''The Adventures of Monica and Friends'' () is a 1982 Brazilian

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

directed by

Mauricio de Sousa Mauricio Araújo de Sousa (; born October 27, 1935), known artistically as Mauricio de Sousa or mononymously just as Mauricio, is a Brazilian cartoonist and businessman who has created over 200 characters for his popular series of children's co ...

, based on his ''

Monica's Gang ''Monica and Friends'' (), previously published as ''Monica's Gang'' in Anglophone territories and as ''Frizz and Friends'' in London, is a Brazilian comic book series and media franchise created by Mauricio de Sousa. The series originated in a c ...

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

. This was the first feature film based on ''Monica's Gang'' and which began production of the

cartoon series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can eithe ...

based on the comics. The film mixes animation with some scenes made in live-action interpreted by Mauricio de Sousa in his studio. The film shows four individual stories that end up linking through the characters interacting with Mauricio through phone calls. Distributed by

Embrafilme Embrafilme (in full: ''Empresa Brasileira de Filmes S.A.'') was a Brazilian state-owned company created on September 12, 1969 for production, funding and distribution of Brazilian movies. The company was dissolved on March 16, 1990 by the National ...

, the film was released theatrically in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

on 23 December 1982 and in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

on 10 January 1983.

Plot

The film begins with a live-action sequence focusing on Mauricio de Sousa working at his desk until he starts receiving phone calls from his characters— Monica,

Jimmy Five Jameson Flynn "Jimmy Five" Morrison Jr., known as Cebolinha in Portuguese, is one of ''Monica and Friends'' main characters. He was created in 1960, at first as a support character for Franklin and Blu who the following year became the protagon ...

, Smudge, Maggy,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

and Blu—who have just discovered that they were appearing in a film. While Sousa seeks inspiration to create the plot of the film, the film moves into the comics and focuses on the animated characters. The first story named "O Plano Infalível" (lit translation: The Infallible Plan) follows Jimmy Five and Smudge as they devise several plans to pull a prank on Monica, but all the gadgets created by Jimmy Five eventually backfire against him in a style of humor similar to the

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical short '' Fast and Furry-ous''. In each film, the cunning, d ...

cartoons. The second story is named "Um Amor de Ratinho" (lit translation: A Mice's Love) and it centers on Monica, who attends a costume party at Franklin's house wearing a mouse costume, but is accidentally shrunk by one of Franklin's inventions and befriends a small mouse that falls in love with her. The third story named "A Ermitã" (lit translation: The Female Hermit) also focuses on Monica. Feeling rejected by her friends (who are secretly organizing her birthday party), Monica decides to run away from home to live as a hermit in the mountains. The fourth and last story named "O Império Empacota" (lit translation: The Pack Empire) is a parody of the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' films, focused on Monica and Jimmy Five. A mysterious robot rabbit is sent to Earth to dominate the planet by orders of his master, Lorde Coelhão. The robot lands in Jimmy Five's bedroom and tries to attack him, but all of his attempts go wrong. The robot is not noticed by Jimmy Five until the two meet Monica and accidentally ends up abducting the two by stealing Monica's stuffed rabbit Samson. Monica ends up being imprisoned in a gift package while Jimmy Five meets Lorde Coelhão (lit translation: Lord Big Rabbit) and his plan to conquer Earth. Jimmy Five flees into a spaceship, saving Monica and using the spaceship he manages to defeat Lorde Coelhão and his robots. At the end of the film, Monica and Jimmy Five, still inside the spaceship, land on Sousa's desk, joining Smudge, Maggy, Franklin, Blu and

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

. All the characters wonder about the film which Sousa intended to do, but he says he no longer needs to make the film because it is done, referring indirectly to the stories that the viewer has just watched.

Critical reception

The movie received mixed reactions from film critics. Carlos Fonseca, writing for '' Última Hora'', said the film still felt amateurish, despite the "reasonable quality" and animation style similar to US productions. In this regard, he said he still preferred Piconzé (1972), third animated feature film produced in the country. He considered "O Império Empacota" the best story of the filme by having a "start, middle and end", while other stories were "absolutely uninteresting" or lacked rhythm. On the other hand, Rubens Ewald Filho wrote to ''A Tribuna'' that this episode had a "cute, but unsatisfying" story, preferring the episode "Um Amor de Ratinho." He concluded by saying that the film was " thing exceptional, but it works quite well", criticizing only the ending, where Mauricio interacts with the characters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures Of Monica And Friends 1982 films 1982 animated films 1982 comedy films 1982 science fiction films 1980s adventure comedy films 1980s children's adventure films 1980s children's animated films 1980s children's comedy films 1980s children's fantasy films 1980s fantasy adventure films 1980s fantasy comedy films 1980s Portuguese-language films 1980s science fiction adventure films 1980s science fiction comedy films Animated adventure films Animated anthology films Animated comedy films Animated films about mice Animated films about rabbits and hares Animated films based on comics Animated science fantasy films Brazilian adventure comedy films Brazilian animated science fiction films Brazilian anthology films Brazilian fantasy comedy films Brazilian science fiction comedy films Animated films about size change Films with live action and animation Monica and Friends films 1980s Brazilian films