Ready to Cast a Spell Again
Rainbow Studio president Iginio Straffi talks about the phenomenal success of his Winx Club series and its return to the small screen.
Rainbow Studio president Iginio Straffi talks about the phenomenal success of his Winx Club series and its return to the small screen.
It has been 15 years since Italian animation titan Iginio Straffi and his Loreto-based studio Rainbow introduced the world to
Winx Club, a magical universe centered on a group of very stylish fairy warriors. The creative 53-year-old studio head has emerged as one of the most influential global animation forces ever since he made the transition from comic-book artist to Rainbow’s popular toons.
We caught up with Straffi at the recent MIPTV market to find out what is new in the world of Winx and the studio’s other hot properties.
“We are coming back after a four-year break with the eighth season of the show,” says Straffi.“We have a fresh new look, graphics and storylines that are aimed at a younger target audience, which is what the market seems to demand. There will be simpler story arcs and less complicated plots. The show premiered in Italy in April, and it has been very successful.”
The eighth season of Winx Club finds the fairies traveling to the farthest reaches of their magic universe to save the stars from dark forces that have been destroying their light. “Of course, fans who like more complex themes can turn to the upcoming live-action Winx series that will debut on Netflix later,” says Straffi. “There will be more scary parts and complicated relationships and focus on human characters and super-heroic acts in that show.”
When asked about the reasons for the success of the show, which has been broadcast over 150 countries, Straffi says, “Our show ar
rived at a time when audiences were looking for shows with strong female characters. Winx Club mixed sophisticated storytelling with excellent designs and lots of great music, sung in many different languages. Once you establish a brand for 10 years, it becomes a classic. However, the animation world is constantly changed. Today, broadcasters are demanding more preschool shows and younger-skewing content. And 12-year olds don’t watch cartoons anymore: They want live-action shows.
So, I think the key is to be able to adapt to the changing needs and tastes of the market.”
Great Visuals + Strong Stories
Straffi says it has always been one of Rainbow’s top priorities to bring something origi
nal to the global market. “Strong characters, good storylines and original designs have always been our priority,” he says. “You can also see this push for quality in our other shows — Mia and Me, Huntik and this year’s big hit 44 Cats. We have done very well ratings-wise in the few countries that the show has started to air. The series will also begin to air in the U.S. in June. On Rai TV, the audience is 50/50 boys and girls. It offers a lot of great comedy and has top-of-the line CG animation.”
The fact that the show is completely developed and produced
by Rainbow and its subsidiary studio Bardel in Canada is a particular source of pride for Straffi. “Everything, from the first sketches, to the modeling to the last frame of animation is done at Rainbow and Bardel,” he notes. “Nothing has been subcontracted to outside studios. The show has 44 main characters, and then there are the dogs, too, so we have close to a hundred primary and secondary characters, and then, we also have some amazing backgrounds as well. I believe that technically we rival any of the Disney animated shows.”
Not surprisingly, Straffi has many fond memories of seeing the classic Disney movies in theaters when he was a young boy. “I loved all the Disney classics — Dumbo, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Fantasia and many of the others,” he recalls. “There was a theater in town which specialized in children’s movies. They would show all the Disney movies, but not in the actual order they were released. That was a magical experience for me, and that was when I started to dream of doing this job. Of course, because I didn’t come from a rich family, I started out by writing and drawing comics, because working in animation seemed out of the realm of possibility. I did a lot of graphic novels in Europe, and I was lucky enough to be able to find my way to animation.”
Like many animation professionals working in Europe today, Straffi is excited about the possibility of the medium as demand for content continues to grow. “New platforms like Netflix, Apple and Amazon are announcing more investments, and that gives us more chances, especially for adult animation,” he says. “However, we see broadcasters offering less and less money for children’s content. The fragmentation of the audience has affected everyone. But hopefully, there will always be the need for good, quality animation. Too many people think that animation is easy. They don’t realize that it’s a very long process,
and you need to be really connected to what kids want to see these days.”
Straffi has a few pointers for those who wish to have longevity in the toon business. “If you want to make it in the commercial world, you need to be able to compromise,” he says.
“Unless you want to do your own short film for Annecy Festival, which is very noble and artistic, and I always respect people who choose that path. But if you hope to make it in the TV animation business, you really need to know about the needs of the market. Sometimes, if you are lucky, your
show arrives at a time when there is a big demand for it. For example, Winx Club was one of the only strong animated shows cre
ated for young girls in 2000.”
“Still, it’s easier said than done,” he laughs. “Sometimes when you follow a trend, you end up with something that will be too old by the time you are ready to present it to the market. Sometimes you just have to anticipate what buyers will need in a few years!” That’s when having some magical fairies working for you can really make a difference! ◆
The eighth season of Winx Club will debut later this year in the U.S.
44 Cats will premiere on Nickelodeon (U.S.) on June 10.
“Winx Club arrived at the right time, mixing sophisticated storytelling with excellent designs and lots of great music, sung in many different languages.” — Iginio Straffi, Rainbow Studio founder and president