Brazillian Wizard of Oz - Victor Lustosa - (1984) DVD

Brazilian production, perhaps the most inane musical comedy ever made, which of course makes it a must see! The Tramps (bunglers) star in this definitely offbeat retelling of the Wizard of Oz laced with social commentary; the Tramps team up with a scarecrow, the tin man and the cowardly lion to find the Wizard of Oroz and help them fight injustice; starring Renato Aragao, Dede Santana, Mussum, Zacarias and Xuxa Meneghel; directed by Victor Lustosa and Dede Santana.

Alternate Plot

Failing to obtain any vultures to eat, being the only potential food in the severe drought of Northeastern Brazil, Didi and his friends, Soró and Tatu, put their hut on a wagon pulled by their burro, Salvation, and head for the town of Oróz, believing they can find water there. On the way, they find a Scarecrow, whom Didi calls Clowbrush (clown+brush), besieged by vultures reminiscent of the crows in The Wiz (1978/I). They kill and eat the vultures and take the brainless Scarecrow with them, hoping a doctor at Oróz will put them in. They next stumble upon a warehouse, finding a man in a metal vat of rum, which is his blood, yet he desires a heart. In the town of Oróz, Sheriff Lion works for Colonel Ferreira, who owns a pond using gigantic frogs to keep people from obtaining water without paying.

Lion's girlfriend, Aninha the schoolmaster, thinks he is a coward for not standing up to the Colonel. The Tramps, with Vat and Clowbrush, arrive and promptly rob a bakery. Sheriff Lion puts Soró and Tatu in jail, while to redeem himself, he is ordered to supervise Didi, Vat, and Clowbrush in a search for water, which is their punishment. After disguising themselves as Ferreira's guards, they are nonetheless discovered, so they flee to a desert, where a saint points them to the Wizard of Oróz, who fiendishly supports their mission... The film, while a spoof of a famous story, was also intended to make people aware of the conditions in the Northeast, which Aragão said he could not show in any greater detail, lest the film be terrified by the reality of the plight in that area.

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