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.
Maurício Araújo de Sousa is a Brazilian cartoonist and businessman who has created over 200 characters for his popular series of children's comic books named "Turma da Mônica" or "Monica's Gang".
Jimmy Five, 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 protagonist of his own series of newspaper strips, which was later replaced by the character Monica in the 70s. Currently Jimmy Five has his own printed comic book, called Cebolinha, which was first released in 1973.
Chuck Billy is the main character from Chuck Billy 'n' Folks, created by Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa. He is the biggest work of Mauricio after Monica and Friends, and he has his own cartoon magazine and even some VHS and DVD movies, following Monica's steps.
Maggy, is a character of the popular Brazilian comic book series Monica and Friends. She was created by Mauricio de Sousa, who based the character on one of his daughters, Magali Spada e Souza. Monica, Mary Angela and Marina were also based on Mauricio's daughters. Maggy has her own comic book, in which there are also stories of her cat, Vanilla.
Bug-a-Booo is a Brazilian comic strip, created in 1963 and part of the Monica's Gang series. All of the characters are monsters or other supernatural creatures, none of them being a human being. The main location for their stories is a cemetery. However, their stories are not intended to be scary, they are sometimes classified as “Terrir”, which is a Portmanteau of the Portuguese words "Terror" (horror) and "Rir" (to laugh). In some of the stories, they have to deal with the fact that vampires, ghosts, zombies and mummies are no longer appreciated as characters of horror films. People instead are opting for assassins, psychopaths, serial killers, etc.
The Cavern Clan (Piteco) is a Brazilian comic strip created in 1961 by Mauricio de Sousa. It is part of the Monica's Gang series.
Tina's Pals is a Brazilian comic strip series, part of the Monica's Gang series, created in 1970. The stories are aimed at a more teenage group of readers, rather than the kids who would read other Mauricio de Sousa's works and thus center around teenagers and young adults. However, Mauricio prefers not to mention drugs, topics about sexuality, or other similar subjects, which are very popular among teenagers. Instead, the strips are written with themes related to school or university, dating, problems with parents, etc.
The Tribe is a Brazilian comic strip, part of the Monica's Gang series. It centers around a tribe of indigenous people from the Amazon. Their tribe was once named "Tribo do Rio" (River's Tribe). Although the only characters are Tom-Tom, Tamoyo, Papaya and the Pajé, their stories feature a large range of themes, going from environmental concerns to the shock between indigenous and non-indigenous cultures. People from outside the jungle are called "Caras-pálidas" or simply "Caraíbas". When one of the Caraíbas approaches Tom-Tom's tribe, the encounter can be either friendly or unfriendly, the latter always happening when the Caraíba attempts to hunt, deforest, burn, or in any other way harm the environment. Tupã, the God of the Guarani people, and Jaci, the Moon, are occasionally mentioned.
The Funnies, also known as Bubbly the Astronaut, is a Brazilian comic strip series, created in 1963 and part of the Monica's Gang comic strips. It centers around Bubbly, an astronaut, whose parents and ex-girlfriend Rita appear very rarely, making him the only recurring character. The comic strip can be defined as a science fiction adventure strip.
Lionel's Kingdom is a Brazilian comic strip created in 1961 and part of the Monica's Gang comic strips.
Monica is a Brazilian fictional character and Mauricio de Sousa's best-known creation. Introduced in 1963, she serves as the main protagonist and title character of the Monica and Friends comic book series and media franchise.
Blu (Bidu) is a character in the Brazilian comic strip Monica's Gang, created in 1959. He was the first character created by Maurício de Sousa, along with his owner Franklin (Franjinha). The character appears in the logo and is the mascot of Mauricio de Sousa Produções, the company founded by Sousa to release his works.
Mônica e Cebolinha: No Mundo de Romeu e Julieta is a film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, starring Monica's Gang. It was originally staged at theater in 1978 with a comic and LP adaptation out in the same year. In 1979 the feature film adaptation of the play was released, filmed in Ouro Preto, as a special for the Children's Day on Rede Bandeirantes. Along with A Rádio do Chico Bento, is one of the two films inspired by Mauricio de Sousa characters completely done in live-action.
Monica Toy is a Brazilian franchise and 2D animated series based on Monica's Gang comic books, and also a spin-off of the animated cartoon series of the same name. The series features the characters drawn in a chibi-like art style. The franchise debuted on 2013 in partnership with Mauricio de Sousa and the company Tok & Stok for the sale of products based on the characters, with a cartoon premiering on the official YouTube channel on May 23 of the same year. The cartoon also debuted on Cartoon Network in Brazil after a few months.
Pelezinho is a Brazilian comic book series created by Mauricio de Sousa based on soccer star Pelé in his childhood. The character was created in 1976 from conversations between Mauricio and Pelé to create a character to better promote the player who at the time had just become a phenomenon for the Brazil national team. The characters were suggested by Pelé himself, based on childhood memories.
The New Adventures of Monica and Friends is a 1986 Brazilian animated compilation film directed by Mauricio de Sousa. It is the third film based on the Turma da Mônica comic book series, of which Mauricio is the creator. Like his first film, The Adventures of Monica and Friends, it is divided into stories, as Mauricio wanted these to be shown later on television. It was released for the first time on September 20, 1986. The film was successful in theaters and received a positive reception from the public. It was later shown at the Gramado and Brasilia Film Festivals and re-released on VHS.
Cine Gibi is a Brazilian franchise of animated films and magazines based on the Monica and Friends comics by Mauricio de Sousa. The films revolve around a Franklin machine that reproduces comic books in movie format. The first, Cine Gibi, was released in 2004 after the appreciation of cinema in Brazil and was the only one in the series to be released in cinemas. In all, there are nine films in the franchise, and some films have spawned magazines with stories based on them. In general, Cine Gibi had a mixed reception.
