This year, Z\u00e9 Carioca turns sixty five, but he hasn’t aged a bit. That’s because he’s a Disney cartoon who was wildly popular in Brazil for years.<\/p>\n
During World War II, Walt Disney and his team traveled to South America with the official purpose of finding new cartoon characters, and with the real purpose being to find ways to increase trade with the region and to prevent German influence on Latin American governments. The team decided the best way to do this was by swaying the continent’s children, and Z\u00e9 Carioca was born. <\/p>\n
He was actually first created by a Brazilian artist J. Carlos, who was inspired by Doutor Jacarand\u00e1, a bohemian dandy notorious in Rio’s nightlife at the time. Z\u00e9 acquired a dapper hat, dress jacket and bow tie, and umbrella based on this real Carioca. Though Z\u00e9 was obviously supposed to be from Rio, Disney chose a musician from S\u00e3o Paulo, Jos\u00e9 do Patroc\u00ednio de Oliveira, to do his voice, so Z\u00e9 has a very un-Carioca accent. <\/p>\n
Z\u00e9’s first film premiered in 1942 in Rio de Janeiro, and was released in the U.S. a year later. In the movie, he travels with Donald Duck and Goofy throughout Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, along with some local characters from each country, though these characters never made it big like Z\u00e9. Later, Z\u00e9 went on to star in several other films, and later was incorporated into print cartoons in Brazil. <\/p>\n
You can check out Z\u00e9 in action here:<\/p>\n
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This year, Z\u00e9 Carioca turns sixty five, but he hasn’t aged a bit. That’s because he’s a Disney cartoon who was wildly popular in Brazil for years. During World War II, Walt Disney and his team traveled to South America with the official purpose of finding new cartoon characters, and with the real purpose being…<\/p>\n