Turma da Mônica em Uma Aventura no Tempo

Turma da Mônica em Uma Aventura no Tempo (in English, Monica's Gang in an Adventure in Time) is a 2007 Brazilian animated movie directed by Mauricio de Sousa and written by Didi Oliveira, Emerson Bernardo de Abreu and Flavio de Souza. It is the 17th film to be based on the Turma da Mônica comic book series, and the 8th to be launched on cinemas. It is well-received by the Brazilian critics and audience.

Plot
Franjinha (Franklin) creates a time machine, but Mônica accidentally destroys it with her plush bunny, Samson. Now, she, Cebolinha (Jimmy Five), Cascão (Smudge), Magali (Maggy), and Bidu (Blu) have to time travel to different periods in order to find and retrieve the four elements that were scattered with the impact, or else everything will freeze and the time will stop.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The premise is incredible, with a lot of funny moments, great action, and tear-jerking scenes.
 * 2) Very expressive and fluid animation by Labocine Digital, with pretty nice depth and shading that's a step up from their other cartoons made after and before it.
 * 3) * They (Labocine Digital) would end up doing animation for a 13-episode series in 2009 for Cartoon Network Brazil (later re-released as part of Cine Gibi 4: Meninos e Meninas that same year, and Cine Gibi 5: Luzes, Câmera, Ação! in 2010), with the same animation from the movie, but with the series' usual backgrounds.
 * 4) Beautiful scenery, with impressive detail and color, sometimes they looks like 3D.
 * 5) Good voice acting.
 * 6) Excellent soundtrack, especially the song that starts the movie, "Máquina do Tempo" by 9 Volts, and the one that ends it, "Uma Aventura no Tempo" by Bandinha da Turma and 9 Volts.
 * 7) The characters still have their personalites from the comics, such as Cebolinha (Jimmy Five) with his dificulties to pronounce the letter "R" ("W" in English), Magali (Maggy) and her eating habits, and Cascão (Smudge) with his fear of water.
 * 8) In each era, a character comes face-to-face with a unique villian.
 * 9) * Mônica and Bidu (Blu) encounter the Deus do Fogo (Pitoco).
 * 10) * Cascão (Smudge) has to deal with the Bandeirante Dente de Ouro.
 * 11) * Cebolinha (Jimmy Five) is held captive by Cabeleira Negra.
 * 12) Characters from Mauricio's other related works such as: Piteco (Pitheco), Thuga (Tooga), Elo (clapping when Bidu (Blu) catches the fire element), Papa-Capim (Tom-Tom), Cafuné (Tamoyo), Jurema (Papaya), Pajé, Dorinha (Doreen), Luca, and Rolo (Curly) appear for the first time in animated form.
 * 13) We get to see how Mônica got her plush bunny Samson, and it's quite heartwarming.
 * 14) It is (along with A Princesa e o Robô from 1984) one of the only two Monica's Gang animated movies to actually feel like one by having a full story with the characters, instead of just being a compilation of cartoons with framing devices in between like the other films.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) About WIR#9, while still heartwarming, it contradicts other versions seen in the comics.
 * 2) Papa-Capim (Tom-Tom) and Astronauta (Bubbly) are shown to be living in the past and the future, respectively, while in the comics, their stories take place in modern times.
 * 3) For some reason, Magali (Maggy)'s mother mistakes her with her cousin Rosali, who had yet to appear in the comics and animations, and is only mentioned in this movie.

Reception
A contributor at Folha de S.Paulo wrote that Mauricio de Sousa's feature "is undoubtedly the best of all. And in every way." He noted that the "traditional deficiency" of previous films was "the fragility of the script", but that it was resolved in An Adventure in Time because, despite the "fragmented structure", "the script resolves the short breath of the plots well when sending each character at a specific time ". He praised the simultaneous articulation of the plots, which could be understood even by younger children. Finally, he praised the soundtrack and the good messages from the film.

Fábio Yabu, writing for Omelete, said that An Adventure in Time was proof that the national production sector was maturing, and that "The new production surpasses the Achilles heel of the recent animations of the class, the script, and combines a smart story to excellent animation. " Contrary to the first criticism, Fábio said that "the plot demands a little more from younger children, but in compensation it must satisfy and much older ones." He criticized parts of the film, such as the scenarios that, at times, "are so colorful and detailed that they end up drawing more attention than they should, obfuscating the main stars". Fábio also criticized "some rhythm problems", saying that the character Mônica appears much more than the other characters.

The CinePOP website included Uma Aventura no Tempo on its 2007 retrospective list, saying the film was one of the best in national cinema of the year.

About the DVD, Robson Candêo, from the DVD Magazine website, said that "The image is perfect, very sharp and without apparent compression." He also said that the sound "is great, well-distributed."

Trivia

 * Accourding to Mauricio, the idea of this movie was an old one. He said: "For years I wanted to mix the characters and their familes and put them together in a different adventure on the big screen."
 * From here up until 2012, the voices are now recorded before the animation, to give more dinamism.
 * When this movie was adapted into a comic book, it was divided in five parts: Uma Aventura no Tempo O Deus do Fogo, Triste Floresta, Cabeleira Negra, and O Fim dos Tempos.
 * The movie was referenced in the episode Máquina do Tempo, De Novo?, when Cascão (Smudge) is seen holding the DVD's cover when taking about the failed inventions of Franjinha (Franklin). At the end, Horácio (Horatio) and Piteco (Pitheco) appear in a time machine.