Gopo's Little Man
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| Gopo's Little Man | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | A brief History (1957) |
| Last appearance | Homo Faber (1986) |
| Created by | Ion Popescu-Gopo |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
Gopo's Little Man (Romanian: Omulețul lui Gopo) is a simplistic naked humanoid character that appears in most of Ion Popescu-Gopo's animation films.
The Little Man first appears in A Brief History (1956), an animation film telling the story of the Universe and humankind from an evolutionary perspective. The trepidations caused by a dinosaur made a monkey fall off a tree and break its tail. The monkey then got off the ground under the appearance of The Little Man, who is then shown climbing a ladder. As he climbs, he successively turns into an Egyptian, a Greek, a Roman, a medieval knight, a Victorian gentleman, and a modern man.
The Little Man explores the deep seas and then flies to space in a rocket (anticipating Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight by five years).[1]
The success achieved by A Brief History turned The Little Man into an iconic character, symbolizing the human race in its quest for knowledge and beauty. Ion Popescu-Gopo was going to use it in another seven films. In many situations, The Little Man is shown holding a flower to his heart, which is taken to symbolize the humans' capacity and need for love.[citation needed]
Filmography
- A Brief History (1956)
- Seven Arts (1958)
- Homo Sapiens (1960)
- Allo Hallo (1962)
- Ecce Homo (1977)
- Three Apples (1979)
- Quo Vadis, Homo Sapiens? (1982)
- Homo Faber (1986)
Awards
- Palme d'Or in the Cannes Film Festival for A Brief History (1957)
- The Grand Prize for the Best Animation Film in the Tours Film Festival (France) for Seven Arts (1958)
- The Golden Gate Award of the San Francisco Film Festival for Homo Sapiens (1960)