Cipollino (), or Little Onion as translated from the original, is a fictional character from Gianni Rodari's eponymous Tale of Cipollino (), also known under its 1957 renamed title Adventures of Cipollino (), a children's tale about political oppression. He also appeared before the publication of the book in the children's magazine Il Pioniere of which Rodari was the editor. Cipollino was popular in the Soviet Union, up to the point of being adapted as a ballet composed by Karen Khachaturian and choreographed by Henrich Mayorov, originally staged in Taras Shevchenko National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine on November 8 1974. In a world inhabited by anthropomorphic produce, Cipollino fights the unjust treatment of his fellow vegetable townsfolk by the fruit royalty (Prince Lemon and the overly proud Lord Tomato) in the garden kingdom. The main theme is the struggle of the underclass against the powerful, good versus evil, and the importance of friendship in the face of difficulties. Adaptations Chipollinos tavgadasavali (Adventure of Cippolino), a Georgian TV film Cipollino, a 1961 Soyuzmultfilm film directed by Boris Dyozhkin, and then re-released in 1993 by Film Roman. The English version features characters played by Canadian voice actors. Cipollino, Soviet film directed by Tamara Lisitsian Voices Russian Margarita Kupriyanova as Cipollino Sergey Martinson as Prince Lemon and Lemon's guards Vladimir Lepko as one of Lemon's guards Grigory Shpigel as Lord Tomato Aleksey Polevoy as Godfather Pumpkin Vera Orlova as Radish Margarita Korabelnikova as Count Cherry Yelena Ponsova as Countesses Cherries Georgy Millyar as Mister Carrot and Uncle Blueberry Erast Garin as Uncle Grape Georgy Vitsin as Cactus Yuri Khrzhanovsky as Dog Pylesosik (lit. vacuum cleaner) English Kathleen Barr Lynda Boyd Paul Dobson Doc Harris David Kaye Terry Klassen Campbell Lane Scott McNeil Cathy Weseluck Dale Wilson See also Gianni Rodari's works References External links Chipollino ballet Child characters in literature Fruit and vegetable characters Italian literature