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Summary[]
O Trapalhão no Planalto dos Macacos (The Bungler on the Plateau of the Apes) is a full length Brazilian comedy spoof of Planet of the Apes produced in 1976, which more-or-less follows the storyline of the original film. A group of men lands a balloon on a remote plateau where talking apes rule and humans are slaves. The apes try to transform the men into apes and a simian princess falls in love with one of them. This film is one of several made by the popular Brazilian comedy troupe "Os Trapalhões" - Didi, Dedé, Mussum and (later) Zacharias - in the 1970s, all of them spoofing American blockbusters. It's slapstick entertainment, but the humor is peculiarly Brazilian, and may not be understood in other countries. The ape "makeup" mostly consists of pull-over masks, except for a few main characters where more attention was given.
Cast:
- Renato Didi Aragão as Conde
- Dedé Santana as Alex
- Mussum as Guard Azevedo
- Carlos Kurt Kumstat as Professor Bicard Guerreiro / Warrior Monkey
- Milton Carneiro as Delgado
- Alan Fontaine as Rodrigo
- Rosina Malbouisson as Cacenique (the Queen)
- Olívia Pineschi as N'Komo (friend of the Queen)
- Vera Capua as Ula
- Fátima Leite
- Renato Bastos
- Ferreira Duarte
- Edson Farias
- Baiaco
Synopsis[]
Conde (Renato Aragão) and Alex (Dede Santana) are two friends riding a motorcycle in the street when they run into the Guard Azevedo (Mussum) and are mistaken for dangerous jewelry store robbers. Without realizing, the guard pursues them inside the robbers' own jeep. After a fight in an egg factory, we see a brief spoof of another classic movie, Jaws, when Conde is attacked by a shark. Not only the guard, but also the robbers now pursue Conde and Alex, because the stolen jewelry is in their motorbike. In the confusion of their escape Conde, Alex and the guard jump into a balloon and, with the balloon instructor Rodrigo (Alan Fontaine), embark on a journey that takes them to an unknown plateau inhabited by apes who talk and persecute and dominate the humans, who are considered inferior beings.
The four are captured by the leader of the apes, who orders they be transformed into that species. The first to be converted is Alex, but Conde outsmarts them, stealing the antidote pill to reverse the transformation. Rodrigo falls in love with Ula (Vera Capua), a native of the region who was also caught by the apes, but cannot utter a single word. The friends find several objects that depend on electricity to operate, something that does not exist on the plateau, and promise to the leader of the apes that they could make them work in exchange for freedom. As Rodrigo prepares the balloon, they organize a party for the apes to make the objects work, and place a bomb on the throne of the chief of apes. During the party the escape plan is underway, but they forget Ula, and Alex returns to the apes to get her, leaving Conde responsible for tying the balloon. But Conde is mixed up and lets the balloon go with the antidote pill inside it, because he has observed that there are many pearls on the plateau that have no value to the apes. They are again caught, but the ape Queen orders their release because she is in love with Rodrigo, and this creates a conflict between the leaders of the apes. Another balloon arrives, but with the jewelry robbers inside, and in the confusion the bandits are left to apes while the five heroes take off. Conde manages to take some of the priceless gems from the strange plateau as they escape.[1]
Trivia[]
- Brazil also provided the Planet of the Apes-inspired TV comedy sketch show Planeta dos Homens, running between 1976 and 1982.
External links[]
- O Trapalhão no Planalto dos Macacos entry at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
- Deja View: Brazilian Planet of the Apes
- O Trapalhão no Planalto dos Macacos entry at Wikipedia (Portuguese)
- O Trapalhão no Planalto dos Macacos at Projeto Autobahn (Portuguese)