A cheerful and brave onion from sunny Italy named Cipollino in the 1950s became a symbol of the victory of the oppressed people over those in power. With a children's book, which is distinguished by its bright artistic originality, the Italian raised absolutely non-childish questions. Life values, justice, friendship - for everything there was a place on the pages of a work about the adventures of revived vegetables and fruits.

History of creation

The Italian writer Gianni Rodari was one of the supporters of communism. A defender of the poor and an adherent of social justice, in 1950 he took over as editor of the children's magazine Pioneer and began to create for children with his own hands. To begin with, he published a collection of funny poems, and a year after he headed the publication, he presented the kids with the fairy tale "The Adventures of Cipollino."

The book glorified the Italian communist, especially in the Soviet Union, which is quite understandable - the author clothed in an allegorical form the large landowners and Sicilian barons, whom he opposed the poor people.

The work came to Russia in 1953 on the initiative of Rodari, who sympathized with Rodari and patronized him in every way. The Russian poet-storyteller himself took up the editing of the Italian story translated by Zlata Potapova. Heroes immediately after the appearance on the shelves of Soviet bookstores won the hearts of children. Since then, the book with colorful pictures has been published in millions of copies and even entered the school curriculum.

The story, which does not lose its relevance to this day, is far from magical works, devoid of fairies, miraculous transformations and phenomena, therefore it is ranked among everyday social fairy tales. Characters rely only on their wits, ingenuity, courage and true calculation. The main idea is to show the injustice of the oppression of unprotected sections of society. However, in the fairy tale there was a place for a whole scattering of problems. The story turned out to be fascinating and kind, it consists of 29 chapters, which are crowned by a collection of songs of heroes.

Biography and plot

The restless little boy Cipollino lives in the Lemon Kingdom on the very outskirts of the city. A large onion family lives in poverty in a wooden shack the size of a seedling box. One day, the head of the family, Pope Cipollone, accidentally stepped on the foot with a callus to Prince Lemon, who decided to visit this part of the state. The enraged ruler of the country ordered the clumsy onion father to be imprisoned for many years. Thus began the exciting adventures of Cipollino and his comrades.

After a meeting with an imprisoned relative, the boy realized that only innocent people were in prison, and he also received instructions from his father to “walk around the world”, gain experience, and see how people live. During the trip, Cipollone ordered the offspring to pay special attention to the swindlers in power.

Lukovka set off on a campaign across a boundless country, seeing along the way the poverty and lack of rights of his compatriots. Poor godfather Pumpkin g

onit seigneur Tomato from a small house, which occupied a piece of the master's land, godmother Blueberry makes ends meet, having only halves of scissors, thread and a needle from everything acquired, the peasants are starving, sending carts with food to the palace of Countess Cherry, besides, they pay for air and try to learn to breathe less. Cherries are going to establish another tax - on rainfall.

But Cipollino, having enlisted the support of his friends, among them Bean, Professor Pear, Master Grape and others, decides to help the people. A fight against injustice is unleashed, which ends in complete victory: the flag of Freedom proudly flutters on the tower of the castle, and the building itself has turned into a palace for children, where a cinema hall, rooms for games and drawing, and a puppet theater are equipped.

The tale of the class struggle is distinguished by a dynamic plot and a whole range of wonderful images. Positive and negative characters from the world of plants show the relationship between people of different classes. Rodari managed to convey complex things in simple language, to give the work a unique artistic style.

Screen adaptations and productions

In Russia, Chipollino managed to go beyond the paper edition. Lukovka (the meaning of the name translated from Italian) went on television - in 1961, based on the work, a cartoon directed by Boris Dezhkin was released, where the main character was voiced.

The gallery of characters in the book is richer than the "actor" composition of the Soviet cartoon. So, in the story of an Italian communist, there live heroes who are not related to the plant world, for example, the Mole, the Bear, the Spider. The animators left only the characters "from the garden", and even then not all of them. I had to say goodbye to reduce the time of the film with Orange, Parsley, Peas.

