the stories and covers designed by the master Giorgio Cavazzano
Venice and Mickey Mouse: even during the holidays there are the atmospheres designed by the great Venetian cartoonist. The characters of Duckburg and Topolinia, loved by children and adults, take shape from the hand of Giorgio Cavazzano, one of the most famous designers in the Disney world who brings a bit of Venice into all his works.
For decades, the master of comics Cavazzano has been bringing an air of celebration to people’s homes by coloring the stories of those funny imaginary ducks and mice that have characterized his long career. From Minnie to Goofy, from Donald Duck to Daisy, up to Mickey, Uncle Scrooge, Qui Quo Qua and all the other friends of the enchanted world of Duckburg, Giorgio Cavazzano dresses up the stories of Disney characters by immersing them, with his skilful hand, in an enchanted atmosphere made of decorations, Christmas trees, gifts, sledges and lots of magic.
Among the most beautiful Mickey Mouse Christmas covers designed by Giorgio Cavazzano is that of 1985 in the number 1569 of the comic, a cover from the past that wishes its readers happy holidays with Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck and Qui Quo Qua in a bubble enchanted among festoons, gifts and Christmas trees. Or in the issue 3038 of Mickey Mouse of 2014, Cavazzano disguises as Santa Claus one of the most iconic characters in the world of Disney, Uncle Scrooge, transporting, in an instant, the readers of the legendary comic in the magical atmosphere of Christmas. Another masterpiece is the cover of 1994, in Mickey Mouse number 2039, where a scene of daily life is seen that sees Donald, in the role of Christmas, break the fourth wall and look the readers straight in the face to invite them to be silent and not wake up his grandchildren. sleeping on the sofa waiting for the gifts to arrive. And then there is the most recent Christmas cover by Cavazzano, that of Mickey Mouse number 3135 of 2015, where in a snowy landscape Minnie, Mickey, Donald and Goofy gaze in admiration at a sleigh full of Christmas presents, pulled by reindeer and ready to give joy to all the children of the world.
In addition to Christmas, Giorgio Cavazzano has been bringing his city, Venice, to the pages of the legendary Disney comic for over 50 years. Grew up in Fondamenta degli Ormesini, in the Cannaregio district, amidst games in the alleys, soccer with friends in front of Tintoretto’s house and that unforgettable smell of cabbage and cauliflower in the nuns’ lunch in the Sant’Alvise kindergarten, Cavazzano hides Venice in every corner of his stories and in each of those pencil strokes that, placed side by side, give shape to the unforgettable characters of the iconic children’s comic.
There is Venice among the contours of Duckburg and in the faces of the protagonists of this fantastic imaginary world. Venice is hidden in the stories of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie and their adventure companions but above all, Venice, which this year celebrates an important birthday, the 1600th anniversary of its foundation, is firmly fixed in the mind and heart of Cavazzano himself who, although he left her at the age of 14 to move to the mainland with his family, he always took her with him wherever she was and whatever she was doing.
“From my window I always see Venice even if my window, for many years, no longer overlooks that wonderful panorama – commented Giorgio Cavazzano – I, however, before my eyes I see the Madonna della Salute, the Grand Canal, the seagulls flying over the calli with that view from above on the city that I have always envied them. I’m Venetian and not only do I always carry this origin with me but I put it in each of my drawings, also because my city has conditioned my work, indeed, to be honest, it made it possible “
With a voice between melancholy and romantic, the man whose hand is very recognizable on the faces of the characters of one of the most read by children of all time, still remembers today, at the age of 74, the exact moment in which he understood that his future would be to draw stories.
«I still remember today the exact moment when I fell in love with drawing – says Cavazzano – I was eight and it was a day when I had a fever. To keep me company, my cousin, already a draftsman, came to see me with a pack of papers in his hand and a pencil and said to me: “draw ships” and I started like this, scribbling boats on white sheets of paper. I am still visually tied to that pack of sheets that I filled with sketches, alone, in my room, in that afternoon of high fever and, from that moment, I understood that I wanted to become like my cousin and spend my life drawing “
Of Venice Cavazzano loves strengths and weaknesses, his relationship with the lagoon city has never cracked even in the face of difficulties.
«I remember my father who used to read books to me with gloves on because of the cold in the house – he still comments ruined by the water. I have always found Venice fascinating, picturesque even in its dark sides “
And it is precisely for this love for his city of origin that Cavazzano chooses to give her the stage in some of his most beautiful stories. Venice, in fact, appears in the background of some of the most exciting adventures in the world of Disney comics such as the one present in the pages of the number 2858 of Mickey Mouse with a Donald who, in the role of a Venetian 007, whizzes through the canals of the city aboard a a very personal motorized inflatable boat. There is also Venice in Mickey Mouse cartoon 3249 where Cavazzano tells, through his eyes and those of Minnie, Pippo and Gamba di Legno, the story of the foundation of the Accademia Galleries in the short story “Mickey and the gift of the Academy” . And the new project by the Venetian designer is also based on Venice, which aims to tell a Viking story set right in the streets of the lagoon city. The Arsenal of Venice will, in fact, be the protagonist of a new Disney adventure through the skillful hand of Cavazzano where the characters of the iconic comic will find themselves grappling with mysterious Viking messages that appear on the statues of marble lions at the entrance of the historic Venetian shipyard.
A story that adds to the many that Disney has set in the Serenissima: ducks and mice are, in fact, often the protagonists of bizarre adventures between streets and canals, in search of lost rings, in an attempt to save the monuments from high water, to conquer the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival, or disguised as Marco Polo or ready to sell trouble during the Carnival. Heroes of paper, heroes in the dreams of children who become adults but do not lose the magic of unknown worlds, against a backdrop of a Venice that is always capable of captivating, at any age.