L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano B ecause the Italians have always been giving away to the rest of the world so much of everything they created (art, literature, mu- sic, science, design, fashion, food, technology… you name it) their heritage sometimes becomes so big that they fall into the paradox of forgetting some of their more prominent artists and creators. In order to remember and to celebrate the huge, critically important presence of the Ital- ians in the animation industry, the amazing team of IAMLA (the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles) is proud to pre- sent a new exhibition exploring the world of animation through the work of all the Italian Amer- icans who were pioneers of this exciting medium: a legacy that is continuing to inspire masses and audiences today. The dramatic importance of the exhibition is related to the fact that the big, contemporary audience don't know how Ital- ians have given birth to iconic series such as The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry , The Jetsons a n d W o o d y W o o d p e c k e r . That's an important historic tes- timony, undeniably showing how Italians served as creative forces behind major studios and comic classics since the early years of the movie industry. Most of those incredible, tal- e n t e d a r t i s t s a r e e v e n m o r e admirable because they faced odds and prejudices of all kind: from pure racism to despicable racial stereotypes. Walter Lantz (just to name one of the many who had to somehow deny his origins) legally changed his sur- name from the Italian, original one: Lanza. He created Woody W o o d p e c k e r , a m o n g o t h e r extremely famous characters, yet he had to shamefully hide t h e f a c t t h a t h e w a s c o m i n g from the Country that gave the i m m o r t a l m a s t e r p i e c e s o f Leonardo, Caravaggio, Cellini and Michelangelo to the world. Another dramatically impor- tant fact that the beautiful exhi- bition highlights is how, in a tra- ditionally male-dominated field such as animation, Italian Amer- ican women were among the first ones who overcame bias, fighting hard to carve out their very successful careers. There- fore Fantasy World exhibits important figures such as Bian- c a M a j o l i e ( D i s n e y ' s f i r s t f e m a l e s t o r y a r t i s t ) , G r a c e Godino (actress, singer and ani- mator for Snow White and the S e v e n D w a r f s ) , A d r i a n a Caselotti (the enchanting voice of Snow White) and Milicent Patrick (born Mildred di Rossi), the long-overlooked creator of the Gill-Man from the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Now, after those initial and exciting years of pure pioneer- ing spirit, the Italians in the ani- mation industry have reached an established and highly praised and respected position: people like Michael Giacchino (Gram- m y , E m m y a n d A c a d e m y Award winning music compos- e r ) a n d A n t h o n y a n d J o e Russo (a successful directing d u o a n d t h e c r e a t i v e f o r c e s behind the Captain America franchise, who modernized clas- sic comics for the contemporary audience through their ground- breaking use of CGI) are able to lead the market, inspiring and guiding new generations of ani- mators from all over the world. "Fantasy World also fea- tures objects from iconic films a n d a n i m a t e d s e r i e s , r a r e comics, and interviews" says M a r i a n n a G a t t o ( e x e c u t i v e director, cofounder, and histori- a n o f t h e M u s e u m ) " W e a r e truly proud to have on display Henry Mancini's 1964 Gram- my Award for The Pink Pan- ther Theme, along with story- boards by Michael Maltese from t h e B u g s B u n n y c a r t o o n , a n o r i g i n a l s c r i p t f r o m W a l t e r Lantz's The Woody the Wood- pecker Show, an original paint- ing from Alice in Wonderland by Nino Carbé, and the baton used by Michael Giacchino to conduct the score for Up!" "Spanning a century of ani- mation history, Fantasy World" continues Marianna Gatto "the first exhibition of the Italian Americans in Animation exam- ines the lives, inspirations, and contributions of Italian Ameri- cans artists, writers, directors, voice actors, musicians, and pro- ducers who created unforget- table characters, hilarious car- toons, enduring musical scores, and timeless stories." A t t h e e x h i b i t i o n o f f i c i a l opening some of the Italian ani- mators' heirs were present, in order to celebrate their grand- parents' memory: among them also Stephen R. Born, whose a u n t G r a c e G o d i n o m a d e a n amazing career in animation, film, and theater. "A woman definitely ahead of her times" said Stephen "Grace had been an art major in college before she was hired, initially inking and then also painting, and working i n t h e S h a d o w D e p a r t m e n t with Wilma Baker on special effects animation. Most of her animation career was at Disney, but she did brief stints else- w h e r e , w o r k i n g f o r W a l t e r Lantz, Hanna-Barbera, Ron Campbell Films, Marvel and UPA, as well as being a color modeler on the very un-Disney The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat." Grace also modeled and inspired the main character of "Madame" in the classic Dis- ney's cult "The Aristocats" and there's one of her latest radio interviews available to listen at the exhibition. "Working on this particular event" said Marianna Gatto "it's been extremely exciting and empowering at the same time. Collecting all the exhibitions' pieces made me realize how big and fundamental has been the Italian contribute to the anima- t i o n i n d u s t r y i n H o l l y w o o d . Since its adventurous begin- nings, our Italian American tal- ents shaped it the way it is right now. From Vince Guaraldi to Henry Mancini (the Pink Pan- ther theme), from Hanna & Bar- b e r a ( T o m a n d J e r r y ) t o t h e Russo Brothers (The Avengers), f r o m B i a n c a M a j o l i e , G r a c e Godino and Mary Costa to Car- men Italia and Jason Figliozzi… our immense heritage of Italian creativity has passed through generations, to keep inspiring t h e w o r l d ' s a u d i e n c e w i t h Pinocchio, Felix the Cat, The Flintstones, The Pink Panther, Scooby-Doo and many other iconic characters and master- pieces." The exhibition will be open from June 2nd 2019 to January 26th 2020, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (closed Mon- days). The admission is free, but donations are encouraged. For more information, visitors can double check the official web- site: www.iamla.org MAURIZIO RAMI The Flinstones were created also by Italian animation artists @Maurizio Rami Grace Godino at the opening of A world of Fantasy at the IAMLA @Maurizio Rami A world of fantasy at the IAMLA, to celebrate the Italian creativity in the Hollywood industry LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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