Here comes the cartoon series ‘Lupo tells the Sma’

From today the cartoon for adults and children “Lupo tells Sma”, a series in 6 episodes, promoted by Biogen and Sma Families and distributed exclusively by Amazon Prime Video. The series – presented this morning during a webinar – features the animals of the wood (Wolf, Mastro Owl, Thrush, Mother boar, Serpentella, the Carpa brothers) who, thanks to the engaging force of the narrative voices of Fabio Volo, Luca Ward, Francesco Pannofino, La Pina and the Trio Medusa, tells us ‘is Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a disease that affects about 1 newborn in every 10 thousand in the world and – according to estimates – currently affects about 850 people in Italy, most of whom are under the age of 16. Taken from the collection of fables of the same name written by Jacopo Casiraghi, Head of the Psychology Service of the NeMO Clinical Center in Milan and psychologist of the Sma Onlus Family Association and represented with simple language and the immediacy of Sam’s illustrations uele Gaudio, the cartoon helps to explain what it means to face this rare genetic disease that affects children, but also teens and adults every day. For these reasons, the series immediately received the full support and patronage, as well as the SMA community, also by the Association for the Study of Infantile Spinal Muscular Dystrophies (Asamsi), the Italian Association of Myology (Aim), the Italian Union for the Fight against Muscular Dystrophy (Uildm) and the National Council of Psychologists (Cnop). “It was a great thrill to see the characters I imagined come alive, writing the fables of ‘Lupo tells the SMA’ – says Jacopo Casiraghi -. In the construction of the characters I was inspired by the people I met (patients, families, colleagues) within the Sma Families Association and in the NeMo Center. These are stories, sometimes crude and painful, born to describe the SMA and help anyone who listens to them to recognize themselves in the adventures narrated and in the protagonists. Identification which I think will be further facilitated by this transposition into the cartoon, which will also be an important vehicle for reaching a wider audience, giving a different reading of the disease and its most difficult moments and enhancing the resources of the protagonists, who are able to find the light even in the darkest shadows of their experiences, managing to produce a change in the way in which meanings are attributed to pathology ”. To date, SMA represents the most common genetic cause of infant death. In our country it is estimated that every year a total of 60/70 children with SMA can be born, of which about 50% with the severe form. “Spinal muscular atrophy – underlines Valeria Sansone, Clinical and Scientific Director of the NeMO Clinical Center in Milan and Neurologist, Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Milan – is a rare disease characterized by the degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord and of the brain stem, which causes severe and progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. “” It is a disease that, in its most severe form, is usually diagnosed within the first months of the child’s life, who will need, in addition to ventilatory support and nutritional, also of assistance for the achievement of the fundamental motor milestones, such as keeping the head straight and sitting. Given the symptoms and the age of onset, the disease – he stresses – also has a strong emotional impact on the entire family system. For this reason, in the light of recent pharmacological advances, timely and early diagnosis is of fundamental importance for therapeutic outcomes “. “We are very happy that Lupo and his friends have become the protagonists of a series, a very modern narrative tool – adds Anita Pallara, President of Sma Families – able to tell and bring even those who do not live the disease every day closer to the reality of SMA. certain that, as already happened with the book, the cartoon will be able to break down barriers and misunderstandings, bringing light and color thanks to the poetry of the stories it tells. As soon as possible, one of our goals is certainly to bring the cartoon series also to schools ”. An enthusiasm shared by Alberto Fontana, president of the NeMO Clinical Centers, who comments starting from the message conceived for the preface of the book: “Involving our hearts and our minds through the fantastic helps us to experience that life is always beautiful in this way. as it is, in this extraordinary present, and that if we look at it with the eyes of love it can be even more beautiful than a dream. This series is much more than just a cartoon. These are stories that manage to bring that fleeting boundary between dream and reality to life, even more so now that we know that it is becoming clinically possible to face the disease. “” Thanks to this series, the stories of ‘Lupo tells Sma’ can enter homes of many Italians – Patrizia Costa, Director of the Neuromuscular Disease Biogen Italia Business Unit has no doubts – The cartoon is a new step in a broader project in which Biogen has long been engaged in the field of rare diseases, to support people who live with ‘Spinal Muscular Atrophy, beyond therapies. In fact, we want to introduce SMA to an ever wider audience and certainly the modern language and the immediacy of cartoon images, as well as the wide diffusion allowed by the collaboration with Amazon Prime Video, will be factors that will help us achieve this goal. The project has been and continues to be a wonderful journey, full of emotions and satisfactions in which we we have believed from the beginning: it is profound, it is powerful, it is sincere and at the same time it is very simple. A journey that has seen several stages that have explored various methods and channels of communication. Born as a paper book, then e-book, then a series of podcasts and today cartoons. The choice to land on a platform like Amazon Prime Video wants to contribute to further widening the field ”. The book ‘Lupo tells the SMA’ “has welcomed the enthusiasm of other countries – concludes Costa -. In fact, it has already been translated in Latin America, Poland, Spain. It will soon be translated into Turkish and Arabic as well. So I would say that the the project has been around the world. And knowing the enthusiasm of the SMA community and my colleagues at Biogen, I think the same work can also be done towards the cartoon. ”It was possible to make the series thanks to the Brandon Box production; Directed by Mattia Lunardi; Executive Producer Andrea Sgaravatti; Written by Margherita Restelli; Animations ALPS Animation; Studio supervisor Alessio Bertotti and Filippo Robino; ​​Producer Franco Valenzano; Animation Supervisor Stefania Vincenzi; Original music by Alessandro Bencini.