Since the 60s, the brazilian artist ZIRALDO has been making his career as an illustrator and drawist with stories and magazines of remarkable success in his natal country; among his first creations, it can be highlighted a magazine dedicated to one specific and quite relevant: PERERÉ on the publication named TURMA DO PERERÉ. 

All of this creations were oriented towards an adult audience and, altought they were really successful, they didn't trascend as a mass media phenomenon or as a cultural impacty.

This would change from 1969 on, when ZIRALDO started to write stories for children. But it wouldn't an overnight success, the author had to wait a little bit more that ten years to see one of his creations exercise such an impact in the Brazuilian society. And the great editing and cultural success came in 1980 with O MENINO MALUQUINHO - something like THE MISCHEVIOUS LITTLE BOY. 

This vivacious, restless, satirical and sometimes bothering character has been the delight of all brazilian people since the moment of his creation. The book written in 1980 caused such an impression that adaptions started to arise in other media; the first version of the character was made in what is known in Cariocan land as QUADRINHOS. Made by his own author, the comic version was widely diffused by that nation newspapers. 

Due to his great success, O MENINO went to be on stage with shows practically sold-out from the moment the premiere of the play was mentioned.

But it is in the movies when the little kid dressed with grow-up clothes and a cooking pot as a hat saw his best and most profitable adaption.