Monica de Sousa ( Portuguese: ''Mônica'') is a Brazilian fictional character and

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 ...

's best-known creation. Introduced in 1960, she serves as the main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

and

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

of the ''

Monica and Friends ''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 ...

'' (''Turma da Mônica'') comic book series and

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

. Mauricio based the character on his second daughter, also named Monica, with whom the fictional character shares some physical characteristics. In her first appearances, she was a supporting character to

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 ...

, but was gradually made the main character. An eponymous comic book series began publication from 1970.

Concept and creation

Monica was based on Mauricio de Sousa's daughter in childhood. The reason for her creation was due to a complaint of the lack of female characters in Mauricio comics. At that time,

newspaper strip A comic strip is a sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, these ...

s of Blu and

were produced. When Monica made her first appearance was in a strip of Jimmy Five in 1963, at first as a secondary rival of main character. In the very first strips, Monica appeared as a 4-year-old little girl (who was considered Specs' younger sister in earlier stories). She had an aggressive behavior and was portrayed as a bully. She also used to wear shoes, just like Jimmy Five. Monica's hair was influenced by a haircut her older daughter Mariângela gave her once when she was a kid. But Mauricio improved her visual over the years giving to Monica a cute and friendly appearance and making her more naïve and kind. However her characteristic of beating the boys (mainly Jimmy Five) with her rabbit was maintained, only reversing the roles making the boys act as antagonists to Monica who often created plans to defeat her. For most of the 60s she was considered a supporting role for Jimmy Five, however her popularity increased significantly at the end of the same decade when Mauricio received a contract with the food company CICA (a defunct and now Unilever-owned Brazilian company) to use Monica and

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

(another Mauricio de Sousa character) to appear in television commercials. With the popularity of Monica in the TV commercials in 1970 Mauricio made a new contract for a series of comic books with his characters, but with Monica as the title character instead of Jimmy Five.

Personality and basic information

Monica is a 7-year-old (6-year-old in older stories) toeless, strong and decisive girl, who does not tolerate impertinence, but at the same time, has her moments of femininity. She lives with her parents, has a little dog called Ditto (Monicão), and does not let go of her blue stuffed rabbit called Samson (Sansão). This rabbit, which she loves so dearly, is also a weapon against boys. Especially

(Cebolinha) and Smudge (Cascão), who are always teasing her and calling her roly-poly, toothy, and shorty. She is described as possessing powerful (usually even superhuman) strength, which she uses to fight boys who tease her or to defend herself and her friends. She is known by the other characters as the "ruler of the street". She is often at odds with Jimmy Five (Cebolinha), but backs him up whenever he gets into trouble. Monica's best friend is Maggy (Magali). Monica's also very shy to date boys, and she often causes trouble when she tries to talk or impress them. Her buckteeth (more precisely the

maxillary central incisor The maxillary central incisor is a human tooth in the front upper jaw, or maxilla, and is usually the most visible of all teeth in the mouth. It is located Commonly used terms of relationship and comparison in dentistry, mesial (closer to the mid ...

) are her trademark, but also the main reason for people to call her toothy.

Relatives and friends

Parents

Monica is the daughter and

only child An only child is a person with no siblings, by birth or adoption. Overview Throughout history, only-children were relatively uncommon. From around the middle of the 20th century, birth rates and average family sizes fell sharply for a number of ...

of ''Seu Sousa'' (lit. ''Mr. Sousa'') and ''Dona Luísa'' (lit. ''Mrs. Luísa''). Sousa is based on

himself (as his surname indicates), but he is a separate character. He works in a business company. Luísa is housewife, but also works as a designer for pieces of furniture. Unlike the other parents, Sousa and Luísa are the only ones who do not share any facial similarities with their child, which in some stories this fact made Monica suspect that she was

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

, although in the end she found out they were in fact her biological parents.

Samson

''Samson'' (''Sansão'', in the original) is Monica's blue rabbit toy. He is not only Monica's favorite toy but also the "weapon" that she uses on whoever calls her by names she doesn't like. Samson is a constant victim of Jimmy Five, Smudge or other boys who love to tie his ears in knots. Initially, he didn't have a name, "Samson" was suggested by Roberta Carpi, in 1983. It was based on a yellow toy rabbit stuffed with straw that the real Monica had when she was 2 years old. Originally in the very first strips Samson was also yellow, but was later changed to blue to match the new rabbit plush that Mauricio's daughter won in place of the old one in a TV show in her 7 years. In the first comic strips that appeared constantly was used as a weapon to beat and scare the boys of the neighborhood (mainly Jimmy Five). In a strip from the same time it was revealed that the reason boys were afraid of the rabbit was because Monica carried a brick inside him to beat them, but this idea was dropped over time when Monica went on to demonstrate super strength. In some old stories is also revealed that inside him lives an elf-like imp. The character also has a female pink counterpart called Dalila (lit. ''Delilah''), who rarely appears in comics and is used more in marketing. The real-life Samson was exposed in 2013 in a museum in honor of Monica's 50th birthday.

Ditto

''Ditto'' (''Monicão'' – a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "Mônica" and "cão", "dog" in Portuguese) is Monica's pet. He was a gift from Jimmy and Smudge, who did not remember to bring one to Monica's party. Ditto looks so much like her (including the Banana-like hair and the prominent teeth) that the boys decided to buy it with the initial purpose of mocking her as soon as they saw the pooch on a pet shop window. However, their plan backfired, as both Ditto and Monica got along immediately and now stick together. Among the pets of Monica and Friends, Ditto is the most active. He is sometimes portrayed as having super strength, which often leads him or Monica to get into troublesome situations.

