Disney Club (1997–2001), later renamed to Disney CRUJ (2001–2002), is a Portuguese-language Brazilian live-action series created by Cao Hamburguer.
CRUJ stands for "Revolutionary Ultrayoung Comittee" (Comitê Revolucionário Ultrajovem). The series features a fictional pirate television station with Disney cartoons. They use the word "ultrayoung" (ultrajovem) as a replacement for "child". It is a co-production of The Walt Disney Company and SBT.
Production[]
The word "ultrayoung" was based on The Ultrayoung Power (O Poder Ultrajovem), by Brazilian poet and writer Carlos Drummond de Andrade.
Summary[]
Disney Club[]
From left to right: Chiclé, Caju, Maluca and Macaco, wearing their disguises.
A group of ultrayoungs, the Revolutionary Ultrayoung Comittee (Comitê Revolucionário Ultrajovem), or CRUJ for short, operate a pirate television station, the TV CRUJ. They claim to be using the signal from "a leading TV station" (which is actually SBT) without permission. They use disguises and codenames when they are hosting the TV show, and at other times they are shown living their normal lives, without their disguises and using their normal names. Sometimes, even while they are on air, they accidentally appear on-camera without a mask, or they say their real names, but then they hide themselves or invent an excuse and then proceed like nothing happened. They advocate ultrayoungs' rights, such as the right to watch cartoons and play, and they demand the use of the word "ultrayoung" instead of "child".
The founding members of CRUJ are, with their codenames between parentheses: Juca (Caju) as the president and his younger brother Guelé (Chiclé). They are closely followed by Macarrão (Macaco), and then by Malu (Maluca), who arrived a few months later. In 1999, Macarrão leaves the show and two new members are introduced: Ana Paula (Pipoca) and Frederico (Rico). Frederico leaves in 2000.
The TV CRUJ operates in a secret room in the attic of Juca and Guelé's house, accessible through a hidden passage in Juca's bedroom. Juca uses Guelé's Mickey and Minnie Mouse umbrella as the antenna to broadcast the TV CRUJ signal.
Sometimes, the The Downstreet Gang (Turma da Rua de Baixo) is mentioned as a group of bullies who have some hostility against the CRUJ members, but as of this point they are still not shown in the story.[1]
Disney CRUJ[]
In 2001, the show was renamed from Disney Club to Disney CRUJ. The four CRUJ members (Caju, Chiclé, Maluca and Pipoca) from the previous incarnation stayed on the show until its end in 2002.
Some changes were introduced, from this point onward:
- There was a greater emphasis on the normal lives of the CRUJ members, who were shown interacting with other people on the street, and hanging out with Paracleto, a friendly man who sold pastels. Paracleto often appeared to correctly suspect the identities of the CRUJ members, but does not seem to actually know their secret identities. Juca is shown to have a crush a girl named Maya.
- The Downstreet Gang (Turma da Rua de Baixo), or TRUB for short, was introduced as a group of four antagonists: Carla Carcará is their leader, and the other members are Ramela, Felipe Fedido and Maria Mole. They were played by the same actors and actresses as the current four CRUJ members.[1] They formed their own pirate television show, the TV TRUB. They repeatedly attempted to discover the secret identities of the CRUJ members, but always failed.
- The same actors and actresses who played the CRUJ members also played some one-off characters when needed.
- Eventually, Caju renounced the leadership and appointed Chiclé as the new president, who acted in an authoritarian way. Soon thereafter, the TRUB accused Chiclé of holding office without being elected, which resulted in Maluca becoming acting president, and CRUJ starting to hold elections for new presidents after that.
In 2002, the show introduces some elements of mystery and adventure: Both Maya and TRUB leave the show. Sputnik, a male teenager who is believed to be an extraterrestrial being who lost his memory is introduced. The CRUJ members and Sputnik investigage the mystery of Paracleto disappearing and reappearing in his trailer without explanation, and finds out that he was using secret tunnels below the city (São Paulo, Brazil). They discover that Paracleto is actually Otel Carap, a former TV agent who participated in a team responsible for finding and terminating another pirate television station decades ago. In spite of that, Paracleto had deflected the agency and lived in Katmandu, Nepal until recently, when he returned to São Paulo with the intent of helping the TV CRUJ members against the TV agents.
