Topo Gigio

Topo Gigio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtɔːpo ˈdʒiːdʒo]) is a fictional anthropomorphic mouse, originally the lead character of a children's puppet show on Italian television in the early 1960s. The character, created in 1958 by artist Maria Perego, her husband Federico Caldura and fellow artist Guido Stagnaro,^[1][2] debuted on RAI in 1959 and has been customarily voiced by actor Giuseppe "Peppino" Mazzullo and later Davide Garbolino. His name literally translates to 'Louie Mouse', as topo is the Italian word for 'mouse' and Gigio is a nickname for Luigi ('Louis').^[3]

Topo Gigio was popular in Italy for many years: not only on TV, but also in comics, such as the classical Corriere dei Piccoli, cartoons, merchandising and films. The character's popularity spread around the world after being featured on The Ed Sullivan Show in the U.S. in 1963.

Today, Topo Gigio still has fans and has become an icon of Italian pop culture. He performs regularly at Zecchino d'Oro festival and other programs created by Antoniano and RAI. The character also spawned two feature-length films, The Magic World of Topo Gigio (1965) and Topo Gigio and the Missile War (1967), and two animated TV series that first aired in 1988 and 2020, respectively.

The puppet has made appearances and has a fan base in many other countries—including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico,^[4] Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela and the former Yugoslavia.^{[citation needed]}