Iginio Straffi
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Iginio Straffi is an Italian animator and former
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
author. He is the founder and president of
Rainbow SpA Rainbow S.p.A. is an Italian studio founded by Iginio Straffi. Viacom (now known as Paramount Global) became a co-owner of the studio in 2011. Rainbow has collaborated with Viacom/Paramount's other company, Nickelodeon, on multiple shows, includ ...
, which he co-owns alongside the American media company
Paramount Global Paramount Global ( doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. ...
. Straffi is the creator of the studio's animated series '' Winx Club'' and '' Huntik: Secrets & Seekers'', as well as the co-creator of its comic book series '' Maya Fox''. While at university, Straffi published his first comic story in a 1985 issue of ''
Tilt Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 * ...
''. He continued to work as a comic book illustrator through the 1990s, eventually drawing an issue of
Sergio Bonelli Editore Sergio Bonelli Editore (formerly CEPIM and other names) is a publishing house of Italian comics founded in 1940 by Gian Luigi Bonelli (1908–2001). It takes its name from its former president, comic book writer Sergio Bonelli (1932–2011), son of ...
's ''
Nick Raider Nick Raider is a fictional comic detective whose series was published from 1988 to 2005 by Sergio Bonelli Editore in Italy. Graphically inspired by the American actor Robert Mitchum, it was created by writer Claudio Nizzi and artist Giampiero Case ...
'' series. In 1995, Straffi founded Rainbow with the assistance of Lamberto Pigini and Giuseppe Casali. The studio began with a capital of 10,000 euros, which was mostly used to purchase computers and software for digital design. Rainbow initially provided creative services for other companies until securing funds for original projects. In 2004, Iginio Straffi's creation ''Winx Club'' premiered in Italy. The series became internationally successful and attracted the attention of the American media company
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
, owner of
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
and Paramount Pictures. After a "long courtship," in February 2011 Viacom became a co-owner of Rainbow, purchasing 30% of the studio and leaving the remaining 70% to Straffi. The purchase was called "Straffi's most important agreement" by ''
L'espresso ''L'Espresso'' () is an Italian weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is '' Panorama''. Since 2022 it has been published by BFC Media. History and profile One of Italy's foremost newsmagazines, ' ...
'', as it led to the worldwide distribution of Rainbow's shows by Paramount and Nickelodeon, as well as various co-productions. As of 2019, Straffi continues to work in creative roles at Rainbow, but he has shifted his focus from animation to
live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
. Among his first live-action works are Nickelodeon's '' Club 57'' and '' Fate: The Winx Saga'', an adaptation of ''Winx Club''.


Biography


Early life

Straffi was born in Gualdo in the Italian region of Marche. He had an interest in illustrating comic books from a young age, and by age seven, he started drawing his own comic stories. When he was eight years old, Straffi moved to the nearby city of
Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ...
. In high school, he often drew comic stories in his classmates' notebooks and participated in art competitions, such as one held by the comic magazine ''
Totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or '' doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the ...
''. While he continued to develop his art skills, Straffi studied Modern Languages and Literatures at the
University of Macerata The University of Macerata ( it, Università degli Studi di Macerata) is a public university located in Macerata, Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe that are still functioning.https://thefunkonme.com/top-10-oldest-universities ...
. During his university years, he dated a foreign girl named Antonella who was raised in Italy by adoptive parents. Antonella told Straffi of her desire to meet her biological parents, which inspired Straffi to create a character with a similar backstory ( Bloom from ''Winx Club''). Bloom's personality was based on that of Straffi's wife, Joanne Lee. Straffi met Lee in 1997, during a trip to Lee's native
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, and they married several years later. Straffi and Lee have a daughter named Isotta.