After another 12 years, Tamara Lisitsian delighted young viewers with the film-tale "Cipollino". In the musical comedy, the image of the character was embodied by Alexander Elistratov. The film starred such stars of Soviet cinema as (Countess Vishenka), (Prince Lemon), (lawyer Peas).

Even Gianni Rodari himself got into the cast - the writer was assigned the role of a storyteller. Tamara Lisitsian was the wife of one of the leaders of the Communist Party of Italy, so she personally knew Rodari. That is why the author suddenly appeared in her picture.

In 2014, connoisseurs of literature and theater were indignant at the staging of a children's performance based on the work of Rodari, directed by Ekaterina Koroleva. From the script of the musical fairy tale, the plot where the heroes arrange a revolution has disappeared. Prince Lemon simply listens to the people, insight descends on him, thanks to which the lord cancels unjust laws and remains in power. The author of the performance explained the decision to reshape the Italian writer's idea in the following way:

“We have left social sharpness in the play, but since I am terribly afraid of any revolutions, the revolution will take place in the minds of the heroes.”

Ban in Russia

Five years ago, Russian society was stormily discussing the topic of restrictions that the government had imposed on some books, films and cartoons. The tale of Gianni Rodari "The Adventures of Cipollino" is included in the list of harmful literature that is not recommended in Russia for reading by children under 12 years old.

The ban is imposed in accordance with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development", which entered into force on Knowledge Day in 2012. In the story of the adventures of the Italian onion, lawmakers saw an episodic depiction of violence.

• From the end of the 50s, the hero of the Italian story joined the ranks of the Club of Merry Men, who lived on the pages of the magazine Merry Pictures. The children were entertained by a company from Chipollino, Dunno, Pinocchio, and later Pencil and Samodelkin joined them.

• The talented musician Karen Khachaturian was invited to write music for the cartoon about the brave Cipollino. Then no one even suspected that the work would result in another new work. The composer admitted: the fairy tale fascinated him so much that he could not get out of his head. Karen Khachaturian recalled:

“For some reason, every hero seemed to me now in a dance.”

• After 12 years, amazing, sincere music for the ballet in three acts "Cipollino" was born. And the brilliant fate of the production of Henry Mayorov began, which since 1974 has successfully traveled on the stage. The composer became famous throughout the world, and ballet has become one of the best in contemporary art, aimed at a children's audience.
• Gianni Rodari first found success in Russia and only then, in 1967, at home. For "fabulous" works, the writer received a prestigious award - the Hans Christine Andersen medal.

Quotes

“In this world it is quite possible to live in peace. There is a place for everyone on earth - both for bears and for bulbs.

“Do not be angry, do not be angry, Signor Tomato! From anger, they say, vitamins disappear!

“I think today is a very lucky day. We have a new friend, and this is already a lot!”

“Here, you can lick this piece of paper. It is sweet, a caramel with rum was wrapped in it a year ago.

The characters of "The Adventures of Cipollino" are anthropomorphic vegetables and fruits: the shoemaker Grape, godmother Pumpkin, the girl Radish, the boy Cherry, etc. The main character is the onion boy Cipollino, who fights against the oppression of the poor by the rich - Signor Tomato, Prince of Lemon. There are no human characters in the story, since the world of people is completely replaced by the world of fruits and vegetables.

The protagonist of the fairy tale "The Adventures of Cipollino" is an unusual boy, whose name is Cipollino. Cipollino is an onion, and he lives in a family of onions. He has dad Cipollone, mom and many brothers. One day, Cipollino's father accidentally stepped on the foot of Prince Lemon, and for this he was imprisoned for life. There were many in prison like Cipollone - simple, decent people who did not please Prince Lemon in any way.

