Series / Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum

Top: Dr. Victor, Morgana, Zequinha, Nino and Biba. Bottom: Pedro.

"I'll go, but I'll be back! And one day, this castle will be mine! Mua ha ha! Mua ha ha! MUA HA HA!"

— Dr. Abobrinha

Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum (Portuguese for "Rá-Tim-Bum Castle"^note "Rá-Tim-Bum" is a whimsical word used in a Brazilian birthday song) is a Brazilian children's show that originally aired from 1994 to 1997, produced and broadcast by TV Cultura.

The series is about Nino, a 300-year-old boy who lives with his uncle, Dr. Victor, a sorcerer and scientist who is 3,000 years old, and his great-aunt Morgana, a witch who is 6,000 years old. Dr. Abobrinha (Dr. Zucchini) is the villain, a real estate speculator who wants to demolish the castle and, in its place, erect a building of a hundred floors.

It spawned a movie of the same name in 1999. In 2023, an official special celebrating the 30 years of the show was announced, reuniting all of the original cast.

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Tropes present in the series:

• Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Mau and Godofredo live in one of those. Occasionally they are visited by other characters.
• Accidental Misnaming: See Dr. Abobrinha's catchphrase below.
• A Dog Named "Dog":
  • The mouse is only referred to as "Mouse" ("Rato").
  • Gato Pintado / "Spotted Cat".
• Alliterative Family: Lana and Lara; Poranga and Purunga; Etevaldo and Etcetera
• Alliterative Name: Pompeu Pompilho Pomposo
• Amazing Technicolor Population:
  • Caipora has red skin.
  • It's not clear if Etevaldo wears yellow and pink clothes or if that's the color of his skin. Either way, his face has the same colors. His hands are blue, just like his head protuberances.
  • Morgana has pale white skin.
  • Zula is a blue girl.
• And Then What?:
  • Doctor Abobrinha seems to think that his success in tearing down the castle to create a mega real estate development depends solely on Nino signing a disguised contract. But the real thing would be much more complicated. To begin with, Nino wouldn't even have authorization to sell the castle, since the legal guardians are his uncles (much less the snake Celeste, who also signed by mistake). And Abobrinhawould still need to evict all the members of the castle, but then Victor and Morgana would allege in court that there was fraud, and Abobrinha could end up in jail, without achieving either.
  • To make matters worse, the series seems to confirm that he's really stupid when it comes to making plans, because in one episode, he thinks it's a brilliant idea for Nino to go on a trip to Japan so he can disguise himself as Nino... only for him to later realize that his disguise is useless, as Nino is not there to sign the contract!
• Art Shift:
  • When someone reads a poem from the library's books, the story is shown in traditional animation.
  • The black box (caixa preta) shows 3D objects and forms in CGI animation characteristic of the nineties.
• A Wizard Did It: The standard explanation for anything unusual happening in the series. It is about a wizard boy, after all.
• Bald of Evil: Dr. Abobrinha sports one of those.
• Banana Peel: In episode 10, Caipora eats bananas and throws away the peels everywhere. Pretty much all the castle folks slip on them and fall to the ground.
• Bathtub Scene: One of the songs of the castle mouse is about taking a bath. He does so in a bathtub equipped with a shower.
• Brazilian Folklore: The Caipora and the Saci.
• Bedsheet Ghost: Nino dresses as a bedsheet ghost to scare the kids in the first episode, before they became friends.
• Bee Afraid: In episode 13, a ferocious-looking bee gets out of the black box.
• Beehive Hairdo: Morgana's hair rivals that of Marge Simpson.
• Beeping Computers: Telekid's machine makes a lot of beep sounds as he types on it.
• Big Damn Movie: The movie leaves aside the Edutainment Show segments in favor of a thicker plot.
• Big Eater: In episode 6, Nino eats too much pizza and ends up sick.
• Big Fancy Castle: The castle where Nino, Morgana and Dr. Victor live.
• Bookworm: Most of all, the Gato Pintado, who lives in the library. Many characters are fond of books and are happy to visit the library, too.
  • Prof. Berinjela, the seller of dictionaries and identical but good cousin of the Dr. Abobrinha is one of those, too.
• Captain Obvious: In Bongô's introductory episode he arrives in the castle bringing 2 pizzas, prompting this dialogue:
  Nino: He works at the Dial-A-Pizza!
  Pedro: And by any chance, what you are holding are 2 pizzas?
  Bongô: Yes, they are. (playfully) You've never seen one?
• Catchphrase:
