headquarters of ForFun Media, a sort of strategic alliance between different animation studios – Studio Bozzetto, Movimenti Production, MoBo and DaDomani – to get out of the craft dimension and become a consolidated factory with an international scope. ForFun’s heart and soul are Pietro Pinetti and Andrea Bozzetto, respectively Ceo and Artistic Director of Studio Bozzetto, as well as Giorgio Scorza and Davide Rosio, Ceo and Art Director of Movimenti Production. Ready to bring many new projects to the fore, which are presented in these days at the Kidscreen in Miami (11 – 14 February), Pietro Pinetti and Giorgio Scorza have told us about their future, which also comes from licensing.
From now on Kidscreen, there will be you too…
Giorgio Scorza: Yes. Kidscreen, the most important event dedicated to the audiovisual industry market for children and teenagers, is the right showcase for presenting our future projects and consolidating relationships with foreign co-producers.
Which projects will you present to your potential partners?
Pietro Pinetti: At this time we are in full swing and we are working on many different projects. Our reflectors are mainly focused on two mice that need all our attention, namely Tip the Mouse and Topo Gigio. But among the projects that boil in the pot there are also Le Loup season 2, OPS, Spooky Wolf, Beasties and of course Mr. Rossi.
Topo Tip (m4eAG, Studio Bozzetto &Co, Giunti Editore – Studio Campedelli – RaiFiction)
Tip the Mouse and Topo Gigio, what do these two mice have in common?
Giorgio Scorza: They are two lively, round-eared creatures, both of whom are very curious and ready to discover the world with children. By the end of 2019 there will be 26 brand new episodes of the third season of Tip the Mouse, while for Topo Gigio, together with a new series, we are organizing the celebrations for his first 60 years. In preparation there is a documentary on the life of Maria Perego, her creator, and an exhibition that traces all the stages of her life. In particular we are proud to announce that for the first time the series will be totally produced in Italy, between the Milanese studios and the Dog Head Animation studios in Florence, which we founded a few weeks ago. This is the first 2D animation service studio in our country with 60 animators and layout artists, chosen among the Italian excellences, who will work at the top of international standards thanks to the partnership with ToonBoom and Wacom for software and hardware. We hope this is the beginning of a renewed tendency to retain highly qualified creatives, ideas and manpower in Italy.
Signor Rossi (Studio Bozzetto &Co.)
The one on Mr. Rossi is a highly anticipated animated serial project that is already arousing great interest…
Pietro Pinetti: Mr. Rossi is a character born in the 60s that was inspired by the common Italian person, a bit like Fantozzi or the characters of the Italian comedy interpreted by Alberto Sordi. Precisely for this reason it is still very actual. To make it appealing to new generations, however, we are thinking of putting it in front of more modern themes. The idea behind it is to entertain children by immersing them in the digital age, with all its pros and cons. His clumsiness in this technological world will make the little ones smile and will also attract adults who will be able to reflect on their difficulties in using new digital tools ».
In this project you have also involved the great Bruno Bozzetto?
Pietro Pinetti: Of course, together with Maurizio Nichetti for the screenplay. Bruno is the creator of the character and his vision is fundamental to develop the new series project in the best way.
What is the secret behind your success?
Giorgio Scorza: We have created ForFun Media, a network that combines four business realities under a single brand to share know-how and projects able to guarantee international works. To make this network operational and to engage with each other in a larger project, we created the MoBo company (a combination of Movimenti Production and Studio Bozzetto), of which we hold equal shares. With MoBo we are developing international TV series such as Flo & the Intrepids and Alice & Lewis, but we are also planning several multimedia projects. For example, we are working with important fun reality for families like Gardaland and Leolandia.
In a short time you have grown a lot, so much so that both Movimenti and Studio Bozzetto have moved to the new headquarter.
Pietro Pinetti: Faed with the exponential growth of the market, we felt the need to create a structure able to work continuously to take full advantage of the professional skills we had developed through the time.
Giorgio Scorza: Today ForFun includes a team of about 70 people able to cover the entire production process from pre-production to post-production. Not to mention that, thanks to new projects, in 2019 we plan to employ around 150 Italian creative talents. As children, we hope to never stop growing and especially dreaming!
What will your next events be?
Giorgio Scorza: After Kidscreen we will go to Cartoon Movie, MIPTV and Bologna LicensingTrade Fair, where we will present our properties to the licensing market.
So in your future there is also licensing?
Pietro Pinetti: The merchandising and licensing business is still a development process for us. Since January we have reacquired the management rights of our Tip the Mouse for Italy (the German co-producer M4E and the Studio 100 distributor are dealing with it at international level) but we would like to start the launch of other brands. To do this we are evaluating the possibility of creating our own dedicated internal structure, but before that there is still a long way to go. The enthusiasm is so much and for now the results have proved us right. We consider strategic to protect and enhance our brands and the creativity we have been able to produce over the years!
Lupo (Movimenti Production, Samka ProductionsAuzou – Jetpack – RaiRagazzi – TF1 – Canal Plus)
