Monica's Gang: Difference between revisions

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* The Funnies (Turma do Astronauta): A Brazilian astronaut's journey through the cosmos. Frequently stumbles by classic sci-fi characters (a story had him sending his ship to be fixed; [[Star Trek|Kirk and Spock]], [[Star Wars|Darth Vader]], [[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|E.T.]] and the crew from [[Lost in Space]] are in the mechanic too)

* Lionel's Kingdom (Turma da Mata): A group of jungle animals. The English title has the name of the ruler of said jungle (a lion, of course), but the main character is the elephant Thunder (Jotalhão), originally created for the ads of a tomato sauce (which had [http://www.casadoposter.com.br/_arquivo/posters_images/7_7.jpg a realistic elephant] on its cans, but [http://www.matrizdesenho.com.br/media/22/Outros12.jpg eventually changed to Thunder]).

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** Also, in the Cavern Clan, Tooga towards Pitheco. She wants to marry him, but he doesn't want engagement with her or anyone else.

* [[Alpha Bitch]]: Carmen. She's not as mean as the textbook [[Alpha Bitch]], but she's still a mini-bitch nonetheless (think of the trope and mix it with [[Go-Karting with Bowser]], and you'll have an idea).

* [[Alternate Universe]]: While the manga itself is considered one to the kids' gang (even according to [[Word of God]]), its issue #36 adds in ''another'' AU, a [[Crapsack World]] in which Jimmy, who didn't care about getting better from his [[Elmuh Fudd Syndwome|speech impediment]], does indeed rule the street by being a [[Jerkass|gigantic asshole]] to everybody, asserting his authority through threats of exposing their secrets. Even the teachers at the school don't get any respect from him. He only grows out of it when {{spoiler|the rest of the gang decides to not care about the blackmail and come clean with each other, thus breaking the hold he had over them. Plus, when Smudge's uncle (a powerless, [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] version of Captain Fray) tried to get a hold of Franklin's world domination machine, built at Jimmy's behest, he was [[Fate Worse Than Death|sent to an uninhabited planet]] because, since it was built in such a hurry, there was [[Exact Words|nothing in it to specify ]]''[[Exact Words|which ]]''[[Exact Words|world the user wanted to rule]]. Seeing it could have happened to him, Jimmy loses his jerkiness.}} The reason for all this? {{spoiler|Monica had moved away from the neighborhood while they were still children, essentially [[For Want of a Nail|leaving a vacuum in her friends' lives]]. When she came back [[She's All Grown Up|all grown up]], no one recognized her.}}

* [[Alternate Universe]]: While the manga itself is considered one to the kids' gang (even according to [[Word of God]]), its issue #36 adds in ''another'' AU, a [[Crapsack World]] in which Jimmy, who didn't care about getting better from his [[Elmuh Fudd Syndwome|speech impediment]], does indeed rule the street by being a [[Jerkass|gigantic asshole]] to everybody, asserting his authority through threats of exposing their secrets. Even the teachers at the school don't get any respect from him. He only grows out of it when {{spoiler|the rest of the gang decides to not care about the blackmail and come clean with each other, thus breaking the hold he had over them. Plus, when Smudge's uncle (a powerless, [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] version of Captain Fray) tried to get a hold of Franklin's world domination machine, built at Jimmy's behest, he was [[Fate Worse Than Death|sent to an uninhabited planet]] because, since it was built in such a hurry, there was [[Exact Words|nothing in it to specify]]''[[Exact Words|which]]''[[Exact Words|world the user wanted to rule]]. Seeing it could have happened to him, Jimmy loses his jerkiness.}} The reason for all this? {{spoiler|Monica had moved away from the neighborhood while they were still children, essentially [[For Want of a Nail|leaving a vacuum in her friends' lives]]. When she came back [[She's All Grown Up|all grown up]], no one recognized her.}}

** Other differences in this AU: Maggy didn't learn to put her appetite in check, so she grew fat; Bucky is shy and insecure, while Sunny is more outgoing and confident; Franklin is a nebbish geek who can't find it in him to approach Marina; Nutty Ned is still a teacher, but has a lot more composure (despite being [[Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory|apparently aware of the AU]]), and he's the target of Maggy's juvenile crush; Nimbus is a failure at magic; and Sunny's sister didn't make it into the space program, working at a fast food joint instead.

