Brazilian Star Wars (originally called Os Trapalhões na Guerra dos Planetas i.e. The Tramps In The Planet Wars) is a 1978 Brazilian comedy film. Arguably one of the earliest Star Wars parodies, it's also the 13th movie starred by the Brazilian comedy group Os Trapalhões (The Tramps), consisting of Didi (Renato Aragão), Dedé (Dedé Santana), Mussum and introducing Zacarias.
Didi and his gang are hidden in the florest after escaping a gang of bikers whose leader's girlfriend was being flirted with by Didi, when they're approached by a Spaceship where Prince Flik (Pedro Aguinaga) asks for help to defeat the villain Zucco (Carlos Bucka), who oppresses his people and wants to complete a Super-Computer with which he can take over Flick's homeland for good. The team initially reluctant, until Flick offers to give them their wight in gold, and they embark on his spaceship. In the planet, they a fight a group of Zuco's minions attacking a village resembling Tatootine and find that Princess Myrna, Flick's Love Interest was abducted by the villain and they need to find them and save the princess, and free the Planet from Zuco's tyrany.
Despite including one of the most famous slapstick groups in Brazilian comedy, this film became (in)famous for its poor qualities regarding direction, fight sequences and attempts at parodying the Star Wars franchise (which, at the time consisted of only one film and had yet to be expanded in the next movies).
Brazilian Star Wars provides examples of:
- The Big Guy: Bonzo, a Chewbacca lookalike, is the tallest and strongest character in the team.
- Big Bad: Zuco (no, not that Zuko!) is the Darth Vader stand-in, who took over Flick's homeworld and kidnaps his love interest so he can exchange her for the other half of the Central Computer he needs to finish his domination on the planet.
- Bittersweet Ending: The villains are defeated, Flick's people are freed, but his girlfirend Myrna was killed, and by the law her sister Loya, Didi's girdlfriend will have to replace her so Didi doesn't get to live there with her and has to return to Earth with his friend. However, when they think it was all a dream, their car is full of the gold Prince Flick had promised them.
- Dead All Along: Turns out that Princess was accidentally desintegrated while the villains tried to make a mold of her face to trick Prince Flick
- Did Not Get the Girl: Didi falls in love with Loya, one of the girls they meet at the village, and makes plans of staying there with her, but then it's revealed Princess Myrna is dead and that as her sister, Loya will have to replace her as Flick's fiancee. Didi then has to jump onto the ship before his friends go home without him.
- Evil Sounds Deep: As expected, the Darth Vader imitation has an intimidating deep voice.
- Gratuitous Disco Sequence: An extended one in the middle part of the movie. The score also has a strong disco influence.
- Hollywood Density: The movie's ending has the Tramps effortlessly lifting gold bricks.
- Invisible Jerkass: The team stumble upon a group of invisible beings, who throw fruits at them, hang them upside down and beat them. It's not clear whether they are enemies, or just a different species defending their territory, but they are quite the pranksters.
- May the Farce Be with You: One of the earliest Star Wars parodies, just a year after A New Hope. Though it has few of the elements we'd associate with the series; there's a Darth Vader clone as the Big Bad, a Chewbacca-like sidekick who assists Flick, a village where the iglu-like houses resemble Tatooine, and a few stormtrooper lookalikes, but that's pretty much it.
- Only in It for the Money: The Tramps aren't too fond of travelling to space and fight for a revolution there, but then Prince Flick offers their weight in gold as a reward, and they immediatly accept it.
- Over Crank: The movie is fond of slow-motion shots for comedy's sake...
- Under Crank: ...except for the sped-up chase sequence that opens the movie.
