Tear Along the Dotted Line

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Tear Along the Dotted Line
Tear Along the Dotted Line (animated series).jpg
Strappare lungo i bordi
Genre
Created byZerocalcare
Written byZerocalcare
Directed byZerocalcare
Voices of
  • Zerocalcare
  • Valerio Mastandrea
Opening themeStrappati lungo i bordi
ComposerGiancane
Country of originItaly
Original languages
  • Italian
  • Romanesco
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
  • Michele Foschini
  • Fancesca Ettorre
  • Magali Fuzellier
  • Giovanna Bo
Producers
  • Davide Rosio
  • Giorgio Scorza
Running time16-22 minutes
Production companies
  • Movimenti Production
  • BAO Publishing
  • DogHead Animation Studio
DistributorNetflix
Release
Original networkNetflix
Audio formatStereo
Original release17 November 2021 (2021-11-17)

Tear Along the Dotted Line (Italian: Strappare lungo i bordi) is a 2021 Italian adult animated series written and directed by cartoonist Zerocalcare.[1] It was released internationally on Netflix on 17 November 2021.[2]

Plot[]

The series follows Zero, an anxious and socially awkward cartoonist from Rome who reflects on his path in life and a would-be love as he travels to the city of Biella with his friends Sarah and Secco and his armadillo-for-a-conscience. In the initial episodes, Zero imitates the voices of his friends since he himself acts as the narrator and plays all the main roles. Initially Sarah and Zero meet in a seemingly casual way, and as they progress, Zero begins to remember different episodes of his life and his personal relationships with his close friends, especially Alice, on whom he had a crush when he was younger. However, they ultimately never began a romantic relationship with each other, instead maintaining a true friendship. Zero and Sarah reunite with Secco to decide how they will travel to Biella. Once they arrive at their destination, they are greeted by a couple of elders who host them in their home. The trio make it clear that they are not entirely comfortable with the situation, but agreed to come to Biella partly out of a need to save money, and partly as a courtesy to the elderly couple, who are revealed to be Alice's parents. At the end of the fifth episode, Secco finally reveals that Alice has died and they are attending her funeral.

The final episode is the only one in which each character speaks with their real voice, since the events are now happening in real time. Zero realizes that Alice also had a crush on him, but their relationship never moved beyond friendship. Alice's parents, Sarah and Zero reflect on what could have motivated a lively and optimistic person like Alice to commit suicide for no clear reason and invite the public to pay more attention to the people around them.

Cast[]

Zerocalcare, show's creator and voice of many characters in the original Italian version
  • Zerocalcare as himself. He also dubs all other voices in the first 5 episodes, except Armadillo. He often breaks the fourth wall, directly addressing to the audience, interrupting his own flashbacks to clarify or justify his own mistakes.
  • Valerio Mastandrea as Armadillo, a giant orange creature that only exists in Zero's mind. He represents his conscience and criticizes everything Zero does.
  • Chiara Gioncardi as Sarah (episode 6), Zero's best friend since primary school. She dreams of becoming a teacher.
  • Paolo Vivio as Secco (episode 6), Zero's close friend who dropped out of school to become an online poker player. He is deadpan compared to Zero and Sarah and is seemingly indifferent to the world; however, he has a passion for ice cream, as he suggests going to get some at every opportunity.
  • Veronica Puccio as Alice (episode 6), Sarah's friend and Zero's crush. A girl who moved to Rome to pursue her dreams of becoming a child educator.
  • Ambrogio Colombo as Alice's father (episode 6)
  • Michele Foschini as Guy (episode 6)
  • Ezio Conenna and Alessandra Sani as additional voices (episode 6)

English cast:

  • Adam Rhys Dee as Zerocalcare
  • Wayne Forester as Armadillo
  • Becky Wright, Ben Elliot, Robert Wilfort as additional voices

Production[]

On 21 December 2020, Zerocalcare announced that he would be creating an animated series for Netflix titled Tear Along the Dotted Line, his first animated series after having experimented with animation for years. The series is produced by Movimenti Production in collaboration with BAO Publishing,[3][4] DogHead Animation is charged for the animation production[5] while Massimo Cherubin from Rain Frog is sound designer and mixer. Ten months later, on 8 October 2021, Netflix released a teaser trailer for the show.[6] The show premiered on 18 October at the Rome Film Festival and was internationally released via Netflix on 17 November.[7]