* [[Amazing Technicolor Wildlife]]: Many characters: Thunder the green elephant (Jotalhão), Franklin's dog Blu (Bidu), Jimmy Five's dog Fluff (Floquinho) - who is also green - , and more.

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* [[Ascended Extra]]: Monica and Chuck Billy started as minor characters. Both are protagonists now.

** Minor case: Smudge and Maggy were secondary characters, and in 1982 and 1989, respectively, gained their own series.

*** Denise outdoes them all, though. Before she joined the cast for good, she was used mainly as a prop character, like when the writers needed another girl in the scene without being able to use some. Thus, [[You Don't Look Like You|she changed her looks and behavior with every appearance]]. This is explained and lampshaded in her breakout story in 1998 (also listed under [[Legacy Character]]), in which the "[[Animated Actors|actress]]" playing Denise calls it quits after getting sick of all the [[Mind Screw~~|Mind Screwy~~]] changes to the character, and the others decide to hold an audition to find a replacement for her. In the end, [[Status Quo Is God|she returns]] and, with the character design having now stuck, later appearances [[Character Development|give her a more sketched-out character]], making her basically a [[Genki Girl|Genki]] [[Valley Girl]] who loves gossiping, and [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] enough to even warrant a spot among the core characters of the ''Teen Gang''.

*** Denise outdoes them all, though. Before she joined the cast for good, she was used mainly as a prop character, like when the writers needed another girl in the scene without being able to use some. Thus, [[You Don't Look Like You|she changed her looks and behavior with every appearance]]. This is explained and lampshaded in her breakout story in 1998 (also listed under [[Legacy Character]]), in which the "[[Animated Actors|actress]]" playing Denise calls it quits after getting sick of all the [[Mind Screw]]y changes to the character, and the others decide to hold an audition to find a replacement for her. In the end, [[Status Quo Is God|she returns]] and, with the character design having now stuck, later appearances [[Character Development|give her a more sketched-out character]], making her basically a [[Genki Girl|Genki]] [[Valley Girl]] who loves gossiping, and [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] enough to even warrant a spot among the core characters of the ''Teen Gang''.

* [[Author Avatar]]: Mauricio appears often in the stories, and the rest of the writing staff appears sometimes.

* [[Badass Adorable]]: Monica.

* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] / [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: A basic description of Monica and Jimmy Five's relationship. Somewhat downplayed in their teen incarnation, when Jimmy - ahem, Jim - is much less of a [[Jerkass]], but not entirely since both him and Monica are more accepting of their relationship by then.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Maggy is one of the most unambiguously good characters in the comics, but ''don't mess with her friends''.

* [[Big Ball of Violence]]: Every time someone's fighting, it devolves into this. Even if it's one of the typical [[Curb Stomp Battle~~|Curb Stomp Battles~~]] Monica has with the boys - and even if it's only Jimmy getting beat up.

* [[Big Ball of Violence]]: Every time someone's fighting, it devolves into this. Even if it's one of the typical [[Curb Stomp Battle]]s Monica has with the boys - and even if it's only Jimmy getting beat up.

* [[Blind Without'Em]]: Specs.

* [[Boring Invincible Hero]]: Monica reaches this status sometimes, specially when she's not the star of the title or the story and still beats the villain (great example is a ''[[Batman Forever]]'' parody where she was [[Nicole Kidman]]'s character Chase Meridian, while Jimmy played Batman and Smudge was Robin; as she was being held captive by The Riddler - Franklin - and he threatened to spread out Batman's secret identity, everyone suddenly started insulting her - ''including Batman and Robin''!!! As a result, she got so angry that she broke out by herself and started laying down the law on everyone in the room - so much so, she even managed to separate Nimbus and Nick Nope, who had been fused into that story's version of Two-Face.

