Animation backgrounds from "HOBLIO - The Path to Freedom"

Some hand painted backgrounds from "HOBLIO - The Path to Freedom", my latest 2D traditional animation short.
CLICK HERE to watch the full film.

"HOBLIO": a review by Carlo Pizzati

Many thanks to writer Carlo Pizzati for his wonderful review of "HOBLIO - The Path to Freedom", my latest animated short.

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"HOBLIO" a short film by Piero Tonin.
By Carlo Pizzati

What is that little man with a big nose doing, walking in the forest after dark with a heavy load on his shoulders?

He would appear to be unaware of his destiny, simply driven forward by an invisible force we may call life.

It’s dark and windy in here.

He seems serene and untouched by his eerie surroundings.

Who is he? A rich man? No. He’s dressed simply in a pale orange cloth and carries his bundle tied to a wooden stick.

Where is he going? What is he looking for?

Money, maybe, like most people? A chance to make it? Luck? Suddenly, out of nowhere, a harpsichord riff announces, as in a commercial advertisement, the appearance of a large figure. Stylized curls of thin blue smoke erupt from his giant cigar. The towering, grinning figure stares down at our care-free wanderer and raises his arm, holding an offer: a satchel filled with money, as indicated by the clear dollar $ign painted across the bag.

The Billionaire mutters an offer.

Our wanderer declines it.

The rich man disappears in shock from being rebuked, fragmenting away in a white and purple post-cubist special effect. The load on the wanderer’s shoulders magically become smaller.

The journey continues down that dark forest. Now it’s a Temptress’ turn to offer the joys of passion and sex to our little man, clad in that simple orange cloth. He smiles and declines the again the offer, as the woman vanishes in a rage. And the load gets even lighter.

The path is still there to be walked. The sun comes out, revealing a plethora of joyful colors in the meadows alla round. Things are getting better and better already.

But now, out of the green grass, an imposing and authoritative king appears, red crown, mink coat and all. He offers the wanderer a blue crown muttering some pompous and official sounding formula in an indecipherable gobbledygook. But the walker is just as uninterested as with the previous offers and the harpsichord jingle whisks our king away, as the load on the wanderer’s back gets even smaller. Now the trees are gone as he walks in the open fields, which are more and more colorful, when suddenly pitch-black darkness descends upon him.

A creaky, darkly clad Death creeps up in front of him, blocking his path and wielding the fatal Sickle, thumping it three times in the echoing ground of this sudden night. The wanderer looks more closely at him and then, as in the previous three occasions, declines the offer.

Death is outraged. But can’t help it, as it vanishes just like the other illusions.

The sun is back and the load on the walker’s shoulders now entirely disappears. There’s no more need for a stick either so the walker simply throws it away, slips his hands in his pockets and continues on his merry journey, as we fade to black.

He is free. He has resisted falling for the illusions of desire and attachment, loss and need. He has even refused the illusion of death, remaining unperturbed in his journey.

The lesson is so simple and clear, while so deep and transcendent, that it does not need more words. It is there to be received in the clarity of its meaning.

Yet to create such neatness in the form, requires a wide amount of knowledge, taste and talent that went into the making of this visual tale.

It seems clear where the historical points of reference come from, looking at the history of animation. Clearly Osvaldo Cavandoli’s “La Linea”’s enigmatic posture is just one of the many points of reference. As in “La Linea,” “Hoblio” also is the story of a character who walks a virtually infinite line, speaking a similarly incomprehensible language, which in this case is made mostly of grunts and guttural, inquisitive sighs. The harpsichord is reminiscent of the opening credit of the Pagot Brothers Film company Disegni Animati Italiani, and our “Hoblio” character even has, at times, the happy go lucky stride of “La Pimpa.”

There’s no spoken word in this tale. It is not necessary: only sounds of a slow Chinese march or harmonious dance, creating a musical carpet by on which our wanderer steps into merrily, thanks to Jiang Li’s “Yangtze” soundtrack.