Other appearances

Monica Teen

Monica is one of the main

protagonists A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the spin-off

Monica Teen ''Monica Adventures'' ( Portuguese: ''Turma da Mônica Jovem'', lit. "Mônica's Gang Teen") is a Brazilian comic created in August 2008 by Mauricio de Sousa. It is a reinterpretation of the characters from '' Monica and Friends'' in teenage ve ...

, published since 2008 by MSP and

Panini Comics Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hungary ...

. In this Japanese-style

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

Monica and her friends are now 15 years old and go to school at Limoeiro High (literal translation: Lemon Tree High). The very first edition shows a drastic change in Monica and her friends since childhood when they were 7 years old. Monica is

self-confident Confidence is the feeling of belief or Trust (social science), trust that a person or thing is reliable. * * * Self-confidence is trust in oneself. Self-confidence involves a positive belief that one can generally accomplish what one wishes t ...

and no longer gets tormented by the boys in Lemon Street, although she is still strong, short-tempered and her buckteeth and hair stay the same, although her hair gets longer. She develops a crush for Jimmy Five and ends up in a relationship with him. Despite having changed in some ways, she still has an adventurous spirit and continues to use her super strength when necessary. Later on, she joins her friends in a crossover with characters by Osamu Tezuka such as Princess Sapphire,

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...

and Kimba.

Video games

Monica starred in a series of games for

Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...

and

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

developed by

TecToy Tec Toy S.A., trading as Tectoy since 1997, is a Brazilian toy and electronics company headquartered in São Paulo. It is best known for producing, publishing, and distributing Sega consoles and video games in Brazil. The company was founded b ...

. The games were based on the

Wonder Boy The series, also known as the series, is a franchise of video games published by Sega and developed by Westone Bit Entertainment (formerly Escape). Beginning with the original ''Wonder Boy (video game), Wonder Boy'' arcade game released in April ...

franchise, and their adaptations were exclusive to Brazil. In the adaptations of these games, Monica and her friends replace the protagonists. In 2014, Monica was added by publisher Nurigo Games as a playable character in the Brazilian edition of Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) race game Tales Runner. Monica is also one of the default playable characters in the 2018 game ''

Mônica e a Guarda dos Coelhos Monica may refer to: People *Monica (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress * Mônica (footballer, born 1978) (Mônica Angélica de Paula) * Mônica (footba ...

''.

Reception and legacy

Monica is often considered and referred to as the most popular character and icon in Brazilian comics and cartoons. The comic strip showing Monica's first appearance has become iconic and is often referenced even in modern Monica and Friends comics, in a similar way to

Steamboat Willie ''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black-and-white by Walt Disney Animation Studios and was released by Pat Powers (producer), Pat Powers, under the name of Cele ...

for

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, Michaela, and Michelle, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

. In 1993 a special issue called "Mônica 30 Anos", of which celebrated the 30 years of the character was published, this edition besides comics showed curiosities about the origin of the character, an interview with the real Mauricio de Sousa's daughter and also arts made by other Brazilian artists (that served as inspiration for future Graphic Novels with other artists drawing the characters of Mauricio de Sousa). With the success of this issue, similar ones were launched in later years commemorating the 35, 40 and 50 years of the character. In 2013, during the character's 50th birthday celebration various old products, retro toys, books based in the character's history were sold, in addition to exhibitions and plays. The 50th anniversary was also celebrated by

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

in Brazil. In 2016 a Graphic Novel focused only on Monica entitled "Mônica - Força" was published, having been made by the artist Bianca Pinheiro, this Graphic Novel had a sequel in 2019 entitled "Mônica - Tesouros" and another in 2023 titled "Mônica: Coragem". In 2007, Monica became a Goodwill Ambassador for

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

Rivalry with Little Lulu

Despite the good reception, the character was also the target of much criticism in the early years involving her great resemblance to

Little Lulu ''Little Lulu'' is a comic strip created in 1935 by American author Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character, Lulu Moppet, debuted in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' on February 23, 1935, in a single panel, appearing as a flower girl at a wedding ...

, which was even considered the main rival for Monica in the sale of comics in Brazil until the 90s. In 2009, after the success of

, a comic book with a teen version of Little Lulu called

Luluzinha Teen e sua Turma ''Luluzinha Teen e sua Turma'' (lit: ''Little Lulu Teen and her Gang'') was a manga-style Brazilian comic based on the U.S. comic strip '' Little Lulu'', from Marjorie Henderson Buell. It was launched in June 2009, a year after the launch of th ...

started to be published in response to Monica Teen.

Internet memes

In 2016 memes based on Monica's Gang started to become popular on the internet, originally through a

shitposting In Internet culture, shitposting or trashposting is the act of using an online forum or social media page to post content that is of "aggressively, ironically, and trollishly poor quality".: : : : : Shitposts are generally intentionally desig ...

club on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

. One of the most popular memes that came up on Facebook was the "ATA" meme, consisting of the cover of "Almanaque da Mônica Nº 102" published in May 2004 by Globo. The cover shows Monica using a computer (showing the faces of the other characters) and breaking the fourth wall looking at the reader, in the meme the faces of the characters were erased and replaced with texts of responses to be used in comments on Facebook, the most popular being the "ata" (a corruption of "ah tá", a sarcastic way of speaking "okay" in Portuguese). The popularity of the meme with the overuse of the image through the comments on Facebook came to attract the attention of MSP and even the real Mônica Sousa who posted a photo imitating the meme.

References

External links

Official Monica’s Gang website
* {{Monica's Gang Monica and Friends Fictional characters based on real people Comics characters with superhuman strength Fictional Brazilian people Child characters in comics Child characters in television Comics characters introduced in 1963 Animated human characters Female characters in animation Time travelers