Alejo & Valentina
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Alejo & Valentina (Alejo y Valentina in Spanish) is an Argentine flash cartoon by Alejandro Szykula. It was created in 2002 and is very popular among the Spanish-speaking audience. The cartoon is targeted to teens and adults "with a childish mind".
The animation style is very simplistic and the storylines are filled with a random comedy tone, which seems to be the main factor of its success. The protagonists are mainly Alejo and Valentina, based on the creator himself and his ex-girlfriend. Other main characters are Carlitox (a short guy who greatly resembles the Lemmings creatures) and El Viejo (The Old Man).
It is currently being aired in MTV Latin America, with new episodes being broadcast on a weekly basis.
Contents |
[edit] Episodes
There are currently 16 online episodes, which are divided in two seasons, plus the episodes that are being aired on TV, making a total of 22 episodes.
[edit] Season 1
- 1-01 - La vida misma (Life as it is, or Life Itself)
- 1-02 - Mc King (a pun on McDonald's and Burger King, the well-known fast food franchises)
- 1-03 - Invasión extraterrestre (Alien Invasion, a parody of classic science fiction films depicting alien invasions)
- 1-04 - Especial de terror (Horror Special, a parody of a number of horror films including The Exorcist among others)
- 1-05 - La fiesta (The Party)
- 1-06 - The Matris (a parody of The Matrix)
- 1-07 - Sucursal 77 (Office 77, a parody of the government's administration's bureaucracy)
- 1-08 - Volver al futurox (Back to the Futurex, a parody of Back to the Future)
- 1-09 - Locura extraordinaria (Extraordinary Madness)
- 1-10 - Almorzando con Carlitox (Lunching with Carlitox, mocking the Argentine show Almorzando con Mirtha Legrand)
[edit] Season 2
- 2-11 - La vieja y la piedra (The Crone and the Stone)
- 2-12 - Kill Rick (a parody of Kill Bill)
- 2-13 - La Pesadilla de Carlitox (Carlitox' Nightmare mocking "Nightmare on Elm Street")
- 2-14 - La Isla de lo' mono' (The Island o' Munkey, mocking the Monkey Island series. "Mono" is Spanish for "Monkey" (some Spanish-speaking countries may use 'Mono' or the feminine equivalent 'mona' as slang for cute or handsome. This is not the intended meaning in this case)
- 2-15 - Behind The True Celebrities Stories Uncensored Flash (a pun on E! True Hollywood Story and Celebrities Uncensored)
- 2-16 - Episodio 16 (Episode 16, mocking Episodes IV, V and VI of the Star Wars saga)
- School Project - Fundación Guillermo Franchella (Guillermo Franchella Foundation, a special episode about AIDS)
- La Isla de lo' mono 2' (The Island o' Munkey 2, the second part of La Isla de lo' mono).
[edit] TV Episodes
- 17 - Alejo y Valentina contra los muertos vivos (Alejo and Valentina Versus the Undead)
- 18 - Volver al futurox EXTENDED (Back to the Futurex EXTENDED)
- 19 - Kill Rick EXTENDED
- 20 - Expreso a Pilar (Pilar Express- mocking The Polar Express)
- 21 - The Matris EXTENDED
- 22 - Termineitor D.O.S (a parody of the popular film Terminator, and the operative system)
- 23 - Salgamos afuera (Let's go outside out)
- 24 - Recatate soldado Brian (a parody of the film Saving Private Ryan)
- 25 - El día de Colorín (Colorin's Day)
- 26 - Liberen a Carlitox (Free Carlitox)
- 27 - Darth Baston (Darth Cane -a parody of Darth Vader from the film Star Wars)
- 28 - El día que Alejo conoció a Maradona (The Day Alejo Met Maradona)
- 29 - El Cumple del Viejo (The Old Man's Birthday)
[edit] Main Characters
The main characters of the series are Alejo, Valentina, Carlitox and El Viejo (The Old Man).
[edit] Alejo
Alejo is a self-parody of Alejandro Szykula, the creator of the show. He is 22 years old and heights 1.78 meters. His favorite soccer team is River Plate.
Alejo always wears the same clothes: a purple shirt and black pants. He has white skin and black, short hair. He is extremely patient and usually inexpressive, always speaking with the same tone and with very similar facial expressions.
When he has his normal personality, he thinks that that he and Valentina have to have sex with clothes always, except if they are in the bath, because of what he learnt in the episode La vida misma (Life as it is, or Life Itself). We also know that when he will be an adult (or older), he would like to be a Playmobil.
