Bitto (TV series)

Bitto, also known as Il mio amico Huck in Italian and Huckleberry no Bōken (ハックルベリィの冒険) in Japanese, is a 1985 Italian-Japanese animated television series co-produced by RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) and Apollo Film. It's loosely based on Mark Twain's novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, though with significant alterations to the source material.

The series follows the adventures of Bitto (Huck), a young boy living in a small town on the Mississippi River. Unlike the literary Huck Finn, Bitto is depicted as more active and adventurous. He is accompanied on his journey by Jim, a runaway slave, and the two encounter various characters and face numerous challenges.

The animation style is typical of mid-1980s anime. The series was dubbed and broadcast in numerous languages, achieving international popularity. The storyline often deviates considerably from Twain's novel, introducing new characters and subplots. The themes explored in the series include friendship, freedom, justice, and the struggle against prejudice. Despite the loose adaptation, the series retains the spirit of adventure and the focus on societal issues present in the original novel.