Cocoricó

Development and Production

The concept for Cocoricó began on June 12, 1995, when Jorge da Cunha Lima, then president of Fundação Padre Anchieta, proposed a children's production in partnership with SESI. This initial idea, called 'Fazenda Rá-Tim-Bum', was a crossover between Rá-Tim-Bum and Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum set on a farm, but it was discarded that year due to a financial crisis that canceled several children's show projects. The concept was later revived in 1997 and eventually became Ilha Rá-Tim-Bum in 1998.

The project was reformulated into a cheaper format similar to the existing Glub Glub, featuring simple stories interspersed with short cartoons. It reused the character Júlio from the 1989 TV special 'Banho de Aventura', with puppets made by Renato Criaturas. According to Bia Rosenberg, there were plans to use animatronics for the chickens, but costs were reduced and normal puppets were created by Fernando Gomes. The first episode in 1996 showed Júlio presenting a television given by his grandfather so his barn friends could watch cartoons, initially accompanied only by Alípio, Lola, Lilica, Zazá, Mimosa, and Kiko.

Episodes focused on dialogues between characters with breaks for cartoons, but over time new characters were introduced and stories became more elaborate, emphasizing the puppets. The series received a revamp in 2003 under Fernando Gomes, with better stories, larger scenarios, new puppets and characters, and no cartoons. In 2007, new characters were added with emphasis on João, Júlio's city cousin. A 2010 reformulation shifted to an urban setting with Júlio and friends spending holidays in João's apartment, and the first episodes premiered theatrically.

On July 9, 2012, another reformulation called TV Cocoricó began, featuring live episodes with interviews and sketches. The series ended in 2013 when the contract with the production team concluded and the broadcaster chose other projects.

Characters

Júlio is the main character, an eight-year-old boy living on a farm with his grandparents; his parents never appeared. His best friends are the farm animals. Lola is a yellow chicken wearing a pink hat, best friends with Zazá from childhood, often acting as the trio's leader, more tolerant of children, and sharing knowledge from her travels; she was initially called Aurora. Zazá is a red chicken with glasses, the eldest of the trio, characterized by a short temper and grumpiness; she was originally named Isaura.

Lilica is a red chicken with a blue bow, the youngest at six years old, often cared for by Lola and Zazá, impatient and stubborn, sometimes annoying others with her immature behavior, but a good friend to Júlio, Caco, and Alípio; she was first called Doralice. Kiko is an adult parrot and Caco's uncle, a sailor who traveled widely and presents himself as a know-it-all; he was present only in early years and removed in the 2003 soft reboot, though Caco mentioned his uncle returned to traveling.

Alípio is the farm horse with a caipira accent, works on the farm, plays with the children, considered Júlio's best friend until João's introduction, a big eater who loves corn and foods made by Júlio's grandmother. Mimosa is a jolly blue cow who provides milk for Júlio's grandparents, a good friend of Lola and Zazá, recurring in early years but later reduced to a minor character.

Media

After the 2003 reformulation, DVDs were sold, some containing episodes and others music videos from the episodes. By 2005, these DVDs, especially the music video compilations, had sold over 216,000 copies, reaching the top of best-selling television series DVDs in Brazil, surpassing series such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Friends. On March 19, 2006, a book titled 'Cocoricó - O Livro' was launched at the São Paulo Book Biennial, featuring stories adapted from episodes, with further books published later.

In 2007, Cocoricó was adapted into a comic book series by Editora Globo after Globo signed a contract with Cultura Marcas, following Mauricio de Sousa's contract end; the comic was canceled in 2008 after eight issues when Globo ended comic book publications. Another comic book using photo comics of episodes was published in 2012 by Deomar, lasting only four issues. In 2014, an endless runner mobile game called 'Cocoricó: Brincando de Pega-Pega' was released for smartphones, allowing players to play as Júlio, Alípio, Lilica, Astolfo, or João in a game of tag; it is no longer available for download.

Reception

Upon its 1996 premiere, Cocoricó faced plagiarism accusations from cartoonist Ely Barbosa, who claimed TV Cultura copied his project 'Celeiro Encantado', created in 1990 for Rede Manchete but never produced. After the 2003 revamp, the series became more popular and widely known. According to Fernando Gomes, the program attracted both children and adult audiences and was considered one of the best puppet shows in the world, recognized at international festivals.

The success of DVD sales led TV Cultura to profit from various Cocoricó-branded products during the 2000s. Some parents online reported that children up to four years old had 'Cocó' as their first word. In 2003, Cocoricó won the Festival Prix Jeunesse Iberoamericano in Chile in the category of best preschool series. In 2004, it was awarded best TV series at the Festival de Cine Infantil de Ciudad Guyana in Venezuela.

In the late 2010s, Júlio became an internet meme compared to singer Ed Sheeran, particularly from the music videos 'Sing' and 'Happier', leading the character to deny the meme on his YouTube channel.

Did You Know?

• The series is set in a town called Cocoricolândia in the interior of São Paulo.
• Júlio and his friends are sometimes tormented by a pair of troublemaking animals named Dito and Feito.