Sometimes, he changes his normal personality, turning to an aggressive and violent guy. That happened in the episodes Volver al futurox (Back to the Futurex), Locura extraordinaria (Extraordinary Madness)-where he even transforms in a beast resembling The Incredible Hulk- and Volver al futurox EXTENDED (Back to the Futurex EXTENDED). He also seems skilled on the lightsaber swordfighting.
According to the story El Viejo told in episode 1, La vida misma (Life as it is, or Life Itself), a stork who was going to hand over the baby Alejo was killed because of a ray which fell in it, so the baby Alejo fell in a forest and then in a river which finished in a waterfall. But he survived and fell in a sewer which finished in a beach where he met Valentina, who was also a baby in those moments. But in episode 16, Episodio 16 (Episode 16), El Viejo admitted that he was Alejo's father (although we don't know it accurately), so the story of episode 1, could be true or a lie. But he developed very fast, and so did Valentina.
Catch Phrases:
- ¿Y si vamos a comer comida? (How about we go eat food?)
- La quiero con mayonesa, sin ketchup y con mostaza. (I want it with mayonnaise, no ketchup and with mustard)
- ¿Y cómo hay que hacer? (And how do you do it?)
- ¡Que vengan todos los putos, loco! (Let all 'em fags come at me, man!. a more accurate translation would be: "bring it on, motherfuckers!" as an answer to a challenge )
- ¿Vos Sos Dios? (Are you God?)
- ¡Recatate, boludo de mierda! (Chill out, you fucking asshole!)
- ¡Che Valentinaaaa!
- Me parece una propuesta diferente y buenísima. (I think it's a different and awesome proposal)
[edit] Valentina
Valentina, based on Alejandro Szykula's ex-girlfriend, is a 22-year-old woman married to Alejo. She heights 1.75 meters. Her favorite soccer team is Boca Juniors.
Just like every other character in the show, Valentina always wears the same clothes: a pink dress. She is very similar to Alejo both physically and psychologically. She has dark, long hair and white skin. She is extremely inexpressive, and speaks with the same tone in every situation. Like many others characters on the series she's a very skilled martial artist and quite proficient on the use of the katana. She's also incredibly strong.
We also know that when she will be an adult (or older than now), she would like to be a dancer (according to the special episode School Project - Fundación Guillermo Franchella (Guillermo Franchella Foundation, a special episode about AIDS).
According to the story El Viejo told in episode 1, La vida misma (Life as it is, or Life Itself), a stork who was going to hand over the baby Valentina, was caught by an UFO (without Valentina), so the baby fell to the Papapipa city to a rubbish lorry. When the lorry was crossing a bridge, a broken down helicopter fell on the lorry, destroying it and also the bridge. Valentina fell in a sewer which finished in a beach where she met Alejo, who was also a baby in those moments. But you don´t know if this story is true or a lie accurately, because in episode 16, Episodio 16 (Episode 16), El Viejo admitted that he was Alejo's father (although we don't know it accurately), so Alejo couldn't have met her in the beach and she also couldn't have met him there. But she developed very fast and so did Alejo.
Catch Phrases:
- Yo quiero un sánguche. (I want a sandwich)
- Hay que tener sexo. (We have to have sex)
- Me tocaron el culo. (Somebody touched my ass)
- ¡Alejo!
[edit] Carlitox
Carlitox is a 25-year-old short guy with messy green hair. His favorite soccer team is Rosario Central. He's about 5'2 tall. He has the ability to float magically anywhere. (This is later explained in a parody segment where Carlitox meets the Clown from the movie "It" (based on the book by Stephen King) that tells him "Everybody will float!...")
He always wears a blue T-shirt and black pants. Usually, he gets into people's houses without asking for permission and introduces himself by saying "Hola, vengo a (verb)" (Hello, I've come to (verb)). Carlitox is very impatient and active, and most of the time he is doing something. Whenever he has something new and interesting, he likes to show it off to the rest of the characters.
Carlitox's father supposedly fought in the Malvinas/Falkland War with El Viejo, and died when he saved El Viejo's life.
Catch Phrases:
- Hola, vengo a flotar. (Hello, I've come to float)
- Hola, vengo a (...). (Hello, I've come to (...) )
- Hola, vengo a revolear las patas. (Hello, I've come to swing my legs around)
- Hola, vengo a romper las bolas (Hello, I've come to break the balls).
