Aesop Animation: Constantino (Patreon)

Alright, next up for our rendition of Puss in Boots is the primary protagonist of the film and franchise, Constantino.

The protagonist of Aesop Animation's adaption of Puss in Boots, Constantino was the noblest boy in his village, yet he was constantly put down for his extreme poverty. When his grandfather passes away, he inherited a strange thing- a talking cat name Puss, and reluctantly the two become fast friends after Constantino falls in love with Princess Violette and together they hatch a scheme to fool her father into thinking Constantino is royalty so he can marry her daughter. Despite being exposed by the rival dark wizard Pagano, the young boys risks his life to take down the dark wizard and save his village and the kingdom, proving to the king and everyone that a man is not judge by his wealth but by their character. During the spin-off animated series, Constantino's character was one of the few to remain true despite the changes made to puss and Violette's characters, remaining the straightman to their schemes in their adventures. But as Puss and Violette's character derailment continued as their friendship grew in their spare time, Constantino became sick to what his wife and best friend had become, ultimately choosing to abandoned both of them even after they sold out to Helvira to protect themselves, choosing imprisonment and torture over remaining safe with his cast-mates. This resentment continued after Helvira was defeated and the two worlds united, with Constantio choosing to remain a secluded bitter hermit in his animated world of Toontopia rather than associate himself with the humans who helped changed his friends for the worse or help Toonman when said friends joined Simon Says. Though Toonman struggled to figure out a way to bring him out of his funk, he eventually managed to convince Constantino to channeling his frustrations as an advocate and fighter for equal and fair rights/changes for cartoons in the animation industry, convincing him that if Violette and Puss were possibly too far gone, then he could work to prevent the same from happening to future cartoons.

So Constantino is the Aladdin of Aesop Animation. And where as Violette's character evolved/changed for the worse as time went on, Constantino's has stayed true to his origins, yet he himself has grown bitter over time. I guess you can't blame him though. To be honest, I didn't any immediate plans for Constantino's character in Toonman at first. He's not happy with humans, but doesn't outright blame them for his troubles like Simon and other cartoons have and want revenge. Nor does he wish to save humans from themselves like Moonhawk and other protagonist cartoons want to. And he holds no resentment towards Toonman for his accidental part in releasing Helvira, so no reason for him to side with Rocky. As I was writing his character I remembered how I wanted to write stories for toons protesting/fighting for their rights and changes in the animation industry for the better, and decided that maybe Constantino's frustrations would be best channeled into that. It's not much, but it's a role for him I think works.

Let us know what you think of this new indie cartoon character for Toonman and NRG with a comment below!

Toonman: The Animated Ace © NRG Comics

Art and Design by SecretScrapV2