  Caipora: Xabungo, xabungo, I'll have to fly, and stop in the middle of the world! (when going away)
  The Clock: Bat, brown rat, little cockroach and company, it's time for sorcery! (when introducing a scene with Morgana)
  The Clock: Dr. Victor will come, Dr. Victor is coming, Dr. Victor came! (Exactly What It Says on the Tin)
  Dr. Abobrinha/Dr. Zucchini: My name is not Dr. Zucchini! My name is Pompeu Pompilho Pomposo!
  Dr. Victor: Lightning and Thunder!
  Mau: I was going to go, and I went! ("Eu ia, e eu fui!")
  Mau: Whoever hears the evil laugh of Mau, never forgets!
  Narrator: Meanwhile, in the chandelier of the castle... (when introducing a scene with Lana and Lara)
  Porteiro: Clipts, clopts, tiu, the door opened!
  Tíbio/Perônio: For the good of science!
  Tíbio/Perônio: And I say more!
  Anyone: It's just Mau, running through the pipes of the castle!
  • Tíbio and Perônio's opening dialogue:
  Anyone: I know one person who would be very interested in that!
  Anyone else: Not one, two.
  • Zequinha's dialogue:
  Zequinha: (repeatedly) Why?
  Everybody else: Just because, Zequinha!
  Telekid: (appears in his own segment) "Just because" is not an answer.
• Comically Missing the Point: In episode 14, Celeste went to the movies with her cousin Sílvia to watch There Was a Crooked Man..., whose name in Brazil is Ninho de Cobras (Snakes' Nest). Celeste is a snake and Sílvia is a cobra. Celeste thought the movie was about actual snakes. Celeste remarked: "It was good, but the snakes only appeared at the end."
• Community-Threatening Construction: Dr. Abobrinha wants to demolish the castle to build a 100-floor building in its place.
• Control Freak: Celeste becomes one of those when Dr. Victor leaves her in charge of the castle in episode 11.
• Cool Shades: Tap and Flap, also many of the talking fingers.
• Crazy-Prepared: In episode 10, Dr. Victor almost steps on a Banana Peel. Luckily, he was wearing an "alarm hat" against banana peels and other slippery things, which warned him in the last second.
• Curtain Camouflage: Tíbio and Perônio's ferocious pet, the tatatossauro, is always hidden behind a curtain.
• Disproportionate Retribution: In Dr. Abobrinha's introductory episode, Morgana makes him lose his voice after he offers to buy the castle.
• The Dividual: Tap and Flap are practically the same character in two feet. They are always seen together and they speak rhyming with each other.
• Dreaming of Things to Come:
  • In episode 1, before meeting Nino, Biba, Pedro and Zequinha talk about the dreams they had: Biba dreamed they would go to a haunted castle, Pedro dreamed with a witch and Zequinha dreamed with a large, hairy beast prone to evil laughs. All these come true, even the "haunted" part, since Nino dresses as a ghost and uses a spell to appear ghostly and fluctuating transparent in the air.
  • In episode 13, Nino dreams he shrinks to the size of his pinky finger. Guess what happens later that episode.
• Edutainment Show: And how! Contains various educational segments:
  • The music box, with music and dancers.
  • The globe and the puppet shows with art depicting various cultures.
  • The mouse, singing about taking a bath, brushing one's teeth and recycling trash properly.
  • The songs teaching how objects are made.
  • The birds teaching the name of various musical instruments.
  • Telekid answering Zequinha's questions.
  • The poems from the library that are read and illustrated with animations.
  • The children commenting on details of a famous painting.
  • The shows with fingers singing about math.
• Eek, a Mouse!!: Sometimes, newcomers are afraid of the small mouse vehicle when they first see it. This includes Biba in episode 1 and Penelope in episode 4.
• Election Day Episode: In episode 11, all the segments are about explaining how elections work. Celeste begins episode behaving as a dictator, then the castle folks decide to run an election to decide the new "governor" in the castle..
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Etevaldo (episode 2) — Established as a Fish out of Water when the others have trouble communicating with him because his language is unintelligible to humans. Immediately shows he's not hostile by screaming at the first sight of the main four and hiding behind the tree.
  • Caipora (episode 3) — Established as a Genki Girl, teleporting while speaking and being somewhat of an annoyance, although the cast quickly warms up to her.
  • Penelope (episode 4) — Asks to see the castle after wandering about without a clue, causing the inhabitants to fall in love with the mere sight of her, and Nino to pretend being his uncle to impress her.