During a meeting with his father, Cipollino promised that he would definitely release him from captivity. But his father advised him to go on a journey to learn the mind. And the onion boy went on a journey. In one small village, he met godfather Pumpkin, who had been saving bricks all his life to build his house. He was already quite old when he was able to build a tiny house out of these bricks, no larger than a dog kennel.

He was sitting in this cramped house when Cipollino came up to talk to him. However, their conversation was interrupted by the arrival in the village of Signor Tomato, the manager of Countess Cherry. Signor Tomato began to shout that the house was built illegally and demanded the eviction of pumpkin's godfather. Cipollino called the noisy signor a swindler. He grabbed the onion boy by the head, but immediately burst into tears from the onion smell. Signor Tomato got scared and left in a panic.

And Chipollino remained in the village and began to work in the shoe shop of the master Vinogradinka. Over time, he made many acquaintances - Professor Grusha, Leek and the family of millennia. Kuma Pumpkin was nevertheless evicted from his house and the dog Mastino was put in his place. But Cipollino found a way out. He offered the dog water with sleeping pills, and when he fell asleep, he took him back to the owners, in the castle of Countess Cherries. Kum Pumpkin could live in his house again.

However, the villagers understood that Signor Tomato could take the house again. They decided to hide a small house in the forest, at the godfather of Blueberries. Cipollino and his friends drove the house in a wheelbarrow to the forest. When Signor Tomato found out about the disappearance of the house, he complained to Prince Lemon and he sent Lemon policemen to the village. They arrested all the villagers and locked them in the dungeon of the castle. Cipollino managed to avoid arrest.

Cherry's nephew lived with the owners of the castle, Countess Vishenka. He was brought up in strictness, and was forced to learn lessons all the time. He was not allowed to go to the village school, but was taught by his home teacher, Signor Petrushka, who posted prohibition notices for Cherry all over the park. Walking in the park, Cherry met Chipollino and his girlfriend Radish, who came to find out about the fate of the arrested villagers. Cherry quickly made friends with the village children, but then Signor Tomato saw them, and Cipollino and Radish had to run away.

At night, Cipollino returned to the castle to talk with the maid Strawberry about the arrested, but the dog Mastino grabbed him, and Cipollino also ended up in prison, in a separate cell. However, with the help of the Mole, the onion boy managed to get to his arrested friends through the underground passage, and Signor Tomato was surprised to find that Cipollino had disappeared.

From Strawberry's maid, the boy Cherry learned that Cipollino and his friends were in the castle's prison. He managed to steal the keys to the cell from Signor Tomato and, with the help of Strawberry, freed all the villagers and Cipollino, who fled into the forest.

Then a lot of events happened, including an attempt to capture the castle of Countess Cherries. Cipollino was captured again, and this time he was sent to the city prison. Here he met his father, who had grown very old during his imprisonment.

And again Chipollino was helped by his friend Mole. He brought other moles with him and they dug a large underground passage through which all the prisoners who were in prison escaped. Cipollino and his father were also free. The escaped prisoners staged an uprising and drove out Prince Lemon. Countess Cherry fled with him. And in their castle they arranged the Palace of Children, in which there were not only many different entertainments, but also a school, to which Chipollino himself and his friends gladly went to study.

This is the summary of the story.

The main idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fairy tale "The Adventures of Cipollino" is that one cannot put up with injustice, one must fight it. Cipollino understood this and at first helped his godfather Pumpkin to free his little house. Then, with the help of Cipollino, Prince Lemon, who unfairly ruled the country, was expelled. The fairy tale teaches to be courageous, resolute and not to be afraid of difficulties.

In the fairy tale, I liked the main character, Chipollino. He managed to keep his word to his father and freed him from unjust captivity. Cipollino made many friends during his adventures, and together with his friends he began to build a new life based on justice.

What proverbs are suitable for the fairy tale "The Adventures of Cipollino"?

The injustice of a man strikes him.
The power of friendship is justice.
Friendship with care and help is strong.