The agency wants to seize genius ultrayoungs to use their intelligence for their purposes. Sputnik is one of the targets of the agency. Sputnik has his name eventually changed to Max. In the end, the show is interrupted before he is able to regain his memory. The TV agents flee by helicopter to avoid being arrested, and Juca and Guelé tell their parents about Max.
Characters[]
Main characters (CRUJ)[]
These are the members of the Ultrayoung Revolutionary Committee (Comitê Revolucionário Ultrajovem), or CRUJ for short.
- Juca / Caju
Juca (codename: Caju, which means "cashew") is the creator and the first leader and president of CRUJ. He has spiky hair, and his disguise consists of a black bandit mask. He is an inventor who used his skill to create the pirate television station TV CRUJ. He is Guelé's older brother. Juca has a crush on Maya.
He is played by Diego Ramiro. He joined the show in 1997, when he was 15 years old.
- Macarrão / Macaco
Macarrão (codename: Macaco, which means "monkey"; "macarrão" is a nickname meaning "macaroni") is Juca's friend. His disguise is a monkey mask. When Juca says "Press play, Macaco!" ("Dá o play, Macaco!"), he answers "Right now!" ("É pra já!") and plays a Disney cartoon. When he leaves the show, Pipoca starts playing the cartoons in his place.
He is played by Caíque Benigno. He joined the show in 1997, when he was 13 years old. He left in 1999.
- Guelé / Chiclé
Guelé (codename: Chiclé, which is short for "chiclete", meaning "bubblegum") is Juca's younger brother. His disguise consists of a black hat and Groucho glasses (i.e., large fake mustache, eyebrows, and glasses).
He is played by Leonardo Monteiro. He joined the show in 1997, when he was 7 years old.
- Malu / Maluca
Malu discovered the signal of TV CRUJ and arrived at the hideout using a parachute. Her disguises are a wide variety of wigs and glasses of different colors. She advocates for female rights, and she likes to talk about clothes.
Catchphrase: "I'm not crazy! My codename is Crazy!" ("Eu não sou maluca! Meu codinome que é Maluca!")
She is played by Jussara Marques. She joined the show in 1997, when she was 12 years old.
- Ana Paula / Pipoca
Ana Paula (codename: Pipoca, which means "pop corn") is a classmate of Guelé. She found the hideout by accident on a visit to do her homework with Guelé. She often has her hair tied or braided. Sometimes, she wears hats. Her disguise consists of a clown nose. She is introduced soon before Macaco leaves the show, and then she replaces him by playing the cartoons.
She is played by Danielle Lima. She joined the show in 1999, when she was 9 years old.
- Frederico / Rico
Frederico (codename: Rico, which means "rich") is from a rich family and his parents are often travelling. Like Malu, he arrived at the CRUJ hideout by using a parachute. His initial disguise was a black cloth over his face, which was later replaced by an orange dog mask.
He is played by Murilo Troccoli. He joined the show in 1999, and left in 2000.
Secondary characters[]
From left to right: Paracleto, Juca, Ana Paula (below), Guelé and Maluca.
- Paracleto
Paracleto is a friendly man who sells pastels, in a trailer called Parapastel. He was introduced during the "Disney CRUJ" era, where the characters often hang out around him. Paracleto often appears to correctly suspect who are the members of the CRUJ, but does not seem to actually know their secret identities.
He is secretly Otel Carap, a former TV agent who deflected the agency and spent decades in Katmandu, Nepal and returned to help TV CRUJ against the TV agents.
- Maya
The girl that both Juca and Ramela like.
Antagonists (TRUB)[]
From left to right: Ramela, Carla Carcará and Maria Mole.
These are the members of the Downstreet Gang (Turma da Rua de Baixo), or TRUB for short.
- Carla Carcará
The word "carcará" means "caracara", a type of bird. She is the leader of TRUB, whose actress is the same as Maluca. She is bossy and stereotypically evil. She has a tendency to call out on Ramela when he says something stupid. She has long, straight, dark hair and wears black lipstick.
- Ramela
The word "ramela" means "rheum". His actor is the same as Juca. He tends to ask stupid questions or say stupid remarks, which irritate Carla Carcará. He wears glasses and has lank hair.
