Carrusel (Spanish for "Merry-Go-round") is a popular Mexican Soap Opera that aired during 1989-1990. It revolved around a teacher and her 2nd grade class. Remake of the Argentinian soap opera Señorita Maestra ("Miss Teacher")
This show features examples of:
- Aerith and Bob:
- The Guerra siblings are named Pablo (common name) and Marcelina (unusual name, though not tremendously so).
- In Senorita Maestra, we have Simoneta (very uncommon and old-fashioned name), who in Carrusel becomes Maria Joaquina (uncommon, but not as much)
- Ambition Is Evil: Averted. Most of the kids had future goals and plans, and those who do are good kiddos.
- Ambiguously Jewish: Averted in the case of David. His Synagogue is shown. He mentions his beliefs. Valeria and David wonder how will it work out if they get married- how will they raise their kids. This seems to be Informed Judaism: David has blond hair and blue eyes- as compared to the more stereotypical Semitic features.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Valeria is strongly hinted to have this at the beginning. In an Idiot Ball moment, Ximena scolds her harshly and allows her to think that she hates her. Valeria is so depressed that she actually falls sick.
- Beta Couple: Susana and Rene have a very stable relationship, as compared to Valeria and David having so much drama in theirs.
- Brainy Brunette:
- Valeria is a good student, but more regarding her artistic talent
- Carmen is great both in academics and people skills.
- Catchphrase:
- "Me hierve la cabeza" ("My head is boiling") by Jaime.
- "No, yo decia" ("Just saying") by Cirilo
- "How horrible!" by Bibi.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Maria Joaquina becomes way friendlier as the show progresses.
- Dumb Blonde:
- Averted. Maria Joaquina is very intelligent and does well in school.
- Averted. Rene is a talented musician and good teacher.
- Fiery Redhead: Averted. Both Daniel and Bibi are levelheaded and do not have hot tempers.
- Friend to All Living Things: Mario Ayala had a pet German Shepherd, as well as a rabbit. Do NOT try harming them.
- Generic Guy: Adrian Garcia, who gets a name, but no defining characteristics, or plotlines. Viewers do not even get to see his family. But at least Adrian has a name- as compared to two other boys and one girl in the classroom who remain nameless throughout the entire show. The only thing he's recalled for is for yawning loudly during the OP sequence.
- Gentle Giant: Jaime Palillo may have been big and strong, but was always in a good mood and friendly towards everyone.
- Generation Xerox: The parents of the kids often were very, very similar to their children. For example, both of Valeria's parents are short, slim, and use glasses, and both of Jaime's parents were tall and heavily-built.
- Getting Suspended Is Awesome: Discussed when the Principal decides to give Jaime a 10-day-suspension. His father thinks it'll just damage his learning so she instead gives him 10 days without recess.
- Girlish Pigtails: Laura Quinones wears this hairstyle and is a girly girl.
- Hot Teacher: Ximena Fernandez. More than one boy has a crush on her- even though she dresses conservatively.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation:
- Subverted by Maria Joaquina and Jorge, whose trouble making friends has nothing to do with IQ or grades, and mainly to do with snobbery. That, and Daniel always held the top spot in the class.
- Averted by Daniel and every other good student, since they were far friendlier.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Pablo Guerra. Prankster, always teasing his sister, but not malicious. 'Sides, he was the first friend that Mario made in the class.
- Kick the Dog:
- When the kids treat poor Susana like crap for daring to replace Ximena when she's hospitalized. Fermin promptly calls them out on their bullshit and they soften up to her.
- Maria Joaquina, in the beginning, when she tears apart the birthday card Cirilo gave her.
- Mario's Wicked Stepmother, when she threatens to cook and eat his pet rabbit.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Maria Joaquina Villasenor. She was a Jerkass Tsundere, but never crossed the line into actually being cruel.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: While not exactly a textbook example, Valeria certainly is louder and has a more open personality than David.
- Meaningful Name: Valeria means "courageous" in Latin. Valeria is a gutsy, adventurous girl who is not afraid of mice or haunted houses. Margarita is a Greek name meaning "pearl" and "daisy". Margarita is a fashionista who dreams of boys giving her jewelry, and who is overall one of the most feminine girls in the show.
- The Ojou: Maria Joaquina. First as a Rich Bitch type, then becomes nicer.
- Plot Hole: When Valeria sneaks out the baby girl nicknamed Pelusita, she asks her friends Laura and Jaime for help with sneaking her in to the abandoned house where La Patrulla Salvadora meets. They are just two of her friends... why just the two of them? Why not her boyfriend David, if they were not broken up at the time? To a not so obvious extent- why not Carmen, Marcelina, or Alicia, since they are all prudent girls who would have been just as helpful?
