''Opopomoz'' is a 2003

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

- French-

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

animation film Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

directed by

Enzo D'Alò Enzo D'Alò (born 7 September 1953) is an Italian animator and director. Life and career Born in Naples, D'Alò moved to Turin in 1979 and there he started his career as animator working with the group "La Lanterna Magica". In 1983 he debuted ...

. It tells an unusual Christmas story, set in a modern-day

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, during the Christmas season. The film was shot in two years, with a budget of about 10 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

Plot

The movie starts in Hell where Satan plans to destroy Christmas by stopping

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

's birth, and he decides to send three of his minions — Astarotte, Scarapino and Farfaricchio — in Naples from the barrel of Mount

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma- stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

since it was the "Crib's capital". The three devils choose a little kid called Rocco, which is unhappy and jealous for the incoming birth of his little brother Francesco, and he's always angry with his mother and father. After a lot of tempting, the devils manage to make Rocco say the magic word "Opopomoz" and go into the crib's world, where he's determined to stop

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

from coming to Betlem. But the three devils cause a lot of problems and never manage to accomplish the mission, so Rocco runs away. Meanwhile, his little Italo-American cousin Sara discovers what happened thanks to Rocco's cat and runs after him into the Crib's world, but doesn't manage to find, and she's found by a young Saint Peter and his family. Rocco finally finds Sara who finally convinces him, with the help of an Angel, that he was wrong, so they send away the three devils. Satan's furious with them and decides to kill Mary by hypnotizing Rocco and devouring Sara's soul, but his spell fails after the boy looked at Mary's aureole and the three devils, who are tired of getting bossed and feel sorry for the little girl, wake her and encourage her to sing a song her grandmother taught her which could send away the devil, and so Satan is sucked back in Hell forever. Finally,

is born and Rocco's mother gives birth to Francesco right on Christmas's night and the three little devils are turned into an ox and two donkeys to watch over little Jesus.

Voice Cast

Tonino Accolla Antonio "Tonino" Accolla (6 April 1949 – 14 July 2013) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Accolla began his career in the late 1970s making his very first dubbing contribution in the 1979 film ''Apocalypse Now''. He was also nota ...

as Astarotte *

Oreste Lionello Oreste Lionello (18 April 1927 – 19 February 2009) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Lionello was born in Rhodes (which was then a possession of Italy), to Calabrian parents, and grew up in Reggio Calabria. He began his career a ...

as Scarapino *

Fabio Volo Fabio Volo, pseudonym of Fabio Bonetti, (born 23 June 1972) is an Italian writer, actor, radio and television presenter, screenwriter, drummer, singer and philosopher. Career Fabio Bonetti was born in Calcinate, Italy on 23 June 1972. After a ...

as Farfaricchio *

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

as John *

Silvio Orlando Silvio Orlando (born 30 June 1957) is an Italian actor. Orlando was born and raised in Naples, where he started acting in theatre in 1976. He made his film debut in 1988 with a supporting role in the comedy '' Kamikazen: Last Night in Milan'' ...

as Peppino * Vincenzo Salemme as

References

External links

* 2003 films Italian animated films 2003 animated films Italian Christmas films Films set in Naples Films directed by Enzo D'Alò Spanish animated films 2000s French animated films 2000s Christmas films 2000s Italian films Films about the Nativity of Jesus {{2000s-animation-film-stub

Plot

Voice Cast

See also

References

Further reading

External links