- Bueno, chau. (Well, bye)
- Mirá, mirá, tengo (...), mirá. (Look, look, I've got (...), look)
- ¡Jo-joo-jo! (Carlitox' ultimate trademark laughter)
- Ehm, me parece una muy buena idea. (Ehm, I think it's an awesome idea)
- Tengo un (...) en el garaje, nunca lo use. (I have a (...) in my garage, never used it)
[edit] El Viejo
The charismatic El Viejo (The Old Man), often called El Viejo del Bastón (The Old Man Of the Cane), is a very old man who spends a lot of time with Alejo, Valentina and Carlitox. His favorite football (soccer) team is Chacarita Juniors.
El Viejo always wears the same grey robe. He often appears spontaneously at any place, and acts wise even if he isn't smart and his advice is actually useless. He is known for his Paraguay accent, ending almost every sentence with 'viteh' (y'see), a word derived from 'viste' (you see). He seems to have a crush on an older lady -the character named La Vieja-, and is often seen in guru impersonations, like Hattori Hanzo or Pai Mei from Kill Bill. He also claims to know Victor Sueiro.
He has the skill to teleport anywhere, in the same way the X-man Nightcrawler, including the trademark explosion. He's in great physical condition, and he's as muscular as a bodybuilder
Catch Phrases:
- Hola, viteh. (Hi, y'see)
- Tengo chaleco, viteh. (I've got (bulletproof) vest, y'see)
- Pero, ¡¿vos sos loco, viteh?! (But, are you crazy, y'see?!)
- Lo que hagas puede tener repercusiones en eventos futuros, viteh. (Anything you do may affect future events, y'see)
- Vamo' a matar a los bichos, viteh. (We're gonna kill all them bugs, y'see)
[edit] Secondary Characters
- Panchita: A girl who has a blue hair, able to defeat her lices and also other people's ones.
- Gregory: A fat man who often spends his time with Alejo, Valentina and Carlitox. He usually plays important roles in Season 2 episodes, even though he was a minor character in the first season. In the first episode it's revealed that he's partially involved in the rise of the dead.
- Sebastián: Appears in the episode Recatate Soldado Ryan.
- Andrés: Appears in the episode Recatate Soldado Ryan as Sebastián's lost brother.
- Cara de Cocou: a metafictional character that often appears in the "Cara de Cocou & Pirín Show", a show-within-a-show.
- Pirín: Cara de Cocou's friend in the "Cara de Cocou & Pirín Show".
- Lorna: Cara de Cocou's girlfriend in the "Cara de Cocou & Pirín Show".
- Cacho: A friend of Alejo and Valentina who often helps them. He is very impatient. He´s always talking with his girlfriend with his mobile, always saying "Hola gorda?" and selling things to the other characters. He never seems to lose his cool ("How many zombies can there be...one, two, three zombies...we kill them all")
- El Paraguayo Alternatonto (The Alternastupid Paraguayan): Appears in the episode "Expreso a Pilar" and in the episode "Behind the Flash" saying "¡Qué drogadicto que sos!" (What a drug-adict you are!)" .
- El Chino del restaurante (the Chinese Guy from the restaurant): a man with a Chinese accent and likenesses that works on a Chinese food restaurant.
- Kabronero: a parody of one of Alejandro Szykula's friends.
- Dumloco: another parody of one of the creator's friends.
- Negro: a tramp that is always asking for pennys.
- Colorín: an alien that speaks through the stomach. His pronunciation is impossible to understand.
- Doctor Socolinski: Alejo and Valentina's doctor, based on the TV celebrity by the same name.
- Ricardo: A man who always plays the role of the villain in every episode where he appears. He is a strange guy and his real identity is Ricardo Montaner, a well-known musician. He is often seen perplex as Ratón Pérez tricks him, then saying, "Me cagó, el ratón me cagó" ("He screwed me. The mouse screwed me").
- Ratón Pérez: A mouse that walks in two feet and always tricks Ricardo. He is supposed to exchange teeth for money, akin to the American Tooth Fairy.
- Peronemlins (also Menemlins and Alfonsinemlins): They are Gremlins with famous Argentinian politicians heads (Juan D. Peron, Carlos Menem and Alfonsin) They came out of a Gizmo Lamp because it was on during the midday, they are killed by Valentina in the "Kill Rick" episode.
- Rafutín: Creature that appears in several episodes as an extra but never has had a major role.
- Matías A young man that always wears a red shirt and whenever someone says something he doesn't agree with, he answers "Me chupa la pija vos y *something*, boludo!" (You and *something* can blow me, you asshole!"
