Calimero
Calimero character
Calimero poster showing two of the main characters.
First appearance	Carosello
Created by	Nino Pagot Toni Pagot Ignazio Colnaghi
Voiced by	Ignazio Colnaghi Davide Garbolino (2013-present)
In-universe information
Species	Chick
Gender	Male
Origin	Italy

Calimero is an animated television series about a charming but hapless anthropomorphized chicken; the only black one in a family of yellow chickens.^[1] He wears half of his egg shell still on his head. Calimero originally appeared on the Italian television show Carosello on July 14, 1963, and soon became a popular icon in Italy.

The characters were created by the animation studio Organizzazione Pagot and originated as a series of animated advertisements for Miralanza AVA soap products shown throughout Italy. The creators of the main character were Nino Pagot, Toni Pagot and Ignazio Colnaghi.^[2] At the end of each episode, it turns out that Calimero is not actually black, but only very dirty, and becomes white after being washed by the advertised soap products.

The characters were later licensed in Japan as an anime series twice, titled Calimero (カリメロ, Karimero). The first was produced by K&S and animated by Toei Animation and ran from October 15, 1972, to September 30, 1975; the second, with new settings and characters, was made by Telescreen in 1992. Altogether, 99 Japanese episodes were made (47 in the 1972 Toei series, and 52 in the 1992 Telescreen series). The series mostly consists of the many adventures of Calimero and his friends as they solve mysteries and make documentaries. However, their adventures usually get them into quite a bit of trouble. The second series was never renewed for a second season. English dubbed versions for the first two anime series were never officially released, though dubbed pilot episodes do exist. However, the series did come out in other languages. The original 1970s shorts and the third CGI series were released in English, however. The first series was also broadcast on European networks such as TROS (The Netherlands), ZDF and RTL II (Germany) or TVE (Spain).

A third animation series about the character, in computer animation, premiered in TF1 in 2013. The production team includes France’s Gaumont Animation, rights owner Calidra, Italy’s Studio Campedelli and Japanese partners TV Tokyo and Kodansha. The series also aired on several other TV channels, including on Disney Junior in the United Kingdom and Australia.^[2]

• Calimero (カリメロ) – The hero of the show. Calimero is voiced by Katsue Miwa in Japanese and Uti Hof in English.^[3][4]
• Priscilla (プリシラ) – Calimero's girlfriend, a shy bird with common sense. Priscilla is voiced by Michiko Nomura.^[3]
• Peter Jobatta (ピーター ジョバッタ, Papero Piero in the Italian original spot) – Peter is voiced by Kaneta Kimotsuki.^[3]
• Buta (ブータ) – Buta is voiced by Masako Nozawa.^[3]
• Deppa (デッパ) – Deppa is voiced by Sachiko Chijimatsu.^[3]
• Calimero's mother (カリメロの母, Cesira in the Italian original spot) – Calimero's mother is voiced by Masako Nozawa.^[3]
• Calimero's father (カリメロの父, Gallettoni in the Italian original spot) – Calimero's father is voiced by Ken'ichi Ogata.^[3]
• Mr. Owl (フクロウ先生) – Mr. Owl is voiced by Jōji Yanami.^[3]

• Calimero – Calimero is voiced by Shinobu Adachi in Japanese and Liz MacRae in English.^[3]
• Priscilla – Priscilla is voiced by Akemi Okamura in Japanese and Aimée Castle in English.^[3]
• Peter (ピーター) – Peter is voiced by Akirasa Ōmori in Japanese and Rick Jones in English.^[3]
• Giuliano (Peanut in English dub pilot) (ジュリアーノ) – Giuliano is voiced by Yūji Ueda.^[3]
• Susie (スージー) – a wealthy girl duck. Susie is voiced by Natsumi Sasaki.^[3]
• Roshita (ロシータ) – Roshita is voiced by Hiroko Kasahara.^[3]
• Pepe (ペペ) – Pepe is voiced by Masashi Ebara.^[3]

• Calimero - Voiced by: Rachel Berger (English) / Fanny Bloc (French) / Ayaka Asai (Japanese)
• Priscilla -Voiced by: Naïke Fauveau (French) / Rumi Ōkubo (Japanese)
• Giuliano (Valeriano in UK English dub)- Voiced by Georges de Vitis (French) / Kokoro Kikuchi (Japanese)
• Peter (Pierrot in UK English dub) - Voiced by: Pascal Sellem (French) / Tōru Sakurai (Japanese)
• Susie - Voiced by: Ren Kato (Japanese)
• Pepe - Voiced by: Tōmoyuki Maruyama (Japanese)

A mobile game titled Calimero's Village was released for iOS and Android in 2015 by BulkyPix.^[5]

The main character in the anime series has had a lasting impact in the vocabulary of some countries, either because of his looks, with an egg shell on his head, or because of his frequent complaining about being unfairly treated by others:

• Calimero is the name and subject of a Welsh language song by the band Super Furry Animals^[6]
• French singer Brigitte Fontaine collaborated with the band Stereolab on a song of the same name^[7]
• In the Netherlands and Belgium, the term "Calimerocomplex [nl]" is used to denote people who are staunchly convinced that their position as an underdog is due to their smaller size, either literally or symbolically, which covers up for their own shortcomings. Often the character's lines from the show are cited, "They are big and I is [sic] small and that is not fair, oh no!" (translated back from Dutch, with intentional error).^[8]
• The slang nickname during the 1970s and 1980s for military policemen in the Israeli Army was Calimero, due to their egg-shaped white helmet; the same was the case in Spain,^[9] where calimero was also a name for a type of helmet for motorbikers.^[10]
• In parts of Yugoslavia, the Polski Fiat 126p was nicknamed Kalimero in reference to the character.
• Italian luxury fashion house Bottega Veneta introduced the "Kalimero" bucket bag in 2022, taking inspiration from the bindle that the character carries.^[11]

• Official website
• Calimero's first commercial (1963)
• Calimero (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Calimero 1992 (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia