Bruno Bianchi (, 6 September 1955 – 2 December 2011) was a French

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

, comics artist and animation director. Bianchi worked extensively as an artist, director and producer on animated television productions; including '' Heathcliff'', ''

Iznogoud ''Iznogoud'' (pronounced "he's/is no good" with a French accent) is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created by the comics writer René Goscinny and comics artist Jean Tabary. The comic series chronicles the life and tim ...

'' and most notably, ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series ''Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated s ...

'', which he also co-created.

Career

Bianchi started his career at DiC Audiovisuel (later

DiC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...

) in 1977 at age 22 as a cel painter, then gradually assumed creative positions. His first director's credit was on the 1980 edutainment mini-series '' Archibald le Magichien'' (directly translated: ''Archibald the Magic Dog''). In 1983, Bianchi scored his first major directing job on ''

'', a series he co-created with

Andy Heyward Andrew B. Heyward (born February 19, 1949) is the former Chairman and CEO of DIC Entertainment, an animation production company. He is currently CEO of Genius Brands, Genius Brands International. Early life Heyward was born in New York City, ...

and DiC's founder

Jean Chalopin Jean Chalopin (born 31 May 1950) is a French bank executive. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he produced a range of successful animated series, first as the founder and president of the production company DIC, then at his newly created compa ...

. Bianchi served as main character designer and supervising director on the show, which became one of the most iconic series produced by DiC. Subsequently, Bianchi worked as a director, producer and designer on numerous other

Saban Entertainment Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and S ...

and

SIP Animation SIP Animation (known as Saban International Paris until 2002) was a French animation studio, and a former subsidiary of Saban Entertainment. By 2009, the company had produced over 390 hours of animated content. Despite the name, the company was n ...

television animation productions from the 1980s until the mid-2000s. His credits include '' Heathcliff'' (where he co-created the ''Cats and Company'' characters together with Jean Chalopin), ''

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors ''Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors'' (French: ''Jayce et les Conquérants de la Lumière'') is an animated TV show which was first broadcast on TF1 on September 9, 1985 on the block ''Salut les p'tits loups !'', and eventually on September 16 in ...

'', ''

M.A.S.K. M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) is a media franchise created by Kenner. The main premise revolved around the fight between the titular protagonist underground task force and the criminal organization V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network o ...

'', ''

Rainbow Brite ''Rainbow Brite'' is a media franchise by Hallmark Cards, introduced in 1984. The animated ''Rainbow Brite'' television series first aired in 1984, the same year Hallmark licensed Rainbow Brite to Mattel for a range of dolls and other merchand ...

'', ''

Diplodos ''Diplodos'' is an animated series which first broadcast in 1988. It was produced by Saban International & C&D (Créativité et Développement), a company founded by Jean Chalopin after he left DIC.Faviez, Pierre. ''La Télé : un destin animé' ...

'' (which he co-created and co-wrote with Jean Chalopin), ''

'', ''

Princess Sissi ''Princess Sissi'' (french: Princessé Sissi, it, La Principessa Sissi, also known as Saban's Sissi the Princess) is a children's animated series. It debuted on October 27, 1997 on France 3 and within the same time in Italy on Rai 1, and late ...

'' and ''

Gadget & the Gadgetinis ''Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' is an animated television series spin-off of the 1983 series ''Inspector Gadget''. The series was a co-production between Fox Kids Europe, DIC Entertainment Corporation, French animation studio SIP Animation, French b ...

'' (a spinoff of ''Inspector Gadget''). In 2008, following the closure of SIP Animation, Bianchi founded his own studio, Ginkgo Animation. One of Ginkgo's projects had been ''George and Me'' (French title ''Georges et Moi''), an adaptation of a 2006

Soleil Productions Soleil Productions is a French publisher of both original and imported comic books. History Soleil was founded in 1989 in Toulouse. Soleil quickly became known as a publisher of cartoons and parodies such as Rahan, Blek le Roc et Tarzan. It so ...

comic series that had first been picked up by SIP Animation as early as December 2007, and had been planned to start production at SIP at the beginning of 2009. However, by April 2011 this venture of Ginkgo's was considered unsuccessful due to changing priorities in the French animation industry, according to one of the authors of the original comics. Bianchi died on 2 December 2011 at the age of 56. He was buried in

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

in Paris on 6 December 2011.

Director

* 1983: ''

'' * 1984: '' Heathcliff'' * 1985: ''

'' * 1985: ''

Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling ''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling'' is an American animated television series that originally aired on CBS Saturday mornings from September 14, 1985 to October 18, 1986, with reruns airing until June 27, 1987. History ''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wres ...

'' * 1985: ''

'' * 1986: ''

Popples Popples is a toy and television franchise created by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), a subsidiary of American Greetings. Popples resemble brightly colored marsupial teddy bears with long tails ending in a pom-pom. Each Popple character ...

'' * 1988: ''

'' * 1992: ''

Around the World in Eighty Dreams ''Saban's Around the World in Eighty Dreams'' (french: Les Aventures de Carlos) is a French animated series that first premiered on Canal+ on November 13, 1992, and later aired on TF1 in December 1993. A co-production between Saban Internationa ...

'' * 1995: ''

Space Strikers ''Space Strikers'' (french: 20,000 Lieues dans l'espace, lit ''20,000 Leagues in Space'') is a 1995 animated television series based on the 1870 Jules Verne novel ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea''. Episodes center around the crew of the sp ...

'' * 1995: ''

'' * 1996: ''

The Why Why? Family ''The Why Why Family'' (french: Les Kikekoi, also known as ''Saban's The Why Why Family'') is an animated children's television series, which originally aired in 1996, produced by Saban International Paris and Saban Entertainment. The show was broa ...

'' * 1997: ''

'' * 1998: '' Walter Melon'' * 1998: '' Jim Button'' * 2001: ''

Wunschpunsch ''Wunschpunsch'' (french: Wounchpounch, german: Der Wunschpunsch) is a children's animated fantasy television series, co-produced by Saban International Paris, CinéGroupe and TF1, with the participation of Ventura Film Distributors B.V. and A ...

'' * 2002: ''

'' * 2004: ''

The Tofus ''The Tofus'' (french: Les Tofou) is an animated sitcom produced by SIP Animation and CinéGroupe. The animated series is a satirical parody of the environmentalist lifestyle epitomized by its title family, which consists of Mom, Pop, Chichi, Lola ...

Producer

* 1995: ''

'' * 1996: ''

'' * 1997: ''

'' * 1998: '' Jim Button'' * 2001: ''

'' * 2002: ''

'' * 2003: ''

What's with Andy? ''What's with Andy?'' (''Sacré Andy !'' in French) is an animated children's television series loosely based on the semi-autobiographical ''Just!'' book series by Australian author Andy Griffiths. The animated series was primarily produced by Can ...

'' (season 2 only) * 2004: ''

'' * 2004: ''

W.I.T.C.H. ''W.I.T.C.H.'' (stylised as ''W.i.t.c.h.'') is an Italian fantasy Disney comics series created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and Barbara Canepa. The series features a group of five teenage girls who become the guardians of the classi ...

'' * 2005: '' A.T.O.M. (Alpha Teens on Machines)'' * 2008: '' Combo Niños''

References

External links

*
Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianchi, Bruno Date of birth unknown 1955 births 2011 deaths French people of Italian descent French animators French animated film directors French comics artists French film directors French male screenwriters French television producers Artists from Chartres Artists from Paris Writers from Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Deaths from cancer in France Year of birth uncertain