Bruno Bozzetto (born 3 March 1938) is an Italian cartoonist, animator and film director. He is known for his political and satirical productions. He created his first animated short, "Tapum! the weapons' story" in 1958 at the age of 20. His most famous character, a hapless little man named "Signor Rossi" (English: Mr. Rossi), has been featured in many animated shorts as well as starring in three feature films: Mr. Rossi Looks for Happiness (1976), Mr. Rossi's Dreams (1977), and Mr. Rossi's Vacation (1977).
In 1965, Bozzetto produced his first feature-length animated film: West and Soda, a parody of American Western films. In 1968, Bozzetto released VIP my Brother Superman, a superhero parody. However, his best-known work is probably the 1976 feature film Allegro non troppo, a collection of short pieces set to classical music in the manner of Walt Disney's Fantasia, but more humorous in nature, economical in execution and with more sophisticated narrative themes. After a long break, Bozzetto produced a live-action film in 1987, Under the Chinese Restaurant, his last feature film work until assisting on the pilot for Mammuk (2002), an animated film set in prehistoric times (now being produced by Rai Cinema and The Animation Band).
1990 saw the release of Grasshoppers (Cavallette), which was an Academy Award nominee for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1991.
Although he gained critical acclaim and personal satisfaction primarily through his feature-length cartoons and the series Signor Rossi, in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s he was known to most of Europe for the short cartoon series he created for the Swiss television RSI in collaboration with Guido Manuli.
Being funny and indefinable Stripy teaches us not to take ourselves too seriously and to face life with a smile. Stripy is imprinted in the collective memory thanks to the Carlo Bonomi's infectious laugh and catchy theme tune.
A serial of episodes which tell a story about several insects, that are, the caterpillar, the grasshopper, the mosquito, the ant, the worm, the cricket, the snail, the flea, the dragonfly, the ladybird, the termite, the bee and the spider.
A serial about a character with the longest hiccups in the world.
The three cartoon series were extremely successful, especially in the Central European countries.
In 1995, he produced an animated short for Hanna-Barbera's What a Cartoon! series entitled Help? and in 1996, in cooperation with RAI and with the support of Cartoon (Media Programme of the European Union), he created The Spaghetti Family, a 26-episode cartoon television series.
Since 1999, Bozzetto turned to flash cartoons, most notably with the award-winning Europe and Italy, a commentary on European vs. Italian socio-cultural attributes. He also laid inspiration for the countryballs meme.
This list is only a short sampling of the many shorts Bozzetto has put out over the years.