Super Xuxa
| Super Xuxa Contra o Baixo Astral | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Anna Penido David Sonnenschein |
| Produced by | Lael Rodrigues (executive) Diler Trindade |
| Written by | Antônio Calmon (collaborating writer) Anna Penido (story) David Sonnenschein (story) |
| Starring | Xuxa Meneghel Guilherme Karan |
| Music by | Michael Sullivan (songs and original score) |
| Cinematography | Nonato Estrela |
| Editing by | Carlos Cox Vera Freire |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures do Brasil Severiano Ribeiro Distribuidora |
| Release date(s) | 1988 |
| Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | Brazil |
| Language | Portuguese |
Super xuxa is a 1988 film starring Xuxa Meneghel as herself.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Meneghel plays a singer/TV star, who starts a campaign all over Brazil for children to color old, ugly walls, in an effort to make the world happier. But her plans are ruined by Baixo Astral, an evil demon that lives under the city of Rio de Janeiro and uses bad children as slaves.
Baixo Astral kidnaps Xuxa's dog, Xuxo, expecting she'll go after him. She travels the magic world of Alto Astral searching for her dog, helped by the lizard Xixa.
[edit] Production
The film was directed by Anna Pennido. David Sonneschein worked as co-director, but was later unbilled. Pennido also wrote the script, with the help of fellow TV-writer Antonio Calmon. The movie is accused of being based on Jim Henson's Labyrinth, released two years before.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 American countries, the movie was released in Argentina as Super Xuxa Vs. Bajo Astral, with some success. It's available in the U.S. in non-authorized copies as Super Xuxa Vs. Satan.
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack includes songs by Xuxa herself, and other popular Brazilian artists from the 1980s. The soundtrack album was a huge success and won a Grammy.
[edit] DVD
In 2001 the film was released in DVD by Som Livre. The extras include a making-of featurette, a special karaoke soundtrack for the songs and subtitles in English and Spanish. But the DVD was criticised for having bad sound and video quality.
