Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz
Encyclopedia
Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz is the 1984 entry in the Brazil
ian comedy
film
series Os Trapalhões
. This is a parody
of The Wizard of Oz
(1939). It was directed by Dedé Santana
and Vitor Lustosa. It injects elements and actors of Cinema Novo
into family film to direct attention to the ongoing drought
in the Northeast
, an issue that remains unresolved.
In addition to the regular members of Os Trapalhões, Renato Aragão
, Dedé Santana, Mussum
, and Zacarias
, Xuxa Meneghel, José Dumont
, Jofre Soares, and Arnaud Rodrigues, who wrote the songs, also appeared. Santana played the Cowardly Lion
, a sheriff
, Zacarias played the Scarecrow
, and Mussum played Vat, a cachaça
-filled variation on the Tin Woodman
. Xuxa plays Sheriff Lion's girlfriend, Aninha. Aragão plays his regular protagonist, Didi Mocó. Soares, best known for his work in Cinema Novo, plays a judge who sentences Didi's fellow tramps Soró (Rodrigues) and Tatu (Dumont) to jail for stealing bread
, while the Sheriff keeps Didi, the Scarecrow, and Vat in his charge to find water for the town. It is said that certain unusual sertanejo
s will come to the town and save them, and the travellers fit the bill, at least as an excuse to get rid of them and the cowardly sheriff. All of the town's water is on the lush estate of Colonel Ferreira, who rations it, and tries to seduce Aninha with no success. The Wizard of Oróz (Dary Reis) sends them to retrieve a water-spitting monster, in fact a giant faucet, that washerwomen
in Rio de Janeiro
utilize.
The film is also noted for its parody of the opening scene of Stanley Kubrick
's 2001: A Space Odyssey
, and for the cameo appearance of Tony Tornado as the leader of the vulture
s (deliberately replacing crow
s in the drought context) that terrorize the Scarecrow until they are eaten by the Tramps. Also, it shows Aragão's religious side—in the film, he kisses the feet of the statue
of Jesus
Christ
in Rio de Janeiro
, though he wanted to kiss the hand, and the film also depicts scenes of the Virgin Mary, played by Bia Seidl, riding upon a donkey
to Bethlehem
.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
series Os Trapalhões
Os Trapalhões
Os Trapalhões was a Brazilian comedy group and also a Brazilian television series created by Wilton Franco. Its members were Dedé Santana, Zacarias, Mussum and their leader Didi Mocó, that was played by Renato Aragão. The name Trapalhões is derived from the Portuguese verb atrapalhar, which means...
. This is a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
(1939). It was directed by Dedé Santana
Dedé Santana
Manfried Sant'Anna , known artistically as Dedé Santana, is a Brazilian comedian, best known for his role in the television series Os Trapalhões, where he was one of the four protagonists.-Short bio:...
and Vitor Lustosa. It injects elements and actors of Cinema Novo
Cinema Novo
Cinema Novo was practised by Brazilian filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s. In Portugal, Novo Cinema flourished after the 1960s, where it lasted, inspired by Italian Neo-Realism and the French movement of the New wave, the direct cinema techniques, and by the ideals the Carnation Revolution up to...
into family film to direct attention to the ongoing drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
in the Northeast
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....
, an issue that remains unresolved.
In addition to the regular members of Os Trapalhões, Renato Aragão
Renato Aragão
Antônio Renato Aragão is a Brazilian comedian. He is best known for leading the television series Os Trapalhões.-Biography:...
, Dedé Santana, Mussum
Mussum
Antônio Carlos Bernardes Gomes , known artistically as Mussum was a famous Brazilian actor and musician, notable for being a member of the comedic group Os Trapalhões...
, and Zacarias
Zacarias
Zacarias is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 1,940 and the area is 318.8 km²....
, Xuxa Meneghel, José Dumont
José Dumont
José Dumont is a Brazilian TV and movie actor, best known for his role as the family father in Behind the Sun , an award-winning film of director Walter Salles...
, Jofre Soares, and Arnaud Rodrigues, who wrote the songs, also appeared. Santana played the Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
, a sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, Zacarias played the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
, and Mussum played Vat, a cachaça
Cachaça
Cachaça is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane.It is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil. It is also known as aguardente, pinga, caninha and many other names...
-filled variation on the Tin Woodman
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
. Xuxa plays Sheriff Lion's girlfriend, Aninha. Aragão plays his regular protagonist, Didi Mocó. Soares, best known for his work in Cinema Novo, plays a judge who sentences Didi's fellow tramps Soró (Rodrigues) and Tatu (Dumont) to jail for stealing bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
, while the Sheriff keeps Didi, the Scarecrow, and Vat in his charge to find water for the town. It is said that certain unusual sertanejo
Sertão
In Portuguese, the word sertão first referred to the vast hinterlands of Asia that Lusitanian explorers encountered. In Brazil, the geographical term referred to backlands away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America in the early sixteenth century...
s will come to the town and save them, and the travellers fit the bill, at least as an excuse to get rid of them and the cowardly sheriff. All of the town's water is on the lush estate of Colonel Ferreira, who rations it, and tries to seduce Aninha with no success. The Wizard of Oróz (Dary Reis) sends them to retrieve a water-spitting monster, in fact a giant faucet, that washerwomen
Washerwoman
Washerwoman may refer to:* Alternanthera caracasana, a plant* a woman working in washing* The Irish Washerwoman, a traditional and well known Irish jig...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
utilize.
The film is also noted for its parody of the opening scene of Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
, and for the cameo appearance of Tony Tornado as the leader of the vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s (deliberately replacing crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s in the drought context) that terrorize the Scarecrow until they are eaten by the Tramps. Also, it shows Aragão's religious side—in the film, he kisses the feet of the statue
Christ the Redeemer (statue)
Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is tall, including its pedestal, and wide. It weighs 635 tonnes , and is located at the peak of the Corcovado...
of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, though he wanted to kiss the hand, and the film also depicts scenes of the Virgin Mary, played by Bia Seidl, riding upon a donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
to Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
.