  • Dr. Abobrinha (episode 5) — Admiring the castle from the outside and mugging to the camera about how the terrain alone must be worth a fortune. When he finds the "Dream Town" model made by Nino, Pedro, Biba and Zequinha, he starts replacing the houses with high-rise buildings and, once they call him out on it, he storms off to meet Dr. Victor while loudly grunting that he hates children.
  • Bongô (episode 6) — Spins his way through the front door with two pizzas on one hand and, at the kitchen table, telling stories of his other deliveries. Once Morgana is called downstairs, he hightails it out of the castle.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The castle's Porteiro ("Gatekeeper" in Portuguese).
  • The talking clock in the hall is simply known as "Relógio" (clock).
• Everything Talks:
  • Fura-Bolos ("Cake-Piercer") is one of many talking fingers.
  • Animate Inanimate Object: The Clock, Morgana's book, Flip & Flap (a pair of talking boots), the talking puppets from different cultures and the trash bucket from the mouse's recycling song.
    • In The Movie, Nino has a talking book of his own, too.
  • Talking Animal: Gato Pintado (Spotted Cat), Adelaide (the magpie), Celeste (a snake, her name means "Celestial") and the Mouse (which tends to keep quiet aroung others, but starts to sing once he's in his hole, out of the car), not to mention the monsters and undetermined criatures.
• Evil Laugh:
  • Mau asks riddles for children to solve or says tongue twisters for them to repeat, at the threat of using his Evil Laugh should they fail. Godofredo is always terrified of that.
  • Dr. Abobrinha has one evil laugh himself, as shown in the page quote.
• Exposition of Immortality: Morgana teaches historical facts (like the invention of cinema, or the invention of numbers) to her pet magpie Adelaide (and, by extension, the audience), by reminiscing the time when she actually was there.
• Faint in Shock: Gato Pintado faints when he sees three Pedros pass by the library in episode 8.
• Fantastic Flora: The sunflower, which is prone to biting people's fingers.
• Fantastic Racism: In one episode, the children dislike the one-time character Zula because she is a blue girl. They get better by the end of episode.
• "Fawlty Towers" Plot: See Snowball Lie below.
• Fish out of Water:
  • Alien Among Us: After Etevaldo learns human language, he still has trouble using the right words: he tries using "horrible" as a compliment.
  • Country Mouse: Caipora lives in the jungle and does not know lots of tings of everyday life, like what "pizza" is. She knows many stories, but does not know what a "book" is.
• Flying Broomstick: Morgana has one. She says this to argue that witches are just like normal people:
  Morgana: I breath, like everybody. I sleep, like everybody. I eat, like everybody. I go to the bathroom, like everybody. And I fly in a broomstick, like everybody.
• For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: In episode 10, for a costume party, Morgana decides to go dressed as a witch. Adelaide, the magpie, wants to go dressed as her black cat.
• For Science!: "For the good of science!" is often said by Tíbio and Perônio.
• For the Evulz:
  • Mau ("Bad") is very fond of his reputation of being evil. When he starts telling about his terrifying deeds, Godofredo always interrupts him to tell that Mau actually chose to do an act of kindness in the end, which Mau did not want him to tell.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: When Dr. Victor or Morgana calls Nino: "Antonino Stradivarius!", he knows it means trouble.
• Furry Reminder: See the Spotted Cat's Verbal Tic below.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Dr. Victor and Nino. One of Nino's inventions is a magical calculator that can make clones of people. Nino is also fond of "reinventing" things that already exist.
• Genki Girl: Caipora is very hyperactive, and tends to use Teleport Spam in the middle of a conversation, just because.
• Gift-Giving Gaffe:
  • Someone gave a slingshot to the magpie Adelaide as a gift in episode 4. She was initially happy with it, but Morgana destroyed the object, since it's used to kill birds.
  • Dr. Victor gives a wristwatch for Celeste's birthday. (episode 9) Being a snake, she does not have a wrist, but gladly accepts to use it on her neck as a "neckwatch". (which begs the question of how she intends to see the time with it)
• The Ghost: Tíbio and Perônio's pet monster, the tatatossauro, is never seen on-screen.
• Green Aesop: Occasionally given by the characters, especially Telekid and sometimes Lana and Lara. The mouse has a song about properly recycling trash.
• Hat of Flight: Dr. Victor arrives flying on the castle by using one of these at the end of episode 1.
