Mauricio Araújo de Sousa was born in Santa Isabel (SP) in 1935, he is a draftsman and businessman. He is known as the creator of Turma da Mônica, as well as characters such as Bidu, Horacio, Tina and Chico Bento.
Since he was little he liked to draw and made illustrations and posters for radio and newspapers. In 1954, he decided to try his luck in São Paulo as a draftsman, but his first job was as a police reporter for the Folha da Manhã newspaper.
The dog Bidu was the first character published in this same periodical, on July 18, 1959. Beside her were the owner, Franjinha and his colleagues Titi, Jeremias and Manezinho.
However, the real star would be the Chive boy, who would get his own strips and a magazine. With him would come Monica and her entire gang.
Biography of Maurício de Sousa
Maurício de Sousa was born in Santa Isabel, but his family soon moved to Mogi das Cruzes. He learned to read from comic books and spent much of his childhood clinging to books.
As he drew well, he tried to work as an illustrator at the Folha da Manhã newspaper, but there was only a vacancy to be a proofreader. Mauricio accepted, then became a police reporter, and finally a strip author.
With the success of the characters Franjinha, Bidu, Cebolinha, the designer founded "Mauricio de Sousa Produções". The company would be responsible for the production and distribution of the creator's drawings to newspapers throughout Brazil.
His great source of inspiration for creating the characters came from his own family. Married three times and father of nine children, at least seven characters were made in the image of his offspring. Monica and Magali stand out, daughters of their first marriage; and in 1994, Nimbus (Mauro Takeda) and Do Contra (Maurício Takeda).
The first character to be successful on TV was the elephant Jotalhão, created for a brand of tomato sauces. In the commercial made for TV, Jotalhão acted with Mônica.
It is estimated that Maurício has sold 1 billion magazines by Mônica and his gang. Likewise, the characters starred in films for cinema, television and owned a theme park.
Monica's Gang
Turma da Mônica is the great success of Maurício de Sousa. Inspired by her daughter Monica, the girl is still popular with children and teenagers today.
Mônica appeared for the first time in a cartoon of Cebolinha, in 1963. The character fell in public taste and won his exclusive magazine in 1970.
It is estimated that Maurício has sold 1 billion magazines by Mônica and his gang. Likewise, the characters starred in films for cinema, television and owned a theme park.
Currently, the characters of Turma da Mônica are no longer children and star in stories for young people. These magazines are made in manga style and are a hit with young people.
Check out the main characters of Turma da Mônica:
Scallion
It first appeared on October 24, 1959 and was inspired by a childhood friend of Maurício de Sousa. He wears a green shirt, black shorts and brown shoes. She has only five strands of hair and trades the erres for them.
His dream is to defeat Monica and for that, he creates infallible plans, but which always go wrong. He is a great friend of Cascão and has a dog, Floquinho. Cebolinha also has a sister, Maria Cebolinha, who was inspired by one of Maurício's daughters.
smudge
An inseparable companion of Cebolinha, Cascão is also modeled on one of the author's childhood friends. She wears a yellow blouse and shorts with a red strap. She is terrified of water and does not shower under any circumstances. She became so popular that she won her own magazine in August 1982.
She has a pig, called Chauvinista, loves to play football (she supports Corinthians) and is always getting into trouble with Cebolinha.
Monica
Mônica was inspired by Maurício's second daughter, from whom she inherited the name. She appeared in one of the strips of Cebolinha, in 1963, and quickly became the favorite of the public, winning an exclusive magazine in 1970.
Tall, short and plump, Monica is easily irritated, especially when Chives and Smudges want to steal her little rabbit Samsão. She has an extraordinary strength that she uses against boys who keep cursing her.
She is always wearing a red dress. Despite her irritable mood she is a great companion and is always with her friend Magali.
Magali
Mauricio's third daughter, Magali, served as a model for this good-natured, over-eager character. His first appearance took place in 1963. Wearing a yellow dress, he lives hungry and accompanies his friend Monica in games and adventures.
Magali won her magazine in February 1989 and with that, a series of characters suggest such as Quinzinho, Dudu and Magali's pet, the Porridge kitten.
Other characters from Monica's Gang
Keeping up with the changing times, characters with special needs have appeared on the comic book pages. Figures like Edu, who suffers from muscular dystrophy; Tati, who was born with Down syndrome, or Luca, a wheelchair user with a passion for sports, are now part of Turma da Mônica's adventures.
The character "Milena" was also released. She and her family are the first protagonist nucleus of black characters from Turma da Mônica.
Monica's Gang Movies
In addition to the magazines, Turma da Mônica appeared on movie and television screens. The first film for television was "Christmas da Turma da Mônica" which was a milestone for a whole generation.
In cinema, Mônica and her friends would debut in "As Aventuras da Turma da Mônica", in 1982, and two years later, in "A Princesa eo Robô".
In 2019, Turma da Mônica launched the first production starring real actors, the film "Laços", directed by Daniel Rezende.
There are more texts for you:
- Comic
- Ziraldo: biography, works and characters
- Monteiro Lobato
- Types of Art
