Beloved Brazilian kids’ franchise Monica and Friends (Turma da Mônica) has since spawned countless comic books, toys and animated and live-action series and films since debuting in 1959. Now, as of October 2022, Monica stars in her first 3D CG project, Vamos Brincar com a Turma da Mônica (Let’s Play with Monica and Friends).
Streaming on the Giga Gloob app in Brazil, the first episode is now also available on the Monica and Friends YouTube channel, where the brand enjoys a 12 billion-strong audience.
Let’s Play follows Monica, Cebolinha (Jimmy Five in the English version), Magali (Maggy), Cascão (Smudge) and Milena as they explore the world through games and experiments, with lots of music and fun. Their adventures are always under the watchful and astute eye of the rabbit Sansão (Samson), Monica’s inseparable companion. The preschool TV series for is aimed at four-year olds; 52 x 7′ episodes have been produced so far.
For this franchise first, it fell to the team at Hype Animation in Porto Alegre to animate the series, which is produced by Mauricio de Sousa Produções (MSP). The studio’s series work includes Dino Adventures, Taina and the Amazon’s Guardians and Guitar & Drum (with Punkrobot). Hype is also a part of Latin America’s largest collective animation studio, Los Amigos (Angry Birds Bubble Trouble).
“Monica and Friends is part of Brazilian culture,” says Hype’s CEO Gabriel Garcia. “It is very rewarding to see how much care the whole team has put into this project starring the characters created by Mauricio de Sousa. We have six decades to honor.”
Vamos Brincar com a Turma da Mônica is produced by MSP with animation by Hype Animation, sound by Ultrassom Music Ideas, in coproduction with Giga Gloob, Gloobinho and Globoplay.
Founded by Monica and Friends creator Mauricio de Sousa, MSP has grown from the label attached to the beloved comic strip to one of Brazil’s largest entertainment companies, covering publishing, licensing and content production.
