A black sheep chicken in a yellow world solves crimes while wearing his own shell as a hat.
Season 1 • Episode 90
LatestCalimero 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 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. 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, ZDF and RTL II or TVE.
Practical Effects
That eggshell hat is practical effects mastery, actually.
Production
Italian-Japanese collab birthed anime before anime was cool.
Costume
Calimero's entire identity is his birth outfit. Commitment.
Creators
Nino Pagot, Toni Pagot
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Calimero became a massive pop culture icon in Italy before Japan claimed him, spawning merchandise, catchphrases, and even a 2008 Nintendo DS game.
The original Italian voice actor for Calimero's friend Peter Jobatta was so iconic that Japanese casting deliberately matched his energy for the anime dub.
IT
JP