[edit] "Yo quiero un sanguche" ("I want a sandwich")
(The number of times Valentina said this famous phrase)
- McKing: Twice Before Alejo said "La quiero con mayonesa, sin ketchup y con mostaza" ("I want it with mayonnaise, no ketchup and with mustard"), because they had decided to go to eat at McKing before going to the cinema and before Alejo finished to order food at McKing, finishing saying "...y ella se llama Valentina" ("...and she is called Valentina").
- La Fiesta (The Party): Once Before Alejo said "La quiero con mayonesa, sin ketchup y con mostaza" ("I want it with mayonnaise, no ketchup and with mustard"), when he was trying to order food to the Chinese guy from the restaurant (Valentina interrupted the conversation).
- Volver al Futurox - 2º parte (Back to the Futurex - 2º part): Once When she had around 9 years old in the past and she was with Alejo in McKing ordering food before Alejo said "Che, Valentina, ¿y vos que queres?" ("Hey, Valentina, and what about you?").
- Behind the flash: Once When the last part of the episode "McKing" was shown.
- Volver al Futurox - Extended (Back to the Futurex - Extended): Once When she had around 6 years old in the past and she was with Alejo in McKing ordering food before Alejo said "Che, Valentina, ¿y vos que queres?" ("Hey, Valentina, and what about you?"). This part is the same as in the not extended version.
- Expreso a Pilar (Pilar express): Once When she and Alejo were in the Pilar Express in front of a hotdog seller before Alejo said "¿Y si comemos comida?" ("What about we eat food?").
- The Matris - Extended: Once When she, Alejo and other characters were ordering food to "El Negro" ("The Negro"), before saving the world.
- El Día en que Alejo Conoció a Maradona (The Day Alejo Met Maradona): Twice When everybody was ordering food to Cacho.
- El Cumpleaños del Viejo (The Old Man's Birthday): Four times When everybody were deciding where to go to have lunch and she said "¡Entonces vayamos al McKing que yo quiero un sanguche!" ("So let's go to McKing that I want a sandwich!"). Then Alejo said "La quiero con mayonesa, sin ketchup y con mostaza" (I want it with mayonaise, no ketchup and with mustard") and she said "I want a sandwich" again, so Matias said "Pero ya lo dijiste, boluda" (But yo have just said it, dumb") and Valentina said "Pero quiero un sanguche" ("But I want a sandwich").
Then she said it again when Alejo was ordering food at McKing.
[edit] Trivia
Alejo & Valentina was in negotiations with the Argentine TV channel Telefé to be aired in the primetime show El Show de VideoMatch. An official announcement was made by the show's host Marcelo Tinelli during the program, but no episode of the webcartoon was ever aired in that show. Alejandro Szykula said it was not possible because he had creative differences with the production staff of VideoMatch and decided to leave.
[edit] Effects in popular culture
Alejo & Valentina has released a lot of catch phrases within its audience, for example:
- "Yo quiero un sanguche" (I want a sandwich).
- "Hola, vengo a flotar" (Hello, I've come to float). When Carlitox says this, he instantly starts to float in mid air for no apparent reason. Also, he says "Hola, vengo a (...)" (Hello, I've come to (...)) as a way to introduce himself.
- "Pero, ¡¿vos sos loco, viteh?!" (But, are you crazy, y'see?!). El Viejo says this very often to show his skepticism or dissaproval.
- "¿Y si vamos a comer comida?" (How about we go eat food?)
- "¿Vos sos dios?" (Are you God?)
- "¡Se me vuela el sombrero!" (My hat is being blown off!)
- "Tengo el chaleco, viteh" (I have a (bulletproof) vest, y'see). First said when Carlitox thought El Viejo was shot to death -lying on a pool of his own blood-, then he revealed that he had a bulletproof vest. Since then, he repeats that phrase to change subjects as a distraction (.
- "Vos sos una negra sucia" ("You're a dirty nigger woman", though a more accurate translation would be "you're a dirty tramp")
- "Me parece una muy buena idea, pero no le digas a nadie" ("I like the idea, but do not tell anyone")
- "Uy que divertido, me lo llevo" ("That's real funny, I'll take it")
- "Se me hunde el barco" ("My ship is sinking")
- "Yo no toco plata, dénsela a mi socio" ("I don't touch the money, give it to my associate")
- "Mirá a la vieja" ("Look at that old woman")
- "Me chupan la pija vo' y tu vieja, yo ya me voy a comer" ("Blow me, you and your mother, I'm going to eat")
