Combo Niños vámonos!
Combo Niños (Kids Combo) (2008) is an adventure series created by the French animation company SIP Animation with heavy Latin America inspiration.
In the city of Nova Nizza ex-mayor Diadoro desperately searches for a way of regaining his power, with the help of his assistant Gomez they search for Divinos, powerful magical beings with a penchant for chaos, freeing them in exchange for their help.
Unfortunately the Divinos always decide the take their own course of action to take over the city. And this is when the Combo Niños enter, Azul, Serio, Paco and Pilar, four kids with the mission to protect the city and keep the Divinos sealed. Trained by old Mestre Grinto in the ancient art of Capoeira these kids have to balance the responsibilities of being the city's protectors and living their normal lives.
This would end up being the last show produced by SIP Animation (the successor to Saban International Paris) before the studio's closure in 2009.
This show provides examples of:
- Accidental Public Confession: Diadoro is an example of the Type 3 by accidentally revealing what he thinks of the voters.
- All Your Colors Combined: Combo Niños Big Blastico! Also their Little Blastico! Which the use on Divinos who do want to return to their world.
- Animal-Motif Team: The titular characters have the ability to transform into animal superheroes, who are Serio (Tigrillo), Pablo (Toro), Azul (Aguila), and Pilar (Iguana). Maestre Grinto (Monkey) and Old Head (Dragonfly) join them for one episode.
- Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: Azul and Pilar's outfits show their bellies and they're the two female members of the team.
- Blow You Away: Azul can create whirlwinds with her wings.
- By the Power of Grayskull!: Totem Touch, Transform!
- Can't Spit It Out: Serio is never able to come clean on his crush on Azul.
- Clark Kenting: Besides masks the Combo Niños don't change their clothes, nor even cover their hair.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Diadoro. While his main goal is regaining the title of Mayor of Nova Nizza, he's also a businessman who occasionally employs Divinos in order to improve his businesses.
- Cruel Elephant: One of the Divinos is a humanoid pink elephant with a grudge against Old Head.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: But Diadoro never gets it, no matter how many times the Divinos prove to be uncontrollable or treacherous.
- Fastball Special
- A funny variation: they often use a palm tree as a catapult.
- A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: Diadoro once won the lottery. When his limousine caught fire, it burned all the lottery money he didn't spend.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: Diadoro and the Mayor; Serio and Azul; Paco and Pilar; and several others.
- Gelatinous Encasement: The team can't fight El Gaseoso with just their strength, so they try to sneak up on him. They disguise themselves as one of his minions by traveling inside green gelatin.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: Two males and two females make up the Combo Niños.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Grinto and Old Head.
- Involuntary Shapeshifting: Duplico the Divino transforms into whoever touches him, and can't control it besides becoming much bigger and stronger.
- Is This Thing Still On?: The reason of Diadoro's above mentioned Accidental Public Confession.
- Jerkass Gods: It's not clear if Divinos are gods or god-like beings, but they sure are jerkasses.
- Limited Wardrobe: There are some new clothes, but they last only for one episode.
- Lovable Lizard: Pilar's totem is the iguana, and she's lovable, if a bit weird, girl.
- Maniac Monkeys: One of the Divinos is a monkey that intends to turn all of Nova Nizza into monkeys.
- Mean Boss: Diadoro. He likes to order people around and this is hinted to be the reason he wasn't re-elected as Mayor.
- Never Win the Lottery: Before helping Diadoro to regain his title as Mayor by having an official recounting state that Diadoro had actually won the last election, a Divino with luck-based powers caused a gust of wind to give him a winning lottery ticket. When she was defeated, Diadoro's limousine (presumably bought with lottery money) caught fire, burning the reamining lottery money and he lost the title of Mayor when a new official recounting stated he had even less votes than stated at the original vote count.
- Not Me This Time: In one episode, Principal Bronka accidentally brought a family of snake Divinos to the world. The only time neither Diadoro nor Gomez had anything to do with the Divino attack.
- Arguably, the episode where Diadoro tried to improve his reputation with a movie and was smart enough to oppose having Divinos involved counts. Too bad Gomez decided to go behind his back on that matter. The only time Gomez brought Divinos against Diadoro's orders.
- Old Master: Mestre Grinto trained the Combo Niños in the art of capoeira.
- One-Winged Angel: Some Divinos have this kind of ability.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Old Head. One episode reveals his real name to be Bernie, but this name is never used in the other episodes.
- Pet the Dog: Diadoro treats Gomez like a slave, but can be nice to him sometimes.
- In an episode where Gomez sacrificed all his economies to help his "boss", Diadoro's reaction was:
You did this... (teary-eyed) for me?! - Power Incontinence: In one episode, Diadoro and Gomez released a Divino who had the power to turn into anyone who touches him, regardless of the Divino wanting it to happen or not.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Gomez. When he's fired in the last episode, he befriends Pilar and helps the Niños.
- Retired Badass: In the episode "Attack of the Combo Divinos", Grinto gets back in action. And boy, does he kick ass!
- Unfortunately, he'll never show that again, and even becomes a James Bondage in some of the last episodes.
- Rubber Man: Pilar in her Iguana form can stretch like she's made of rubber.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: All the Divinos were sealed within portals all across Nova Nizza, and when they're defeated by the Combo Niños they use mundane but related objects as the new portals.
- Super-Strength: Paco in his Bull form is the strongest of the team.
- Token Flyer: Azul is the only one of the Combo Niños that can fly. Old Head becomes capable of flight in his Dragon-Wing form.
- Too Dumb to Live: Diadoro always tries to use or control the Divinos for his own gain, no matter how many times it backfires.
- Transformation Name Announcement: Gratuitous Spanish version.
- Transformation Sequence: Whenever the Niños transform into their animal forms, this happens.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: In the one episode where neither Diadoro nor Gomez had released any Divinos, Principal Bronka accidentally released a Family of snake-like Divinos.
- Villainous Glutton: The Buffbullo, a huge buffalo-like Divino that's always eating.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Maestre Grinto never wears a shirt while training Capoeira.
- Was Once a Man: Old Head was a human and Grinto's mentor. He was transformed in a living statue head when he went in the Divino dimension to save Grinto.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Azul's enthomophobia.
- She's also afraid of snakes, fitting the trope to a T.