Career

Straffi entered the professional comic book industry with a story in the 1985 issue of ''Tilt''. He later collaborated on comic stories for the magazine ''
Lanciostory ''Lanciostory'', sometimes spelled as ''Lancio Story'' or ''LancioStory'', is a weekly comic magazine published in Rome, Italy, from 1975. History and profile ''Lanciostory'' was created in 1975 by Editrice Lancio to target the adult audience i ...
'' and the Italian version of '' Skorpio''. In 1989, Straffi was talent-scouted by
Claudio Nizzi Claudio Nizzi (born 9 September 1938 in Sétif, Algeria) is an Italian comic author. He started his career as comic scriptwriter in 1963, writing for the comics magazine '' Il Vittorioso''. During 1969 he started working for ''Il Giornalino'' ...
, creator of the ''
Nick Raider Nick Raider is a fictional comic detective whose series was published from 1988 to 2005 by Sergio Bonelli Editore in Italy. Graphically inspired by the American actor Robert Mitchum, it was created by writer Claudio Nizzi and artist Giampiero Case ...
'' comic book series. Nizzi brought him to work for the comic book's publishing house,
Sergio Bonelli Editore Sergio Bonelli Editore (formerly CEPIM and other names) is a publishing house of Italian comics founded in 1940 by Gian Luigi Bonelli (1908–2001). It takes its name from its former president, comic book writer Sergio Bonelli (1932–2011), son of ...
. Straffi became the lead creative artist for ''Nick Raider'', beginning with the October 1990 issue "Missione nel Bronx". His work was also occasionally featured in the '' Métal hurlant'' and ''
Comic Art ''Comic Art'' was a magazine, founded and edited by Todd Hignite, which surveyed newspaper comic strips, magazine cartoon panels and comic book art, both historical and contemporary. History and profile ''Comic Art'' was established in 2002. Th ...
'' magazines. While he enjoyed illustration, Straffi's "dream job" was to turn his drawings into a cartoon, and he could not find an animation job in his home country. In 1992, Straffi left Sergio Bonelli Editore and moved to France for a storyboarding job at the Telcima animation studio. He was "bewildered" when he was offered the position, but in Straffi's words, it was "the turning point ewas waiting for." Straffi worked on designs for the pilot episode of '' Valérian'' as well as a planned film adaptation of ''
Roman de Renart Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
''. After becoming experienced with each stage of the animation production process, Straffi returned to Italy. With the financial assistance of Lamberto Pigini and Giuseppe Casali, Straffi founded
Rainbow SpA Rainbow S.p.A. is an Italian studio founded by Iginio Straffi. Viacom (now known as Paramount Global) became a co-owner of the studio in 2011. Rainbow has collaborated with Viacom/Paramount's other company, Nickelodeon, on multiple shows, includ ...
in 1995 with 10,000 euros. The money was mainly used to purchase computers and software for digital design. Rainbow initially provided creative services for larger companies. Among the studio's first commissions were three minutes of animation in the film ''
La freccia azzurra ''How the Toys Saved Christmas'' is a 1996 Italian animated film directed by Enzo D'Alò, based on a tale by Gianni Rodari. In the original version, the story took place during the Epiphany Eve, because in the Folklore of Italy the Befana is a ...
'' and the pilot for
Les Armateurs Les Armateurs is a French film production company focused on animation. It was founded by Didier Brunner in 1994 and is based in Paris. It produces feature films, short films and television series. Brunner served as the president of the company unt ...
' cartoon '' Belphégor''. Rainbow eventually secured enough funds to produce its first original project, the '' Tommy and Oscar'' series of CD-ROMs and animations. In 2004, Straffi's creation '' Winx Club'' premiered on Italy's
Rai 2 Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting ''TG2'' news bulletins, tal ...
. It became one of the network's highest-rated programs, with an average audience share of 17%. Straffi originally wrote the ''Winx Club'' plot to last no more than 78 episodes (three seasons). He decided to extend the series for an additional season in 2008, citing the show's increasing popularity. Around this time, ''Winx Club''s international success attracted the attention of the American media company
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
, owner of
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
and Paramount Pictures. In February 2011, Viacom became a co-owner of Rainbow, purchasing 30% of the company and leaving the remaining 70% to Straffi. Viacom's entry into the company followed a "long courtship," and the terms of the US$83 million purchase were decided earlier in 2010. Viacom provides Straffi access to financial and studio resources that, according to ''
L'espresso ''L'Espresso'' () is an Italian weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is '' Panorama''. Since 2022 it has been published by BFC Media. History and profile One of Italy's foremost newsmagazines, ' ...
'', "ensure the future of the Winx fairies, and of Straffi himself." ''L'espresso'' called the transaction "Straffi's most important agreement," as it led to the worldwide distribution of Rainbow's shows through Viacom's network of subsidiaries. Viacom's Nickelodeon studios have co-produced various projects with Rainbow, including additional seasons of ''Winx Club'' and '' Club 57'' in 2019. When asked by an interviewer in 2011 if he was "tired of" working on ''Winx Club'', Straffi responded, "Let's just say I've moved onto other projects." His other creations include the horror comic book series '' Maya Fox'' (first published in 2008) and the animated television series '' Huntik: Secrets & Seekers'' (which premiered in 2009). In 2012, Straffi's first original animated film, '' Gladiators of Rome'', opened in Italy. The movie was one of the most expensive Italian films made at the time, costing around $80 million (70 million euros) including marketing costs. The film performed poorly at the box office, earning about $10 million worldwide, which Straffi assumed was a result of Rainbow's lack of experience with cinema. Straffi also produced ''
The Dark Side of the Sun ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'', an animated documentary that premiered at the
Rome International Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'Og ...
in December 2011. In 2019, Straffi stated that he intended to shift his focus to
live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
over animation; he felt "the move into live action completes isexperience professionally." This followed Straffi's announcement that ''Winx Club'' would be adapted into a live-action series ('' Fate: The Winx Saga'') geared towards the show's older fans, while the animated series would be completely redesigned for a much younger audience. As of 2019, Straffi serves as executive producer for ''Fate'' and as a producer for Nickelodeon's ''Club 57''. The same year, Straffi commented on his near-decade of continued work with Nickelodeon, saying that "the know-how of Rainbow and the know-how of Nickelodeon are very complementary; the sensibilities of the Americans, with our European touch."


External links


Official website
*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straffi, Iginio 1965 births Living people 20th-century Italian male artists 21st-century Italian male artists People from the Province of Macerata Italian animators Italian film directors Italian film producers Italian storyboard artists Italian television directors Italian television producers Italian comics artists Italian animated film directors Italian animated film producers Showrunners University of Macerata alumni Nickelodeon people