A somewhat chaotic family, a magical nanny who brings order with a smile, through music and charm: in Rome, the miniseries Tata Carolina was unveiled, conceived and starring Carolina Benvenga. Ten episodes will air from December 12 to 21 on Rai Yoyo at 8:45 PM, and will be naturally available concurrently on Rai Play. A musical sitcom for the whole family with 2D animation inserts, Tata Carolina is a tad sweeter than Mary Poppins… and far sweeter than Tata Matilda! The series is a Fabula Pictures production in association with Los Hermanos, with the collaboration of Rai Kids and the participation of Netflix.
Tata Carolina, the plot of the family-friendly musical series
In the Pallotti family, keeping the gentle Bibi (Diana Tosoni), the sarcastic Tea (Domitilla Anna Rossi), and the guest Daniel (Jeffrey Uchechidubem Uwadiegwu) in check is no easy feat, but the couple Carlo (Stefano Pesce) and Sandra (Aurora Peres) do their best. Fortunately, Tata Carolina (Carolina Benvenga) materializes from nowhere to help the two parents, ready to occupy a closet magically transformed into a timeless, beautiful room. Winning Bibi’s affection is very easy, also because Tata Carolina travels with the irresistible Fantamico Arturo in her luggage. The older kids may be tough, but Carolina will win Daniel’s heart, the son of Carlo’s first wife who arrives home unannounced, and Tea’s heart, a bit angry at no longer being the eldest. The fairy god nanny will restore balance to the family, not shying away from lending a little help to adults… who, sadly, know more stress than the kids!
Carolina Benvenga and the bet of Tata Carolina
Co-creator of the series with Diego Malara, Carolina Benvenga is very proud to have delivered what she considers a dream: “Tata Carolina is the most ambitious project of my career, because it gathers the relationship I have built over the years with children and their families and transforms it into a true narrative universe. It’s not just a show to watch: it’s a world to enter, made of stories, music, comedy, imagination, and small big daily challenges. It is the first series produced in Italy to combine live-action acting, animation, music sung and danced, and to address a truly family audience, capable of engaging children of different ages and adults. This, to me, is its most important novelty: giving children’s entertainment the strength, care, and ambition of major projects, without losing spontaneity, warmth, and lightness. […] Inside the story and inside the character lie my experience, the language I have developed by talking daily with the audience, and my idea of entertainment. Tata Carolina is not simply Carolina Benvenga inside a story. It is an autonomous character, suspended between the concreteness of a contemporary nanny and the magic of a timeless heroine. It has something of Mary Poppins and something of Pippi Longstocking: it is authoritative but never overbearing, it encourages children to experiment and not to fear making mistakes.”
Presenter and singer as well as actress, Carolina also sings the 11 original songs of which she is co-author, to be released on December 11, also in physical format as well as digital, in the “Tata Carolina – Official Soundtrack.” Regarding this, Benvenga says: “Music is not a decorative addition, but one of the narrative and educational tools of the project. When words are not enough or a problem seems too big, a song can change the point of view, dissolve an emotion, and restart the movement of the story. It is a language that belongs to me deeply and that in the series becomes a natural part of the relationship between Tata Carolina, the children, and the families.”
Tata Carolina’s ambition isn’t limited to production
The Fantamico Arturo in Tata Carolina is a 2D animation by DogHead Animation for Movimenti, a studio already active on Zerocalcare’s very different series, capable of embracing a tender and funny character, a kind of familiar companion for the fairy-nanny. But the ambition isn’t only in the mixed technique. Director Matteo Gentiloni emphasizes a perspective that takes seriously the issues, even with the target audience: “We take very seriously what, in the eyes of an adult, might seem small, but for a child can take on enormous proportions. We have thus tried to build a series capable also of reminding us that sometimes, to solve a problem, you don’t need to make it disappear: you just need to learn to look at it from a different angle.” The producers Marco and Nicola De Angelis of Fabula Pictures aim high: “For us this isn’t a series for children: it’s a series about an entire family, which children can watch with their parents without anyone getting bored. It’s a kind of storytelling that Italy has lacked for too long: a family show that does not treat the youngest as mere spectators to entertain, but as people who are learning to live in the world.”
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