Career
Ion Popescu-Gopo attended (but never graduated from) the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest. He also attended animation courses in Moscow. He made Maria, Mirabela which is a Romanian-Russian co-production.
His career started as a designer and cartoonist in 1939, publishing caricatures and editorial cartoons in newspapers.
1949 brought his debut in the film industry with "Punguţa cu doi bani" (Bag with two coins). Since 1950 he started working for Studioul Cinematografic Bucureşti (Cinematographic Studio Bucharest) in the animation department, that later broke into a separate animation studio, Animafilm.
His most known cartoon character is a little black and white man sometimes referred to as "Gopo"s Little Manitoba" after his creator. Later in his life Popescu-Gopo confessed that he tried to start an "anti-Disney rebellion".
Unable to surpass Disney"s animation characters in color and beauty, Popescu-Gopo tried to be more profound in message and substance and simplify the form and techniques used.
Unlike Disney"s cartoon characters, Popescu-Gopo"s cartoon characters were black and white, designed in simple lines.