The atmosphere created around this short film of animation is so gentle and yet so central to the storytelling, that understanding this is useful in order to grasp one more lesson of “Hoblio”: mind your surroundings, and yet be unfazed by them as well, while nurturing that inner contentedness, that omnipresent, infinte, eternal “Joy” referred to in the opening quotation.

A few words must be spent on the stroke of Piero Tonin’s brush, capable of creating with a curve of the pencil a historical, social and economic commentary, cloaked in humour and style. Notice the grin of the millionaire, the flüte-like calves of the sultry sex bomb, the hunched back of a king burdened by the weight of power and the angular dryness of Death, in its tweaking, skeletal rigidity.
Shapes tell a story. If you know how to draw them.

This is what makes “Hoblio” so dense of meaning and hypnotic and makes you go back to it, once in a while, just to remind yourself of the right path to serenity, away from the Maya of wealth, sex, power and death.

To achieve such simplicity and depth requires a lot of hard work. In this case, it’s been well worth it.

Carlo Pizzati

"HOBLIO" su afNews!

Un ringraziamento a Gianfranco Goria per aver parlato del mio nuovo cortometraggio animato "HOBLIO - La Via della Libertà" su afNews.

CLICCA QUI per leggere tutto l'articolo.

"Hoblio" now screening at the "Spirit Enlightened" Film Festival.

"Hoblio - The Path to Freedom" is now screening at the "Spirit Enlightened" Film Festival, promoted by Culture Unplugged Studios.

Culture Unplugged allows the audience to express appreciation and support to film-makers through the “CONTRIBUTE” feature.

This feature enables the viewers to donate financial contributions using the online payment service of PayPal.

100 % of the contribution is received by the film-maker. Culture Unplugged does not deduct any fees or royalty for this transaction. Culture Unplugged values the opportunity this feature provides the film-makers to directly connect with their audience and supporters across the globe, who wish to contribute to their art and wish to partner with them in a meaningful way.

CLICK HERE to watch "Hoblio - The Path to Freedom" and, if you like what you see, please give your contribution to the art of tradition animation by kindly making a donation through the “CONTRIBUTE” feature.

"HOBLIO - The Path to Freedom" on IMDb -- The Internet Movie Data Base

Thanks to IMDb, The Internet Movie Data Base, for featuring "HOBLIO - The Path to Freedom" on their video channel.

>> Watch "HOBLIO" on IMDb <<

"HOBLIO - The Path to Freedom" - Full movie

A pilgrim carrying a heavy burden travels through a dark forest to a radiant valley. Along the way, he encounters four mysterious characters on his search for spiritual freedom. Join little Hoblio in his quest for peace and enlightenment.

A film written, directed and animated by Piero Tonin.
Music: "Yangtze" by Jiang Li (courtesy of Audio Network Ltd. - Order Reference: 235129).

 "HOBLIO - The Path to Freedom" will be screened at the 2013 "Spirit Enlightened" Film Festival.

Work in progress: new Animation Demo Reel

I decided it was about time I got myself together and started working on a new 2d traditional animation demo reel.

Here's a screenshot from the intro. Stay tuned for more!

Website design for Ristorante Paris in Rome

Website design and development (design and HTML coding) for Ristorante Paris in Rome, Italy.
Website design e sviluppo (design e programmazione HTML) per Ristorante Paris in Roma.

                                

Follow me on Twitter!

In case you didn't know, I have a Twitter page: twitter.com/pierotonin

Nel caso non lo sappiate, ho una pagina Twitter: twitter.com/pierotonin

Screenshots of "Hoblio -The Path to Freedom"

Some screenshots of my upcoming animated short "Hoblio - The Path to Freedom".
Alcuni fotogrammi di "Hoblio - Il cammino della libertà", il mio prossimo corto animato.

"Hoblio" at the "Spirit Enlightened" Film Festival.

The official poster of "Hoblio"

Hoblio is very delighted to announce that he has been invited to participate in the "Spirit Enlightened", an online film festival organized by Culture Unplugged Studios .

