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Funworld May 2008
Drawing the Childrenby Preston Merchant
When children visit Parque da Monica, a large family entertainment center at a mall in São Paulo, Brazil, they remove their shoes and slide down a long chute to the basement level to enjoy the rides and shows based on “Monica’s Gang,” a beloved group of cartoon characters. The park’s creator and owner, cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa, says he wanted city children to be able to take off their shoes and play with the freedom of kids in the countryside. Mauricio de Sousa is the author of a comic strip featuring a host of children’s characters, whose adventures promote the values of tolerance and respect for others, and the park is just one of his many initiatives, all centered on children’s education. His web site, part of an expanding media empire of comic books, television specials, live shows, and merchandise, contains some of his writings, which could be considered his philosophy: While institutes, non-governmental organizations, and social scientists go looking for labels to put on children, the children themselves know nothing about all that and in the hills, the cities, the villages, the valleys, the plains, the forests, the mountains, the slums, the mansions, the open places and the confined spaces, they go right on treating each other as children. Simply and wonderfully children. Let’s do the same. The child is, after all, the shining hour of the human being. Mauricio de Sousa got his start in 1959, when he created a comic strip for a São Paulo newspaper called “Bidu” (Blu) about a blue puppy. He was influenced by American strips like “L’il Abner,” which featured charming characters in quirky situations that had broad appeal, and by the social commentary ofWill Eisner, whose series “The Spirit,” about a very human superhero, showed that comics could take on serious issues. “In them I saw freedom of the imagination, that everything is possible,” he says.
“When I started to draw, I didn’t know I would do stories for children,” he says. “I drew comic strips for the newspapers, but as time passed, children discovered the characters. They identified with them, which induced me to develop strips for kids.” In doing so, he says he had to pay strong attention to his message: “I have always sought to balance enjoyment with education.” ‘A Different Kind of Park’ There are a 350-seat theater for stage shows and smaller themed areas, such as Monica’s House, where kids can interact with the characters and have their pictures taken. There is also an Internet cafe for parents needing a break from all the activities. The Let’s Take Care Program provides hosts to children ages 4 to 10 whose parents can’t be with them in the park due to work. Always accessible, the characters in Monica’s Gang, who are 6-and 7-year-olds, are Mauricio’s vision of socially inclusive education. Luca is confined to a wheelchair but plays basketball. Dorinha (Doreen) is blind, wearing dark glasses and carrying a red-tipped staff; she interacts with kids by touching their faces. The live show “Blue World” features Monica, under the spell of a friendly angel, waking up one morning with blue skin. Initially her friends won’t play with her, but the gang gets a lesson in tolerating differences among people. “We wanted to create a different kind of park,” de Sousa says, “not dependent on technology but on the energy that comes from kids, not from the rides. We also wanted to create a safe place, physically, and emotionally.” Touring the park with Mauricio, you get the sense he is a national treasure. He’s not in the park very often, so his presence is a surprise. Parents stop to speak and have their children’s photos taken with him. He talks to the kids, laughs, and never tires of signing autographs or posing for pictures— he even takes some shots with his own camera. The luminous smile never leaves his face. Parque da Monica has been successful in part due to its insistence on openness. When Brazil’s economy suffered a serious downturn after a currency devaluation in 1999, families lost a lot of their spending power and the nascent amusement industry faltered. Instead of raising prices or targeting wealthier families, Parque da Monica concentrated its marketing efforts on poorer families during the off-season. Profits came from the restaurant, birthday parties, and special educational events aimed at schools. Mauricio doesn’t want to turn anyone away, so he set up a special program for low-income children’s groups to visit the park. There are also mobile units of characters, presenting smaller shows in other shopping centers around the country. When a shopping center agrees to host a mobile unit, Mauricio insists the managers commit to bringing in school groups of low-income children. The characters also visit fairs and expos in the smaller towns. Media Master He has designed public service campaigns for free distribution on such topics as health and hygiene, the dangers of smoking and drugs, and the need for clean water. Through the Pan American Health Organization (a regional body of the United Nations), he created campaigns on these themes and others, including the “Stay Safe From . . .” series that illustrates the dangers of the sun, dengue fever, floods, and dehydration. Last year Monica was named a UNICEF ambassador for Brazil, and Mauricio received the title “World Writer for Children.” One of his latest projects involves the character of Ronaldinho Gaucho, based on and developed with Brazil’s most popular footballer, one of the most famous in the world. The cartoon character, a small soccer-playing boy with his own group of friends, family, and two little dogs, is licensed for worldwide distribution. Since soccer is one of Brazil’s top cultural and commercial exports, Ronaldinho Gaucho carries Mauricio’s messages of inclusion and tolerance to a global audience of children, whom he calls “the most demanding public in the world.” Charming and openhearted, Monica and her gang have been central to Brazil’s experience of childhood for more than 40 years and, like their creator, they show no sign of slowing down. At 72 and with the soul of a poet, Mauricio rhapsodizes about his future, “But I desire to stay a little longer. Much longer than a little”: I would spend most of my time with the children. Preston Merchant is a photographer and writer based in New York. He has reported for FUNWORLD from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. |
Mauricio De Sousa Discusses the Philanthropic Philosophy and Mission of Parque Da Monica
Mauricio’s first comic strip, also Brazil’s first, went into syndication in some 300 newspapers, making him the pioneer of the industry. He created other strips, always featuring lovable characters, including “Monica’s Gang,” for which he is best known. Some of those characters, based on his own children, debuted in 1963. Since then he has created more than 200 cartoon characters and now oversees his own production house, the fourth largest art studio in the world.Mauricio de Sousa Productions employs more than 150 artists, creating the content for Brazil’s children in comic books, TV, and other media.
space (107,000 square feet), it is self-contained and therefore safer for children. Since there are very few machines, the place functions more like a theme park than a family entertainment center. The emphasis is on live shows and wandering characters, rides, and interactive activities, such as a driving school, where parents and kids operate cars on a course designed like a city street. 
Monica, who is named for Mauricio’s daughter, has been his most popular character (the real Monica works as a director of his production company). In all, Monica’s Gang publications represent 70 percent of the children’s market in Brazil. Its products are exported to more than 90 countries.