Carlo Bonomi, who has died aged 85, was best known for his voice work on the late nineties Claymation hit series Pingu, which was originally made for Swiss television. With its lack of spoken language, however (the showrunners created a fictional language titled ‘Penguinese’, derived from earlier language Bonomi created in Italian animated series La Linea), the show’s universal appeal quickly attracted foreign audiences, no doubt in part due to Bonomi’s loud ‘noot noot’ noise. Akin to a horn, this sound was emphasised by the animal’s beak morphing into the instrument’s shape, and became the penguin’s de facto catchphrase. With his eclectic voice range, Bonomi voiced all the characters for the show’s first four series.
Bonomi was born in 1937, hailing from Milan. The penguin’s frequent frustration was expressed through Bonomi’s expressive squeaks, which were also a key feature of the simplified figure that Bolomi voiced in La Linea (another show that had a more universal tone with its lack of spoken language), who would frequently break the fourth wall as he reprimanded the mild-mannered artist for not drawing the line he walks across in sufficient time. Without scripts, comedy and farce could be created from image and the amusing sounds of Bonomi’s voice alone. Although he lent his vocals to the railway announcements for the central station of Milan, as well as the Italian voices of Mickey Mouse and Fred Flintstone, his immortality is sealed in that sassy, hyperactive and inimitable clay penguin.
NOOT NOOT!