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* [[City Mouse]]: Chuck Billy's cousin. Chuck himself serves as a [[Country Mouse]] when he goes visiting him.

* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]] : Rosie Lee has her moments to the point where she throws a fit everytime she sees Chuck with another girl, despite Chuck showing that he only has eyes for her.

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Nutty Ned, a psychiatric hospital escapee whose job is making Jimmy Five's life a [[~~Big~~ ~~Lipped~~ ~~Alligator Moment~~]].

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Nutty Ned, a psychiatric hospital escapee whose job is making Jimmy Five's life a [[Non Sequitur Scene]].

** Also, as of late, everyone in the gang seems to be getting a piece of the cake, thanks to the new writing team (responsible for what you see in the 2000s stories mentioned in the [[It Runs on Nonsensoleum]] entry below). Many times the characters show an absurd lack of consideration for the problem at hand or whoever should be helped: case in point is [http://www.monica.com.br/comics/imagem/welcome.htm this story], where Jimmy gets his head stuck in the bathroom sink while trying to wash his hair (or lack thereof).

* [[Comic Book Time]]: Used and lampshaded. The main cast is always six, nevermind the fact the series has been running for over 40 years. Every year there's a special edition featuring one of the main characters' 7th birthday. However, they always return to being six years old again. In a recent example, someone asks Jimmy how old he's turning. "Seven," he replies, "just like ''evewy'' other year."

** At least, we know when to expect birthday stories for the main characters: Monica's in March 21, Jimmy's in October 24, Smudge's in November, (date not certain; it's only known that he's a Sagittarius), Maggy's in May 8<ref>both Monica and Maggy share their birthdays with Mauricio's namesake daughters</ref> and Chuck Billy's in July ~~1st~~.

** At least, we know when to expect birthday stories for the main characters: Monica's in March 21, Jimmy's in October 24, Smudge's in November, (date not certain; it's only known that he's a Sagittarius), Maggy's in May 8<ref>both Monica and Maggy share their birthdays with Mauricio's namesake daughters</ref> and Chuck Billy's in July 1.

** In one of the late-2009 issues, it is implied that all of the birthday stories are actually about THE ONE AND ONLY BIRTHDAY PARTY they will ever experience - the 7th birthday party. This means, for example, that every Jimmy's birthday-themed story reveals one of the events that happened in his 7th birthday party. Again, the main character of this story is... Jimmy Five.

** This changed with the [[Spinoff Babies|Spinoff Teens]] manga.

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* [[The Movie]]: Quite a few. "As Aventuras da Turma da Mônica" ("The Adventures of Monica's Gang", the first movie ever released<ref>not counting a [[Made for TV Movie|TV]] live-action adaptation/spoof of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''</ref> and the movie where the aforementioned [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] scene with the mice came from) and "A Princesa e o Robô" ("The Princess and the Robot"), both from the Eighties, as well as the more recent Cinegibi (literally, "Comic Book Movie") series (currently with four movies), and one about [[Time Travel]] that got released in theaters are noteworthy mentions.

* [[Time Machine]]: Franklin builds so many of them that many times characters lampshade how it's basically the only thing he does (Smudge makes fun of it in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHDHXWm4Fjo this episode]). In fact, one of these is what triggers the events of the aforementioned [[Time Travel]] movie.

* [[Token Minority]]: Let's see... Jeremiah is the standard "token black boy", but there's also Doreen (blind girl), Luca (boy in a wheelchair), Hummer (who was initially only mute, but was [[~~Retcon|retconned~~]] as deaf as well) and some others..