Episodes[]

No.TitleOriginal release date
1"Episode 1"17 November 2021 (2021-11-17)
Zero introduces himself and his close friends, and begins to remember his relationship with Alice in a series of flashbacks.
2"Episode 2"17 November 2021 (2021-11-17)
Sarah and Zero meet at the park and head to a coffee shop for breakfast while reviewing important events from their childhood.
3"Episode 3"17 November 2021 (2021-11-17)
Zero and Sarah head to Secco's apartment to reunite with him and begin traveling to Biella. Zero recaps his nightmarish experience of tutoring kids, including a lizard boy he unknowingly made into a nazi and an inseparable pair of mischievous mouse girls named Valentina and Ludovica.
4"Episode 4"17 November 2021 (2021-11-17)
On their way to the train station, Zero gives some hindsight on his relationship with his closest friends along with Alice’s troubled love life.
5"Episode 5"17 November 2021 (2021-11-17)
On the train, Zero remembers the last time he saw Alice along with the realization that he wasted his life when encountering a more mature and successful Valentina. Zero and his friends soon arrive at the home of Alice’s parents and spent the night before attending their friend’s funeral.
6"Episode 6"17 November 2021 (2021-11-17)
At Alice's funeral, Zero struggles with how to grieve as Sarah blasts him for making this more about himself than their friend. Alice’s parents conclude the funeral with a remembrance of their daughter’s life.

Soundtrack[]

The original soundtrack was composed by Giancane and collected in the album Strappati lungo i bordi, released along with the series.[8] Other tracks were chosen by Zerocalcare, including tracks by Billy Idol, Jonathan Lloyd & Clif Norrell, Manu Chao, Band of Horses, Ron, Tiziano Ferro, M83, Max Brodie, Fauve, Gli Ultimi, Klaxon, and Generation X.[9]

Controversies[]

Turkish newspaper Sabah wrote an article about the series having the People Defense Units flag in the trailer, as well as the Kurdistan Workers Party rags displayed in an episode. The article describes it as a "scandal".[10][11][12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Steve Greene (18 November 2021). "'Tear Along the Dotted Line' Is One of the Year's Most Personal Animated Series". IndieWire. Retrieved 25 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Strappare lungo i bordi è la più bella sorpresa dell'anno". CiakClub (in Italian). Retrieved 25 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Zerocalcare's animated series coming soon on Netflix". Collateral. 2020-12-21. Retrieved 17 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Franco Giubilei (21 December 2020). "Il mondo di Zerocalcare diventa una serie d'animazione per Netflix". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  5. ^ Fulvio Paloscia (2021-11-19). "Zerocalcare: viaggio nello studio alle Cascine di Firenze dove è nata la serie Netflix". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  6. ^ Tear Along The Dotted Line Official Teaser Netflix on YouTube
  7. ^ Emanuele Manta (8 October 2021). "Strappare lungo i bordi: La serie animata di Zerocalcare su Netflix dal 17 novembre, le prime immagini". Comingsoon.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  8. ^ Luca Scarselli (2021-11-17). "Strappati lungo i bordi di Giancane: la title track della serie animata di ZeroCalcare". Movieplayer.it (in Italian). Retrieved 18 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Benedetta Minoliti (2021-11-18). "Zerocalcare, la colonna sonora di "Strappare lungo i bordi" non è da boomer". Billboard Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 18 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Zerocalcare, media turchi contro l'uso della bandiera curda nella serie" [Zerocalcare, Turkish media against the use of the Kurdish flag in the series] (in Italian). Italy: Comcast. Sky TG24. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  11. ^ "La Turchia contro Zerocalcare: "No all'uso della bandiera curda"" [Turkey versus Zerocalcare: "No to the use of the Kurdish flag"]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Italy: BuzzFeed. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  12. ^ Enrico Mentana (23 November 2021). Redazione (ed.). "Zerocalcare, l'ultima polemica sulla serie arriva dalla Turchia: «Mostra la bandiera del Pkk, è uno scandalo»" [Zerocalcare, the latest controversy comes from Turkey: «It shows the Pkk flag, it's outrageous»]. Open Online (in Italian). Italy. Retrieved 8 January 2022.

External links[]

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