Danilo Bertazzi (@danilo_bertazzi)talks openly about his relationship with his most iconic role: Tonio Cartonio.
In one of the most heartfelt and emotional panels of the latest editions of Napoli Comicon, Danilo Bertazzi (a.k.a. Tonio Cartonio) spoke in front of hundreds of Melevisione fans, now no longer children but adults:
“Lupo Lucio was the only one who drank the soft drinks. The others pretended and no one paid. He was the harlequin of art who tried to be smart but never succeeded ; after all, he was a good guy.
Why did Melevisione work? What remains in the heart is the collective memory of a generation, which had something that today’s children no longer have: the ritual of waiting a day to watch another episode. If you go back in your memory, you remember the colors and smells of grandma’s house. It was the last generation to whom important messages could be taught in a playful way.
There was a moment in my life in which I hated Tonio a little ; he was cumbersome and caused me difficult and painful moments. I overcame all of this with social media, being able to communicate and feeling tangible affection from those who were my children.
When I landed on social media, people told me “so you’re not dead!”. When the fake news about my passing spread, social media didn’t exist and it couldn’t be denied. I had given some interviews to newspapers but there was no immediate way to communicate. At the time, there were discussion forums but it was like throwing a stone into a lake.
Why did I leave Melevisione? When a love story ends, there is never just one reason ; it is always a combination of things that make two people understand that they can no longer be together. For me it was a difficult choice ; I had announced the decision to Rai and the director of Rai 3 at the time told me to think again and I was tempted, but then I decided to trust my gut.”
Danilo then presents his new book “Pietro and the world of lost fairy tales”:
“To keep the fairy tale and the magic alive, you have to read, and reading for children is essential. They must use their imagination. This book, which I wasn’t sure I could write, is an illustrated fairy tale that has an ending perhaps for adults but I won’t spoil anything. I’m very proud ; this protagonist to whom I gave the name Pietro dedicating it to the son of my friends, is the Danilo as a child, or perhaps as I would have liked the Danilo as a child. I’m very happy to present it in front of friends, because I know that with you I feel protected and safe”.