• Heel–Face Turn: In the last episode (not counting the TV special aired afterwards), Dr. Abobrinha finally gets the chance to buy the castle, but has a change of heart. He confesses all his plans and rips the check. He is promptly forgiven by the folks of the castle and accepted as a friend.
• Hell Is That Noise: Characters can hear, and are often scaredm at the sound effect playing just before a segment with Mau and Godofredo.
  Anyone: It's just Mau, running through the pipes of the castle!
• Humanoid Aliens: Etevaldo and his sister Etcetera. Presumably, Etevaldo's love interest Etelvina too, but she did not appear in the series and was only mentioned.
• I Can't Hear You: Mau and Godofredo in episode 9.
  Mau: What are you doing with my pillow?
  Godofredo: I can't hear you with this pillow on my head!
• Idiot Hair: Nino's forelock of hair sticking above his head. Sometimes, Nino wears a hat, hiding that forelock.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: In episode 1, Nino wanted to go to school like a normal child, but no school would accept him because of his age.
• I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You!: Caipora does this occasionally. In episode 10, she talks along the lines of "I'll never give you a hint as to the word that makes me go away, because if I did give you a hint, it would be that (proceeds to give the hint anyway)".
• Imagine Spot: In episode 12, when Etevaldo, Nino, Biba, Pedro and Zequinha travel to the space in a cardboard rocket, Celeste was watching from the outside and says the rocket did not move one inch. In their imagination, they saw planets and meteors formed from food and sweets.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Dr. Abobrinha's plans are always bound to fail.
• Intellectual Animal: The Gato Pintado (Spotted Cat) takes care of the library of the castle, where he lives. He is naturally well-read, and he knows exactly how many books there are in the library. (1,005 books in episode 1; 1,100 books in episode 8) In episode 2, the Spotted Cat says he speaks many languages.
• Just Whistle: Caipora appears when other characters whistle, whether that was the intention or not.
• Lethal Chef: In Bongô's introductory episode, Nino initially tried baking something. Despite his assurance that he is a great chef, thick smoke comes out of the oven and turns out the food was burned to a crisp and was in a messy shape.
• Leitmotif: Every character in the show has their own theme when they're on-screen, with the Stradivarius family all sharing a common arrangement of strings and horns, with only a few slight differences (Morgana's theme is more subdued and with an air of Arabic while Dr. Victor's is more upbeat and often includes a small pianola arrangement). The visitors are often the ones with the most noticeable themes.
  • The main kids and Nino all share the same upbeat jazz theme, with horns and piano.
  • Etevaldo's theme has added reverse effects, synthesizer and a psychedelic feel to give it an otherwordly vibe.
  • Caipora is accompanied by sertanejo (Brazilian country music) and, sometimes, a Native-Brazilian beat reminiscent of the Tupi-Guarani tribes' music.
  • Dr. Abobrinha's theme is deeper and more sinister, with emphasis on tubas, sounding stronger and more imposing.
  • Penelope uses the theme of her own newscast, while the official soundtrack gives her a surfer rock theme to match her youthful disposition.
  • Bongô's is a cheerful reggae beat with emphasized bongo drums.
  • Tíbio and Perônio have a synthesizer-heavy theme, with a few keyboard strokes and, sometimes, a deep-sounding techno bass, to give it a science feel.
• Level Ate:
  • In episode 5, Nino and the kids intend to make a model town with a milk shake lake.
  • In episode 12, Etevaldo, Nino and the kids travel to the space in a Imagine Spot. They saw planets and meteors formed from food and sweets.
• Light-Flicker Teleportation: When Etevaldo comes in or goes away, he does so by teleporting, which causes the lights to flicker for a few seconds before the teleportation is completed.
• Little People:
  • There are little people in the circus, the pianola, the music box and the magic canvas, performing shows for the characters to watch.
  • In episode 13, Dr. Victor invents shoes capable of making the wearer shrink considerably.
• Ludicrous Precision: The clock always knows at which time Dr. Victor is going to arrive in the castle, down to the second.
• Magic Pants: In episode 13, Dr. Victor has invented a pair of shoes that cause the wearer to shink considerably. Their clothes shrink with the person, in the process.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Etevaldo's sister Etcetera.
  • Fura-Bolos (literally "Cake-Piercer") is a coloquial Portuguese name for the index finger.
