''Super Xuxa contra Baixo Astral'' (known internationally as ''Super Xuxa versus the Down Mood'' and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

as ''Super Xuxa vs. Satan'') is a 1988 Brazilian film directed by Anna Penido and David Sonneschein, and starring

Xuxa Meneghel Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel ( ; ; born Maria da Graça Meneghel, 27 March 1963) is a Brazilian television host, film actress, singer, model, and businesswoman. Known as "Queen of Little Ones", Xuxa built the largest Latin American children's e ...

. Produced in 1988 by Dreamvision, with co-production of Diler & Associados and Riofilme, executive produced the position of

Lael Rodrigues Lael Alves Rodrigues (November 25, 1951 – February 8, 1989) was a Brazilian film director, producer, editor and screenwriter. Biography Rodrigues was born in Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, on November 25, 1951, and raised in Caldas, Minas Ge ...

, the same as ''Bete Balanço''. Marked the first production of the partnership between the producer Diler Trindade and Xuxa, who then made together films like ''

Lua de Cristal ''Lua de Cristal'' ( en, Xuxa in Crystal Moon, italic=yes) is a 1990 Brazilian romantic comedy film directed by Tizuka Yamasaki, and starring Xuxa Meneghel. With just under 5 million spectators, ''Lua de Cristal'' was the biggest film of the 1 ...

'', and more recently, ''

Xuxa Gêmeas Xuxa Gêmeas ( en, Xuxa Twins, italic=yes) is a 2006 Brazilian romantic comedy children's film written by Flávio de Souza, Jorge Fernando and Patricia Travasso, directed by Fernando, produced by Globo Filmes, Diler & Associados, Warner Bros. P ...

''. The film had theatrical distribution by Luis Severiano Ribeiro and

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

and was released with 93 cinemas of Brazil, on June 30, 1988.

Plot

Xuxa arouses the anger of the villain Baixo Astral when you call children to a campaign to color the world. The villain then kidnaps her dog Xuxo, which have to face frequent harassment of Titica and Morcegão, assistant Baixo Astral, which at all times ask the boss can torutá it. To retrieve the dog, Xuxa faces several traps. Accompanied by Xixa caterpillar, jumps the fence of illusions, crosses the river of delusion, but struggles a bit with complicated words used by Cascadura grandmother, a turtle that lives under the tree of knowledge. Xuxa escapes the bureaucracy of the web mounted Morcegão and comes to urban waste, Kingdom of Baixo Astral. In the final duel between Xuxa and the Baixo Astral, the girl almost slide to the other side, but is saved by Rafa, a boy who knows the Lower Astral and realize it's not on this side that wants to stay. Xuxa, Rafa, Xuxo and Xixa return to the realm of Alto Astral after destroy the villain and convert Titica and Morcegão.

Cast

.... Super Xuxa * Nair Amorim .... Xuxo *

Guilherme Karan Guilherme Pontes Karam (8 October 1957 - 7 July 2016), best known as Guilherme Karan, was a Brazilian actor. Biography Son of the admiral and Minister of the Navy in the João Figueiredo government, Alfredo Karam and Lydiane Pontes Karam. Most of ...

.... Baixo Astral *Jonas Torres .... Rafa *Paolo Paceli .... Titica *Roberto Guimarães .... Morcegão *Henriqueta Brieba .... Vovó Cascadura *Luis Carlos Tourinho .... Pássaro da Árvore da Consciência

Production

The film was directed by Anna Penido and David Sonnenschein, who worked as co-director but was later unbilled based on a false legal challenge of not being unionized as a non-Brazilian citizen (he had already become a legal resident and joined the union). Penido also wrote the

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of ha ...

, with the help of fellow TV-writer Antonio Calmon. The movie is accused of being based on

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) an ...

's ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

'', released two years before. The film was the last credited work of

, who would die of

acute pancreatitis Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Causes in order of frequency include: 1) a gallstone impacted in the common bile duct beyond the point where the pancreatic duct joins it; 2) heavy alcohol use; 3) systemic diseas ...

the following year.

Reception

Response

The film opened during the winter break in 1988, and received great response by audiences. It was the third most watched movie in 1988, and the most watched Brazilian movie that year. Critical response was mixed: some praised its creativity, some said it abused merchandising and had a weak plot. The movie cost US$1 million to make. Over 3 million people paid to watch it when it opened.

Critical reception

''The Spinning Image'' says, "while simplistic (this is a kids' movie, after all), the core message that only education can enable young people to overthrow oppression and achieve true freedom is both potent and heartening. That it is delivered in the form of a pop song performed by a sexily gyrating supermodel is simply a bonus."

International release

After ''Lua de Cristal'' (Crystal Moon), another film starring Xuxa, in 1990, had achieved a huge success both in Brazil (it was the most watched Brazilian movie until 2001) and other

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n countries, the movie was released in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

as ''Super Xuxa Vs. Bajo Astral'', with some success. It's available in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

in non-authorized copies as ''Super Xuxa Vs. Satan''.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack consists of songs performed by

and other artists.

Track listing

#Arco-Íris #Flexionar #Ei Machão #Túnel do Terror #Sonho ( Sandra de Sá) #Voar Voar (

Trem da Alegria Trem da Alegria (Train of Happiness) was a children's musical band based in Brazil. During their tenure from 1984 to 1992, they released eight albums whose total sales surpassed six million copies. The band started in 1984 with Luciano Nassyn and ...

) #Alto Astral #Burocracia #Eu Quero Saber #Somos Um Só #Voar Voar (instrumental)

Certifications

DVD

In 2001 the film was released in

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

by Som Livre. The extras include a making-of featurette, a special

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

soundtrack for the songs and subtitles in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

. But the DVD was criticised for having bad sound and video quality.

Awards

Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to fantasy/science fiction/horror-oriented commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental proje ...

(1989) * International Fantasy Film Award (Best Film, ''nomination'')

References

External links

* {{Portalbar, Brazil, Film, 1980s 1980s musical comedy films Brazilian adventure films Brazilian children's films Brazilian comedy films 1988 comedy films 1988 films 1980s Portuguese-language films