- Maria Mole
Maria-mole is a sugary sweet popular in Brazil, and the name Maria is equivalent to Mary. She is a secondary character within the group. She lets down her straight hair, as opposed to Ana Paula who has her hair tied or braided. She does not appear as much as Carla Carcará and Ramela. She has the same actress as Ana Paula.
- Felipe Fedido
His name means "Smelly Phillip". He is a secondary character within the group. He does not appear as much as Carla Carcará and Ramela. He has the same actor as Guelé.
Cast[]
- CRUJ
- Diego Ramiro - Juca (Caju)
- Leonardo Monteiro - Guelé (Chiclé)
- Caíque Benigno - Macarrão (Macaco)
- Jussara Marques - Malu (Maluca)
- Danielle Lima - Ana Paula (Pipoca)
- Murilo Troccoli - Frederico (Rico)
- Secondary characters
- Ary França - Paracleto
- Marisol Ribeiro - Maya
- Diegho Kozievitch - Sputnik
- TRUB
- Jussara Marques - Carla Carcará
- Diego Ramiro - Ramela
- Danielle Lima - Maria Mole
- Leonardo Monteiro - Felipe Fedido
Opening theme[]
The opening theme consists of these scenes: A house with Juca working on his gadgets in the attic. He presses a button and takes a shock, and sparkles fly from various random windows in the house. The TV signal is shown travelling through the circuits of an electronic board, showing scenes of Disney cartoons over the computer chips. The signal escapes to the room and bounces on the floor and the walls, breaking a lamp in its way. Finally, the signal travels inside a cable and leaves through the improvised Mickey and Minnie umbrella, reaches a satellite with the format of Mickey's face and forms the Disney Club logo.
The new and improved Disney Club logo.
Catchphrases[]
- "We are not children! We are ultrayoungs and deserve respect!" ("Não somos crianças! Somos ultra-jovens e merecemos respeito!")
- "You can take hold of dad's seat." ("Pode tomar conta da poltrona do papai.")
- "Press play, Macaco!" ("Dá o play, Macaco!") - Caju tells Macaco to press play and show a Disney cartoon.
- "Right now!" ("É pra já!") - Macaco answers Juca and shows a Disney cartoon.
- "I'm not crazy! My codename is Crazy!" ("Eu não sou maluca! Meu codinome que é Maluca!") - said by Maluca.
- "CRUJ, CRUJ, CRUJ, bye!" ("CRUJ, CRUJ, CRUJ, tchau!") - said at the end of the show.
Cartoons broadcast[]
Cartoons broadcast on Disney Club and Disney CRUJ include:
- 101 Dalmatians: The Series
- Bonkers
- Doug
- Goof Troop
- Hercules
- Marsupilami
- Mighty Ducks
- Pepper Ann
- Quack Pack
- Recess
- The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show
- Timon & Pumbaa
Awards[]
- Nominated: Best Children's Program - Troféu Imprensa (1998)
- Won: Best Children's Program - Troféu Imprensa (1999)
- Won: Best Children's Program - Troféu Imprensa (2000)
Events[]
- In 2000, the Disney Club organized a contest to decide who was going to be the Brazilian voice actor for Melody in the newly-released movie The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000). To participate, girls should record a tape singing any music of The Little Mermaid (1989) and send the recording through mail. The winner was Larissa Cardoso.[2][3]
Music CD[]
The CRUJ music CD, starring Caju, Macaco, Chiclé and Maluca.
In 1997, a music CD titled CRUJ was released with original songs.
- Opening (Abertura)
- Revolutionary Ultrayoung Comittee (Comitê Revolucionário Ultrajovem)
- Reporter Rap (Rap do Repórter)
- Girls (Garotas)
- Juca
- Obligation (Obrigação)
- Chiclé
- On the Air (No Ar)
- Maluca
- Smelly Foot (Xulé)
- Macarrão
- Techno Teen (Tecno Teen)
- CRUJ Anthem (Hino CRUJ)
Legacy[]
Leonardo Monteiro, Diego Ramiro, and Jussara Marques together with interviewer Danilo Gentili in 2015.
- In October, 12, 2015, Leonardo Monteiro, Diego Ramiro, and Jussara Marques were interviewed together by Danilo Gentili on the show, The Noite com Danilo Gentili.