  • Mau's name, in literal terms, means "bad". Viewers often confuse it for the similar word "Mal", which means "Evil", but either meaning is meant to be ironic.
  • Nino is actually short for Antonino Stradivarius Victorius II, but it also could be short for menino (boy). Occasionally, someone calls him "Menino Nino" (Nino Boy).
  • Dr. Victor's first name is derived from Dr. Victor Frankenstein. "Morgana" is the Portuguese female pronunciation of "Morgan", and is most likely derived from Morgan La Fey, the witch of Arthurian legend.
  • Abobrinha's real name is Pompeu Pompílio Pomposo, with "Pomposo" meaning "pompous" in Portuguese. "Abobrinha" is the Portuguese word for "squash" or "zucchini", but it's also slang term for "hogwash/nonsense".
• Mind over Matter: In episode 1, Nino makes Zequinha ball fly telekinetically, to attract Biba, Pedro and Zequinha to the castle, in hopes of making new friends.
• Mythology Gag: In episode 14, the snake Celeste says she has gone to the movies with her cousin, Sílvia, which is a cobra in the Rá-Tim-Bum series.
• Nature Lover: Caipora, especially, since she lives in the woods and came straight from Brazilian folklore.
• No Fourth Wall / Breaking the Fourth Wall:
  • Many characters break the fourth wall occasionally just to show their reactions to the camera. when they are alone, usually they turn to the camera to explain what they are thinking or planning.
  • Mau breaks the fourth wall constantly to ask riddles to children.
  • Telekid, Tíbio and Perônio always speak directly at the audience.
• Not-So-Badass Longcoat: Dr. Abobrinha wears one.
• Not-So-Forgotten Birthday: Everyone pretends to forget Celeste's birthday, in episode 9.
• The Omniscient: In Dr. Abobrinha's introductory episode, when he tries buying the castle from Morgana, she was already aware of his intentions before he started speaking. She hand-waves it to her witch powers.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: When Dr. Victor leaves Celeste in charge of the castle in episode 11, she demands everyone to fill the right forms before being able to do anything.
• Our Fairies Are Different: Lana and Lara, the fairies who live in the chandelier and are fond of playing games comparing objects.
• Our Vampires Are Different: In episode 6, the music box features a dance between a vampire and his female victim, which starts with him chasing her and in the end she chases him away.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Dr. Abobrinha's disguises. Given that this is a show meant for younger children, they do fool the main cast often. It's only on the later episodes when the main four get Genre Savvy enough to suspect anyone acting in an overly-dramatic manner asking them to sign a paper.
• Pipe Maze: Mau and Godofredo's lair in the sewers of the castle.
• Photographic Memory: In Bongô's introductory episode, he says he remembers the favorite pizza flavors of everyone in the neighborhood.
• The Place: The title literally translates to "Ra-Tim-Bum Castle" in English and refers to the show's castle setting.
• Power Trio:
  • Superego: Pedro — Intelligent, intelectual.
  • Id: Zequinha — Immature, stubborn, curious.
  • Ego: Biba — More balanced between responsible and adventurous, serves as a middle ground between the two.
• The Pratfall: Happens often in episode 10, as Caipora throws Banana Peels everywhere.
• Reaction Shot: In Bongô's introductory episode, when he announces he brought pizza, there are a few reaction shots of characters happily repeating: "Pizza!"
• Real After All: In episode 12, the characters visit planets and meteors formed from food. It is thought to have been just a Imagine Spot, but some brigadeiros (chocolate sweets) from space are found on Pedro's top hat.
• Really 700 Years Old: Nino is a 300-year-old boy; Dr. Victor is 3,000 years old; Morgana is 6,000 years old.
• Rhymes on a Dime:
  • Often, Mau asks children to say words that end in a particular rhyme.
  • Tap and Flap always talk rhyming with each other.
• Rule of Three: When Celeste decides leaving the castle on episode 7, she leaves three separate notes.
• Scenery Porn: Every room in the castle makes for a colorful and detailed set, at times with various gadgets spread in the background.
• Self-Duplication: Nino's calculator makes copies of Biba, Pedro and Zequinha. And, later, many copies of Dr. Victor.
• Signature Sound Effect:
  • Lana and Lara sound effect.
  • Tap and Flap's guitar sound.
• Shout-Out:
  • In episode 2, the witch Morgana passingly mentions "My cousin Samantha", it could be the one from Bewitched.
  • In episode 13, Gato Pintado is briefly shown reading Puss in Boots.