* [[Token Minority]]: Let's see... Jeremiah is the standard "token black boy", but there's also Doreen (blind girl), Luca (boy in a wheelchair), Hummer (who was initially only mute, but was [[retcon]]ned as deaf as well) and some others..

** However, take in mind: Brazil is a highly syncretic country where prejudice is not tolerated. So some comics incentivate social inclusion of some groups. The stereotypical depictions, common in works of other countries, are averted here, excluding of course Antonio Alfacinha and his father: they are Portuguese, have a thick accent, love cod and the elder one works in a bakery.

* [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]: Monica and Maggy.

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'''Monica:'''H-how do you have the nerve to...

'''Jim:'''And I'll tell you more: If that Clown actually exists, I bet you are on his list! }}

** Example 2: Issue #26, where two brothers who are professional rollerbladers, <ref>[[Alpha Bitch|Carmen]]'s cousins, no less</ref> are bullying everyone around their city and acting like [[Insufferable Genius|colossal]] [[Smug Snake|pricks]]. Monica, getting fed up with their attitude, challenges them to a rollerblading contest, dragging Maggy, Smudge and Jim into it, without asking them about it in the first place. None of them, of course, knows how to skate. At some point, Jim falls again trying to skate and Monica starts yelling at him.

** Example 2: Issue #26, where two brothers who are professional rollerbladers,<ref>[[Alpha Bitch|Carmen]]'s cousins, no less</ref> are bullying everyone around their city and acting like [[Insufferable Genius|colossal]] [[Smug Snake|pricks]]. Monica, getting fed up with their attitude, challenges them to a rollerblading contest, dragging Maggy, Smudge and Jim into it, without asking them about it in the first place. None of them, of course, knows how to skate. At some point, Jim falls again trying to skate and Monica starts yelling at him.

{{quote|'''Monica:''' That won't do it! That won't do it! You don't have a drop of effort, Jim!

'''Jim:''' Hey, that's not like it. I'm doing my best!

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* [[Violence Is the Only Option]]: Monica, particularly in the newspaper comics, where it's easy to make quick joke with either a beating or threatening to do so.

* [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?]]: [[Dada Comics|Nutty Ned stories]] are a prime example of this.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: As much of a [[Nice Guy|Nice Girl]] [[Tsundere]] that Monica is, she can sometimes be really bossy and irrational and when she wants to do something, she's not above using violence to convince the boys to do as she wants when they're minding their own business.<ref> E.G:Forcing Smudge and Jimmy to celebrate the "National Poetry Day"(Which is 14th March in Brazil) while Smudge was minding his own business and Jimmy wanted to watch a soccer game on tv when it wasn't even 14th March, just because she felt like it. And when Franklin told then when the actual Poetry Day was, Smudge and Jimmy walk away pissed off at Monica and the story ends when her turning to Franklin saying "See what you did?" and she beats Franklin afterwards.</ref>. Granted, Jimmy does call her out on this in the Manga.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: As much of a [[Nice Guy|Nice Girl]] [[Tsundere]] that Monica is, she can sometimes be really bossy and irrational and when she wants to do something, she's not above using violence to convince the boys to do as she wants when they're minding their own business.<ref>E.G:Forcing Smudge and Jimmy to celebrate the "National Poetry Day"(Which is 14th March in Brazil) while Smudge was minding his own business and Jimmy wanted to watch a soccer game on tv when it wasn't even 14th March, just because she felt like it. And when Franklin told then when the actual Poetry Day was, Smudge and Jimmy walk away pissed off at Monica and the story ends when her turning to Franklin saying "See what you did?" and she beats Franklin afterwards.</ref> Granted, Jimmy does call her out on this in the Manga.

** [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop]]: Regarding Monica's actions described above, there's the "Threaten your friends with violence or boss them around so they do what you want, and beat them up if things don't go your way." message.

* [[When I Was Your Age]]: Jimmy Five's father once told Jimmy that, with Jimmy's allowances, he once bought stuff for home. Jimmy then asked how his parents did to live off ice cream and sweets.

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