Mattia Nissolino

It’s a hard life for young Leo: his family just doesn’t understand why he’s a vegetarian lion. His solitude ends when he meets Avoria, the elephant queen, who has recently given birth to two calves with braided tails. Mysteriously widowed, Avoria is courted by dapper Zanco. By a series of misfortunes she is separated from her young. Leo steps in to take care of them: thus begins his search for legendary Milk Lake, during which he experiences all sorts of incredible adventures. This fable with a happy ending handles the themes of diversity and racism with engaging originality.

The cartoon tells a story set in Palermo in the 1950s, in the form of a fairy tale for children. The protagonists—two boys who fight to free their neighborhood from the presence of an evil wizard who steals people's souls and turns them into "pupi"—are named Giovanni and Paolo, in homage to Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who were indeed young friends in Palermo during those years.