"West and Soda" Turns 60 – A Retrospective of the Western According to Bozzetto

The Soundcheck

By Alfonso La Manna

November 19, 2025

Screened during the days of the Piccolo Grande Cinema of the Cineteca Milano, West and Soda seen in the restored theater gives a unique amazement. An irreverent parody of the western that still sets the standard today.

On Saturday 15 November, on the final evening of the Piccolo Grande Cinema festival of the Cineteca Milano, there was the screening of West and Soda in the Restored Edition, with the presence of Bruno Bozzetto.

So, what better opportunity to dive back into that anarchic and rebellious imagery staged by the master of Italian animation, than with the first feature film that made him known to the whole world?

Because, 60 years later, West and Soda is a film that still manages to amaze. A work that young people should absolutely rediscover and that represents a fundamental piece of Italian and world cinema, not only in the field of animation.

The premise

In the scenario of an unlikely old west populated by shady and bizarre characters, the fearsome Despicable is scraping together land and power thanks to his violent henchmen Ursus and Slender. But his conquered properties are missing one last possession: that of the young and sensual Clementine, who lives on her farm in the company of her beloved animals.

The cowardly criminal obviously has no qualms about targeting the young farmer and sends his henchmen to the ranch to force the woman to give him the property. But soon the young cowboy Johnny, who has come from afar, arrives from the horizon bringing Clementine the opportunity to solve the hostile situation.

Why is West and Soda so important?

West and Soda is not only one of the very first Italian animated feature films, but one of the first great examples of an animated film that went against the trend of the Disney classics, proposing a smaller film, but anarchic, crazy, very funny. Something that had never been seen before and that paved the way for the master's subsequent works, but which also inspired generations of subsequent directors. One of those first examples that demonstrated how animation could also challenge conventions and genres, proposing a new model free from the usual formulas.

And its release is also extraordinary, linked a few months later to that of Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, consecrating that historical moment to that of the birth of the spaghetti western. Because West and Soda is nothing more than a parody of the western. A very intelligent parody, which knows how to take all the clichés of the genre and reinvent them in an unpredictable way. And that, after 60 years, has lost none of its irreverent charge.

A parody of the hilarious western

From the hilarious opening sequence to the saloon, up to the surreal final duel – which traditionally takes place under the blazing midday sun – West and Soda still today, with its thousand ideas, gimmicks, visual solutions, manages to give amazement and smiles even on the faces of new spectators. It is not only a courageous film, but also a work full of heart and passion, perceptible in every single scene. A film of the free spirit, which already showed part of the genius that Bozzetto would demonstrate in subsequent works.

Even reduced within the western genre, West and Soda brilliantly reveals itself as a skillful parody of a genre that is desecrated in all its formulas. There are no explanations about treasure findings, turbulent backstories that afflict the protagonist or classic showdowns to the death. It would be enough to mention the only visual device used to show Johnny's change of outfit to admire how much this is still a film that manages to amaze and always get off every track.

Unpredictable, brave and worthy of the charge that only a gunslinger could have.

Rediscovering Bruno Bozzetto with the exhibition at the Interactive Cinema Museum

This moment represents an unmissable opportunity to dive into the works of a giant of Italian and world animation. Because it is currently possible to discover – or rediscover – the entire production of our Bozzetto through the splendid exhibition La Pop Art Animata by Bruno Bozzetto, dedicated to him at the Interactive Museum of Cinema in Milan, now extended until next March 15, 2026.

The gallery presents a very rich exhibition of original rodovetri, preparatory materials, finds, sketches, storyboards of the master's production and mini cinema to see all his restored short films at the highest quality. An unmissable opportunity to admire the work of a filmmaker whose influence has been mentioned too little lately, but whose value and legacy are inestimable.