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 g ...

, comics artist and animation director. Bianchi worked extensively as an artist, director and producer on animated television productions; including '' Heathcliff'', '' Iznogoud'' and most notably, '' Inspector Gadget'', 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 com ...

) 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 '' Inspector Gadget'', a series he co-created with Andy Heyward and DiC's founder Jean Chalopin. 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 ...

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 t ...

'', ''

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 of ...

'', ''

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'' (which he co-created and co-wrote with Jean Chalopin), '' Iznogoud'', '' Princess Sissi'' and '' Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' (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 figure ...

in Paris on 6 December 2011.

Director

* 1983: '' Inspector Gadget'' * 1984: '' Heathcliff'' * 1985: ''

'' * 1985: ''

'' * 1985: '' Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling'' * 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: '' Diplodos'' * 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'' * 1995: '' Iznogoud'' * 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 bro ...

'' * 1997: '' Princess Sissi'' * 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: '' Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' * 2004: '' The Tofus''

Producer

* 1995: '' Iznogoud'' * 1996: ''

'' * 1997: '' Princess Sissi'' * 1998: '' Jim Button'' * 2001: ''

'' * 2002: '' Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' * 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: '' The Tofus'' * 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 class ...

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

Combo Niños ''Combo Niños'' is a French animated television series created by SIP Animation in collaboration with Jetix Europe and TF1, aimed towards the 6–10 years old audience. The series is about the adventures of 4 juvenile capoeira practitioners with t ...

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