2003 - Animazione/Commedia - 1h 19m
Regia: Maurizio Forestieri
Cast: Marco Vivio, Lello Arena, Pietra Montecorvino, Mario Merola, Saba Anglana, Francesco Paolantoni, Rosalia Porcaro, Tino Cervi, Fabrizio De Flavis, Antonio Conte, Paolo Serra, Giovanni Calò, Angela De Matteo, Ilaria Stagni
Antonio Salvatore Sapore, known as Totò is an energetic Neapolitan storyteller who dreams of becoming a cook. All Neapolitans are crazy about him for his skill in helping people distract him from hunger and amuse them. But the envy of the Witch Vesuvius, a woman covered with incadescent magma and who lives in Vesuvius plots on him and on all of Naples, using all the magic at his disposal.
The film is inspired by the 1985 book by Roberto Piumini, the prisoner Cook who was a modest success even if the book at least for me is unknown. The film is the result of the Italian studio Lanterna Magica, creator of various films such as the most famous the gabbianella and the cat and animated series, and who also created the first theme song for the children's program La Melevisione. An Italian story where food is rightfully at the center of everything, but above all where the carrier food is pizza and its creator country or Naples.
A story made of magic combined with cuisine but also music, the last two are fundamental elements for a Naples of the mid ' 700, where the Kingdom of Naples still existed and was a village not as we knew it today but a poor town between markets and nothing more, and that the poor people went on with the little money they got. I have to say that when I was little I was passionate about this film because of its history and obviously the pizza, but seeing it now I can say that the studio could have formulated the story well, that it is beautiful and convincing but that it is too fast passing from one scene to another too quickly not dwelling on certain important moments. The director Maurizio Forestieri, a great collaborator of the Magic Lantern with great success, wanted to combine many elements but taking too little care of the various scenarios of the story, even if he was very close to The Book of Piumini, among various differences.
The cheerful Totò Sapore
The characters were created modestly good, for, however, an animation studio that has distributed films, funny and modest, but certainly if the project was to repeat the success of the seagull and the cat, are not managed very well, and certainly after that success could not be repeated. Returning your characters, of which there are many, to reflect on Totò Sapore it would be too easy, an aspiring chef, to the great joy and skill in escape from various situations, and the result of the guy in the typical neapolitan brings you a joy and unbridled with a real sense of belonging to their city, the visa is similar to various features in Aladdin without going overboard, but only for the poor guy in the barrel that lives between a few furtarello, and helping the poor people, while waiting for the right moment to start a new life and a goal she wants to achieve.
Totò Sapore and Pulcinella
The character on which I would like to dwell in particular is the mask of Naples or Pulcinella Cetrulo, a "carpet" with the black mask and the skill to make people laugh and dance, with its Neapolitan dialectic that has always characterized Naples. But see Pulcinella as Totò's sidekick and shoulder, which makes a funny and crazy couple. The mask of the art comedy made the film funny and is the most beautiful part of the story. But what I cannot accept, and how it is treated in the beginning of their friendship, he is saved by Toto and immediately in the next scene are already friends as if you knew each other for a lifetime, it is not clear where it comes from Pulcinella, and we do them, or because the two are just friends, what better could describe. Although the fun part and that is always Totò to have power over him, like the many couples of the past without too rambling.
To the cruel Vesuvius
The magic is in the additional element of the film and is released from the number one enemy or Vesuvia, a witch covered in glowing magma that could live only inside of Vesuvius (the name says it all), a woman of very bad and seems to be the typical witch of fairy tales that are told to children, with the voice from the cruel antagonist ready to reign over everything and everyone. A character right for the place where the story is set, who wants to be the first at any cost even being wrong. We also know very little about her, I accept that they do not say where she was born, she is part of the volcano and therefore does not need, but understanding why she wants to reign over Naples and destroy Totò is not even mentioned and this is a point against.
Bad and domineering is also with his henchman, Vincenzone, an orc aspiring theater actor and who suffers from Vesuvius all the possible anxieties only for fear of taking them. What I understand is that in reality he would not want to hurt anyone, but that indeed as we would see in the end he is sweet and funny ready to help others. A funny character probably after Pulcinella the one that makes the most laugh, and will be fundamental to the film. Also fundamental are the friends and the result of the success of Totò that will lead him to become the real cook, or talking pots created by Vesuvia, who can cook in a few seconds any dish with the customer's thought. Of the characters I do not say funny but unique for the story, and that they will become very Friends of Totò, even if the initial idea was to put the stick between the wheels, the result of how the dark plans sometimes become good.
Totò E Confiance
I could stand here and talk about all the other characters as Confiance, a French girl who falls in love with Toto, and their love story is told in a short time, you know after Taste rescues her from an accident and they fall in love immediately, I accept that there are shots of the lightning, but in the following scenes, it seems that the two do a couple for years, could tell their love in a more precise even longer history. Confiance that will then have to deal with his father Jacques Mestolon, the court cook, a furious and envious character not to mention the Royals with King, Queen and spoiled son who will fight with the French royals where he makes his daughter Scorfanette laugh (the name because of the ugliness with a lot of moniciglio, so much as to resemble Fantozzi's daughter).
A kingdom of which we will see little apart from the kitchen and the dining room and almost the prison, but which could be described better. The right importance was given to the creation of margherita pizza and the way it is thrown to the people, with a lot of scene in Vesuvius to laugh but above all to make the mouth water. A vocal cast mainly neapolitan how appropriate that is, starting from a fun Lello Arena (also dubbing director) has been the voice of Pulcinella with the dialectic of fun, even if sometimes you do not understand anything to the speed with which he speaks, and only the neapolitan actor could play him, he who had started his career in the theatre in the trio was The case in germany; going to the comic Francesco Paolantoni, which, with its styling has dubbed the pots speakers, and one can not but mention the great Mario Merola, who has voiced Vincenzone. The late King of the script gave a lot of himself for the character having also been a good actor as well as singer.
Edoardo and Eugenio Bennato edited the soundtrack
The soundtrack was signed by probably the most famous Neapolitan singer-songwriter after Pino Daniele or Edoardo Bennato who together with his brother Eugenio wrote the music using that wonderful napoletnao sound between tarantelle and bright and sparkling melodies typical of Bennato's career. In a nutshell an animated film that despite having had a modest success, could be created better but that convinced me in many parts, recognizing the fine work of the animation studio that has always and still created discreet results.
by Giacomo Fantini rating: 2,50 of 5
13 July 2021
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