Exactly 25 years ago, on 21 December, Gruppo Alcuni and Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana launched the extraordinary saga of the Cuccioli, the series created by Sergio and Francesco Manfio, featuring six endearing little animals drawn by the celebrated cartoonist Giorgio Cavazzano.
To celebrate this important anniversary, Gruppo Alcuni and Rai Kids have produced the new series Cuccioli – Il Ritorno, which will premiere at the Giffoni Film Festival on Saturday 18 July 2026 at 19.00 in the Sala Lumiere. The presentation at the Giffoni Film Festival is the ideal setting in which to launch this new chapter: a festival that for over fifty years has placed cinema and young people at its heart – the very audience with which Cuccioli continues to engage.
The series (26 episodes of 13 minutes each), directed by Sergio Manfio, is a Gruppo Alcuni production, co-produced with RAI Kids and made with the contribution of the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC) and the Veneto Region’s PR FESR 2021-2027 programme, and with the support of the Veneto Film Commission and the Trentino Film Commission.
25 years of adventures, and generations who grew up with the Cuccioli
Created with the aim of conveying universal values such as friendship, cooperation, respect and curiosity, the Cuccioli have won over audiences thanks to stories that speak to the very young with a light touch and plenty of imagination.
In twenty-five years the Cuccioli brand has been distributed in 137 countries, giving rise to 424 television episodes, three feature films and hundreds of publishing projects.
The six friends have accompanied the childhood of entire generations of children, from the first season – centred on the Cuccioli’s long journey home to Venice through encounters and adventures with countless animals – to the most recent one, released thirteen years ago, which marked the transition from 2D animation to 3D CGI.
Over the years, the bond with audiences has also been strengthened by the success of spin-offs such as Mini Cuccioli and DinoCuccioli, confirming the strength of a narrative universe that can both move and entertain. Twenty-five years after the debut of the original series, Cuccioli – Il Ritorno now opens a new chapter in the saga.
“Cuccioli – Il Ritorno”: a new adventure that sets off from the Giffoni Film Festival
Sergio Manfio, director and co-writer of the series, says: “Everyone who has worked on the Cuccioli over the years has grown deeply attached to these extraordinary characters. That is why there was such enthusiasm about bringing them back and involving them in a new, gripping adventure set in the ‘Mondo Distante’, once again marked by the menacing presence of Maga Cornacchia, the Cuccioli’s long-standing antagonist.”
On the return to 2D animation, the explanation comes from the series’ creators Sergio and Francesco Manfio: “Perhaps the most important choice was to go back to the series’ origins, making Cuccioli – Il Ritorno entirely in traditional 2D animation. At a time when most production for young audiences is geared towards 3D, for us 2D represented a visual style and an artistic identity. We wanted to recover that softness of line, that naturalness of movement and that direct relationship with illustration which are part of the Cuccioli’s DNA. Every episode was made with an approach that favours hand-drawn animation, reinterpreted through contemporary digital tools so as to preserve the handcrafted quality of the original series.”
The new characters appearing in the series include Aurora, a young unicorn who asks the six Cuccioli for help to save her father, King Ponius, and to foil the plan of Maga Cornacchia, who is determined to seize the powers of all the magical creatures of the Mondo Distante.
The creative process behind the new characters is described by Anna Manfio, co-writer of the new season: “The desire to expand the magical and adventurous side of the series’ universe led us to take inspiration from the creatures and animals of European mythology, drawing on visual motifs and symbolic traits that we found particularly fascinating. Out of this research came the creatures of the Mondo Distante, each endowed with its own powers and peculiarities, capable of making the narrative universe even richer, more mysterious and more engaging.”
The challenges of the new production
Relaunching an international brand with a new series, refreshed characters and an audience that has changed profoundly over time was a complex and ambitious challenge.
Of the evolution of the audience, for his part, Francesco Manfio, executive producer, says: “We like to think that for many adults Cuccioli – Il Ritorno will also be an emotional journey. They will rediscover the characters, atmospheres and values that accompanied their childhood, reinterpreted, however, through a contemporary lens. At the same time, today’s children will finally be able to discover the original series that gave rise to hugely successful spin-offs such as Mini Cuccioli and DinoCuccioli.”
The restyling of the characters was developed through a delicate balance between innovation and faithfulness to the original style, preserving those elements that made the Cuccioli instantly recognisable and deeply rooted in the audience’s imagination. The aim was not to reinvent the series’ protagonists but to enhance their visual and emotional identity, keeping the distinctive traits that have made them iconic over time: their silhouettes, proportions, expressive language, rhythm of movement and, above all, their ability to convey emotions with immediacy and simplicity.
The future of the Cuccioli universe
Cuccioli – Il Ritorno marks, for Gruppo Alcuni, the beginning of a new creative and production phase: not a mere exercise in nostalgia, but the natural evolution of a narrative universe that keeps growing together with its audience. Today the world of the Cuccioli comprises several distinct properties, each with its own strong, recognisable identity, which the group intends to develop in parallel, building on their specific features and languages.
One of the most exciting aspects of this narrative universe is indeed the possibility of creating connections between the different series, paving the way for future encounters and crossovers between the characters. It is precisely this ability to evolve and renew itself continually that represents the strength of the Cuccioli brand: a narrative world that is still alive, dynamic and full of stories to tell.
Twenty-five years after their first adventure, the Cuccioli thus return to speak to a new generation of children, while inviting the viewers who grew up with them to rediscover the same spirit of curiosity, friendship and imagination that has made them a classic of Italian animation.
