fantastical characters short with beards

An example of Capitano used as a vecchio is Gaston from Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast. A modern example of a character in the style of the Captain is the title role of the show Invader Zim, an arrogant and exceedingly self-centered alien who earned a high military ranking simply because his superiors wanted to put him “in charge” of the most distant planet they could think of, so they'd never have to see him again. He is usually played as being an extreme coward behind his bravado, though once in a while the character is known to demonstrate true courage nevertheless, even when he does, it is so ineptly applied that his action is still a miserable failure.

He also is frequently portrayed as wearing glasses - in past times these would have been a fashion accessory, akin to sunglasses today. If he is masked, it is usually flesh-colored with a long nose and mustache that turns up at the corners. He usually wears a fancy version of a period military uniform, and may or may not have a mask. The other characters may or may not be fooled by his claims, depending on the needs of the story. He is opportunistic and greedy, and in many scenari he is revealed to have never been a captain at all and if he does have legitimate claim to the title he only earned it through deception and bravado. He is often named Spavento, which means 'terror' according to Florio's dictionary but other popular names are Spagnuolo and Spezzafer. He is sometimes considered a fourth 'type' of character but in practice he still functions in stories as one of the three regular types (Cola is another who does this multifunction.) He is often depicted as a Spaniard, especially in older shows, and in some cases was simply called The Spaniard. Unusually, the character of the Captain can fall into both the zanni and the vecchi categories, and can even fill the part of the inamorato on occasion. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Malicious intelligence, manifesting as insults, trouble-making, schemes, and brawls.

A modern Brighella-type character can be found in Edmund Blackadder of the Blackadder series. Duchartre describes his traditional hat as a toque with a green border, though most illustrations seem to show Brighella with a peasant's bonnet sometimes called a 'muffin hat', similar to what most other zanni commonly wear. His costume was usually white with green trimmings, and his mask an olive-color or (less-commonly) brown, with a hooked nose. His name comes from an old Italian word that means 'brawl' and so in English his name could be rendered as Brawley. He traditionally shows no real sense of honor, and will rob his dearest friend if he finds the chance and only demonstrates loyalty to others if he discovers it to be to his own best advantage. He is selfish and opportunistic - as is the case with many of the stock characters - but unlike the other zanni who are often stupid or at least gullible, Brighella is cunning and can manipulate circumstances in ways that would be beyond the other characters any failure of his schemings will usually be due to bad luck on his part, rather than any real problem with his plan. Bragatto's character is a tough guy with the heart of a marshmallow he often picks fights but seems to run rather than fight (see Scapin.)īrighella or Brigella, Brighelle Zan Brighella.Īn ill-tempered but intelligent zanni, he is known to be dangerous and may even commit murders or other violent crimes. An unidentified cha racter matching his description in an early 17th century painting has a green saio with red sleeves, black mask with a long pointed nose, brown flatcap with a wide brim and pink plumes, and brown leggings, with rosettes on his shoes. A mid-17th century depiction shows him in a generic mask, with long wild hair or perhaps a heavily plumed hat, smartly dressed wearing a long jerkin (perhaps intended to be his famous saio ) and petticoat breeches. In the Bragatto play, he loses his clothes in a card game, describing the items as a saio (a long, closed coat with wide skirts sometimes translated as jerkin ), breeches, and a hat.

He seems to be better dressed than most zanni, which suggests the breeched reading. His name may mean 'breeched' (as a variant of Bracàto ) or 'from the swamp' (from Brac ). Not well documented but managed to be the title role in a 1585 play, where he appears to be a prototype for Brighella.

Fantastical characters short with beards