- Plucky Girl: Carmen Carrillo. Her parents had separated (but only for a short time- they do get back together promptly) and her family was poor. Yet Carmen always managed to be an excellent student and to stay out of trouble- mainly because she wanted to obtain a scholarship to go to college and have a career.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni:
- Valeria is the Red Oni to David's Blue Oni, since Valeria is more outgoing, melodramatic, and hyperactive, while David is calmer and more introverted.
- Pablo is the Red Oni to Marcelina's Blue Oni, since Pablo is so bold and fearless while Marcelina is much quieter and subdued.
- Sadist Teacher: Sra. Orraca. Everybody was afraid of her — except her pet student, Jorge.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Loud, hyperactive, prankster Pablo vs. shy, quiet, sweet Marcelina.
- Spoiled Brat: Maria Joaquina, since her wealthy parents are nice and reasonable and do not spoil her, but she acts snobbish at times.
- Stock Shoujo Bullying Tactics: Inverted: the classroom kids ostracize Maria Joaquina until she breaks down crying, but this less about bullying and more about the kids getting fed up with her jerk assery.
- Teacher's Pet: Jorge del Salto. Jorge is Sra. Orraca's pet, but not Ximena's in any way, who is a fair teacher.
- Token Minority: Cirilo is Black, David is Ashkenazi Jewish, Kokimoto is Japanese, Bibi is North American of English ancestry.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: David's love interests: adventurous Valeria who is not afraid of mice, vs. fashionable Margarita who dreamt of a boy giving her jewelry.
- Tomboyish Ponytail:
- Valeria. She wears her hair in a half ponytail, and is often being considered the most tomboyish of the girls.
- Inverted by the girly, fashionable Margarita wearing her hair in a ponytail.
- Two-Teacher School: Averted. Ximena only teaches 2nd grade, Rene only teaches music, Susana only teaches her assigned grade except when she has to cover for Ximena. There is also an art teacher. And another teacher named Gloria. And of course, the principal, Sra. Orraca. And Fermin.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- Carmen has a younger brother shown in early chapters, but he is not really shown anymore.
- Valeria has a newborn baby sister who is part of a big storyline- but later does not show up much. Also, Valeria's cousin Aurelia was part of a big plotline but does not return later.
The Brazilian remake Carrossel 2012 features examples of:
- Adaptational Attractiveness:
- In the original, Valeria was an average looking, rather tomboyish girl who wore glasses, and who wore pants the most out of all the girls. In the remake, she is very feminine, conventionally good looking, and always very well dressed.
- Jaime. In the original, he was obese. In the remake, he is just a little stronger and sturdier than the other boys. Adriano may even be proportionally heavier than Jaime!
- Adaptation Dye-Job:
- Daniel is no longer a redhead (does not really affect the plot).
- Adriano is now blond.
- Maria Joaquina is no longer blonde. In the original, her blonde hair was a plot point.
- David has dark hair, which is a stereotypical Semitic feature.
- Kokimoto's hair is no longer jet black.
- Adaptation Name Change: Ximena is renamed Helena, which has been her name in most countries' dub.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- In the original, Suzana was just an ordinary substitute teacher whom the kids had mistaken as evil, and in the end, found out she was actually as nice as Ximena. However, in the remake, she IS evil and tries to do anything in her power to make Ximena's life miserable.
- Principal Oliva. In the original, Srta. Orraca was a very tough principal, but never held any grudge against Ximena or the kids. In the remake, Oliva is very greedy, she tries to appease the rich kids just so she can earn money, and constantly tries to fire Ximena, with Matilde being her sidekick.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Although the 2012 remake always had a few unrealistic elements, the earliest episodes were a lot more down to earth and mature but after the character of Adriano became more fleshed out, the series started to incorporate more fantasy and pop culture references to the point that some episodes felt like an entirely different series.
- Girliness Upgrade: Valeria no longer has glasses, and is actually very well dressed and coiffed. In the original, a major plot point was the love triangle between David, tomboyish Valeria who was not afraid of mice, and fashionable girly girl Margarita.
- Freudian Excuse: Maria Joaquina now has a 100% justifiable excuse to hate Cirilo, read Informed Flaw below.
- Informed Flaw: Maria Joaquina is often called a racist over her very open dislike of black schoolmate Cirilo, the thing is: This version either completely removes or replaces any racist remarks she said in the original version. Lines like "Go hang out with the ones of your skin color!" are changed to "Go hang out with the likes of you!" Not only that, but thanks to the fact she's perfectly polite to other black characters like Graça and Mr. Morales, it comes out more as though she dislikes Cirilo not because he's black, but because of his obsession with her.
- Stay in the Kitchen: The boys’ general attitude towards the girls, most notably in earlier episodes.
- Xenafication: Alicia is turned into a tomboy, who wears a cap and likes playing football. In the original, she was a prudent, sensible girl whose only plotline involved her having appendicitis- and enjoying the flowers Mario brought her when she was in the hospital.