In their own words "the festival aspires to trace the spirit that has led humanity and the evolutionary consciousness to its present form and is in the midst of creating our future. The festival hopes to explore with you ‘That’ which envelops to infuse & evolve the individual as well as the collective being, expands our vision of time as well as place, enlivens our hearts, and enlightens our species to transcend the present state of being for the mystical new – the next state of supramental self. The festival hopes to gather the global seekers to observe and feel this divine/enlightened spirit in the moment of its performance, in the midst of humanity now and forever, through film-media.

This festival aspires to present films, videos, and talks on various themes such as: Evolution of Consciousness; New Spirituality; Culture of Religion; Present Evolutionary Impulse; Emergent Scientific Perception; Vision/ Ideas on New Being - Feminine, Masculine, Superhuman; Transcendent & Transformative Practices; Transpersonal/Gnostic Perception & Action; Integral Philosophies & Wisdom, Intimate Spiritual Experiences & Expressions; The New Pursuit - Love; The Powers - Within & In Cosmos; Enlightened Leaders, Systems & Designs."

Stay tuned for more updates!

The English trailer of "Hoblio"

Yoplait Apricot Mango - Animated commercial

This retro style animated commercial for ad Agency Saatchi & Saatchi is a part of the "Yoplait 40 flavours of inspiration" produced by Aniboom.

The project gives the opportunity to 40 animators from around the world to take a different flavor from the new Yoplait range and bring it to life in a 30 second animated video.

I pitched for and won the Apricot Mango flavor and came up with a very stylish, uplifting and fun concept for an animation reminiscent of 1960s television commercials.

Concept, illustrations, animation and music by Piero Tonin.

Hurricane Ivan, Piero Tonin and Gino Gavioli!

Low tech: from left to right, Hurricane Ivan, Piero Tonin, Gino Gavioli.

Making plans for the future: with Hurricane Ivan, cartoonist, musician and editor of PUCK! Magazine, Piero Tonin, and Gino Gavioli, legendary illustrator and animator, founder, along with his brother Roberto, of Gamma Film. 

Established in Milan in 1953, Gamma Film was once the largest animation studio in Europe, counting over 200 employees and producing full-length animated features, animated television series and hundreds of Carosello commercials.

Pianificando il futuro: con Hurricane Ivan, musicista, cartoonist e editore della rivista PUCK!, Piero Tonin, and Gino Gavioli, leggendario illustratore e animatore, fondatore, con il fratello Roberto, della Gamma Film.

Creata a Milano nel 1953, la Gamma Film, all'epoca il più grande studio di animazione in Europa con i suoi oltre 200 impiegati, ha prodotto lungometraggi d'animazione, serie animate televisive e centinaia di pubblicità per Carosello.

Facebook Happiness

"Can't talk right now. I'm simulating happiness on Facebook."

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Obesity Cartoon

"Why do I always have to seat next to some fatso..?"

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Lion Tamer Cartoon

"Lion Tamer Cartoon"

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Planned Obsolescence Cartoon

"ELECTRONICS - Last Month's Technology"

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Sexual Fantasy Cartoon

"Why you never mentally undress me?"

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Striptease Cartoon

"This is just the warm up act."

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Buon Compleanno! Cartoon eCard in Italian

La Mucca ti augura Buon Compleanno in italiano!
The Cow wishes you Happy Birthday in Italian!

Economy - Environment Cartoon

"They are worried about the economy."

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Carlo "Perogatt" Peroni intervista Piero Tonin

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Stress Management Cartoon

"What a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere since the boss took that stress management class."

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Medical Cartoon

"You suffer from nymphomania? What a coincidence, I'm a sex addict!"

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Smartphone Cartoon

"Here comes Mr. 'Smarter-then-you'."

Did you like this cartoon? Keep following my blog for more cartoons to come and visit my website at www.pierotonin.com for hundreds of archived cartoons, illustrations, and animations!

Zum Geburtstag viel Glück! Cartoon eCard in German

Character design for "Hoblio".

Character design for "Hoblio - The Path to Freedom", my upcoming animation short.
Personaggi per "Hoblio - La via della libertà", il mio prossimo corto animato.