  • In episode 14, Celeste went to the movies with her cousin Sílvia to watch There Was a Crooked Man..., whose name in Brazil is Ninho de Cobras (Snakes' Nest). Celeste remarked: "It was good, but the snakes only appeared at the end."
  • Also, the cousin which Celeste talks about may be the snake from another show from the same channel, Rá-Tim-Bum.
• Significant Anagram: Zula is a blue girl. Her name is anagram of "Azul" (Portuguese for blue).
• Snarky Non Human Side Kick: Celeste is a nice and non-venomous snake, but she is also snarky, moody and selfish.
• Snowball Lie: When Nino first meets Penelope (episode 4), he lies to her, saying he is actually Dr. Victor, the owner of the castle. The situation becomes more convoluted when Biba, Pedro and Zequinha lie about their own identities for no reason. Things get worse when Penelope learns that Dr. Victor has a nephew named Nino. The lie just goes on.
• The Speechless:
  • In Dr. Abobrinha's introductory episode, Morgana makes him lose his voice after he offers to buy the castle.
  • Felisberto (Morgana's projector) responds to Morgana and opens his eyes when called, but is never seen speaking or moving otherwise.
• Starfish Language: Etevaldo's mother tongue and written language are intelligible to humans. Dr. Victor is the only one who speaks his language.
• Stop Motion: The mouse.
• Super-Speed Reading: Etevaldo learns human language (Portuguese) by reading a whole dictionary in seconds.
• Take That!: Against politicians. In episode 11, when Lana declares herself president, Lara says she can't do that without an election.
  Lana: I thought you did not know that!
  Lara: Did you think deceiving your people was going to be so easy?
• Teleport Spam: Caipora frequently teleports to random nearby places in the middle a conversation.
• Theme Twin Naming:
  • Tap and Flap (rhyming names), Tíbio and Perônio (names of bones)
• The Voice: In episode 8, there is a voice counting polygons as they appear in the black box. It says the numbers from 1 to 10.
• Third-Person Person: Caipora speaks this way.
• Tiny Tyrannical Girl: Celeste becomes one of those when Dr. Victor leaves her in charge of the castle in episode 11.
• Title Sequence: Celeste's tree grows in the first couple of seconds and the castle is magically built around it throughout the remainder of the title sequence.
• Trojan Horse: Morgana tells the story in episode 4.
• Unusual Eyebrows: Morgana's bifurcated eyebrows.
• Verbal Tic:
  • Caipora speaks "crratatau!" repeatedly almost at every sentence.
  • Penélope quickly does her flamboyant "tsc-tsc-tsc-tsc" sound when speaking.
  • Porteiro always talks with "Beep! Beep!"
  • Gato Pintado is a Talking Animal who often punctuates his speech with "meow."
• Visual Pun: In episode 7, Nino's camera has an actual bird when he says: "Look at the bird!" ("Olha o passarinho!", which is an idiom for staying still for a picture)
• The Voiceless: The indian boys Poranga and Porunga are never seen speaking.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: The Mouse transforms itself into a vacuum cleaner, a giant tooth, among other objects.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Bongô is terribly afraid of witches and will always avoid meeting with Morgana, even though she is in fact a very nice person.
• World of Ham: Helped by the colorful costumes and make-up, everyone is really theatrical, with standouts being Dr. Abobrinha (because Evil Is Hammy) and Dr. Victor (specially when he gets angry).

Tropes present in the movie:

• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Instead of the usual "Gatekeeper" ("Porteiro"), there are two gatekeepers who are sphynx statues, and they both call each other Gatekeeper.
• Good Witch Versus Bad Witch: Morgana is the good witch and Losângela is the bad witch.
• Idiot Hair: Nino's forelock of hair sticking above his head.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Just like in the series, Nino wants to go to school like a normal child. Dr. Abobrinha pretend to be the principal of the school, to steal Morgana's book. In addition, Nino wants to drink coffee with milk like normal people do, not fancy wizard beverages.
• Living Statue: The two Doorkeper Sphinxes in the movie. They are briefly transformed into normal, unmoving statues when Losângela uses the power of Morgana's book.
• Magic Mirror: Morgana's mirror guards a stone capable of reversing spells.
• Mind over Matter: The first spell Nino tries to cast is a levitation one, which unwittingly causes him to be stuck in the ceiling.
• Puppet Permutation: The evil witch Losângela manages to turn both Dr. Victor and Morgana into puppets.
• The Movie: Released in 1999.
• When the Planets Align: The planetary alignment augments the wizards' powers in the movie.

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