La Freccia Azzurra (The Blue Arrow)
La Freccia Azzurra (The Blue Arrow) is a film that uses computers in a highly refined manner; so much so, that one hardly notices. Guided by an electronic brain, its camera is able to execute tracking shots and pans which one only thought possible in a live-action movie; drawn with pixels, the film's characters are seen across 30-40 levels, with each one staying in perfect focus. This is one of the secrets to the basic "lightness" of a film like no other, one which tells an amusing and fun-loving fairy tale set in the 30s, with the touch of a modern electronic storyteller.
The technological aspect, in fact, is probably the main reason why the movie is so important. Having clearly got a late start with respect to other European countries (with France leading the way), Italy has quickly caught up over the past few years in terms of both equipment and professionalism; it has done it in such a way that the small but efficient structure known as Cartoonia (based in Turin and Terni) can present its business card as proof that it is able to compete head-to-head with other major European companies that supply digital ink-and-paint and computerized rendering. Cartoonia, which took on The Blue Arrow, was started in 1992 as
an offshoot of Turin's La Laterna Magica, which produced the film. The story line might seem fastidious if given
in summary form. On the night of Epiphany, La Befana (an old hag who, according
to Italian folklore, brings gifts at this time to children who have been
nice and charcoal to those who have been naughty) falls ill and is unable
to deliver her presents; her absence plays into the hands of Scarafoni,
her evil assistant, who only wants to please the children of the rich,
who have paid a fortune for their toys . . . only these same toys (one
of which is a train called "Blue Arrow," hence the film's title)
rebel and start a journey to give themselves to the children they
choose. This leads to a long series of twists and turns, the last of which
is the final--and predictable--defeat of the villain.
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