Bem vindos a meu louco mundo...Translation
Julie e os Fantasmas (in English, Julie and the Phantoms), created by Fabio Danesi, Paula Knudsen and Tiago Mello, is a Brazilian children's show that ran from October 2011 to April 2012 on Nickelodeon. It was sponsored by Monster High. The show was well received by critics, winning an APCA (São Paulo Association of Art Critics) Award and being nominated for two Kids Choice Awards and one Emmy Kids Awards. In 2020, it was remade by Netflix for American audiences under the name Julie and the Phantoms.
Julie (Mariana Lessa) is a musically gifted but shy teenage girl who moves into a new (old) house with her father and little brother Pedrinho (Vinícius Mazzola). One day, she meets Daniel (Bruno Sigrist), Félix (Fabio Rabello) and Martim (Marcelo Ferrari), three teenage ghosts who used to be in a band together, but died before they could take off. With Julie's songwriting and singing talents, the four of them form a new band and Julie learns to get over her stage fright with the help of her new ghoul friends.
This work contains examples of the following tropes:
- The '80s: The boys were a band and died during the early 80's.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Daniel, despite himself, has feelings for Julie, who has a crush on Nicolas, who is dating Thalita, who doesn't seem to actually like him that much. Initially. Then it gets... complicated.
- Alpha Bitch: Thalita definitely qualifies.
- Bait-and-Switch: Daniel spies on Nicolas to see what he says about Julie as a way to get Julie back into the band (on her request) and finds out Nicolas only sees her as a friend and thinks she's boring. He nonchalantly claims he's going to tell her the truth, and then the time comes...Daniel: He said... (sees Julie staring at him with Puppy-Dog Eyes) Your eyes.Julie: My eyes? What about my eyes?
- Betty and Veronica: The popular and friendly Nicolas (the Betty) VS the sarcastic and standoffish rockstar Daniel (the Veronica) as the rivals for Julie's (the Archie) romantic affections.
- Boy Meets Ghoul: Gender inverted. Though they start off on the wrong foot, the very much alive Julie eventually develops feelings for the very much dead Daniel.
- Cool Big Sis: Julie to Pedrinho. Can't get much cooler than your big sister being the lead singer of a rock band.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Downplayed, but Daniel immediately turns into a five year old whenever Nicolás is concerned.
- Deadpan Snarker: Daniel, full stop.
- The Ditz: Martim has good intentions, but he's certainly not the brightest bulb. Valtinho isn't much better, either.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: How Daniel, Félix and Martim met their end. It isn't actually shown, save for a few pictures their ex-keyboardist still has (... for some reason), but it is described. They (and their keyboardist) had just signed a record deal and they were going to recreate The Beatles' iconic Abbey Road album cover when a truck suddenly drove by and drifted, crashing onto them and possibly crushing them to death, with the keyboardist only surviving because he happened to be on the sidewalk. Keep in mind this is a show meant for children. It's both horrifying and sad due to how sudden and
realistic it is, not to mention that the boys were only 16 or 17 years old. One can only imagine how their parents reacted. - Friendly Ghost: Ghosts are mischievous at worst in this universe, and the main premise is about three ghosts befriending a teenage girl.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Daniel towards Julie. Three times. The first being when he, knowing that Julie has feelings for him, pushes her into someone else's directions in hopes that she will get over him and have a normal relationship with a living boy. The second when he begs Julie not to pass up an opportunity, even if it means leaving him and the band behind. And the third when he finally gets over his Entitled to Have You tendencies for real and fully lets her go so she can be with Nicolas in the last episode.
- Jacob Marley Apparel: Ghosts appear to always wear the clothes they died in, though it appears they can change but simply choose not to, as Demetrius is shown dressed like a teenage boy at one point and the Spectral Police has to have gotten those uniforms on somehow.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Daniel may be an egotistical jerk at times, but he always does what's right in the end.
- Mundane Utility: Félix turns invisible to help Daniel cheat at cards, Daniel helps Julie cheat at school, among other examples.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: In this universe, ghosts can physically interact with the living, but it's illegal for them to do so, which is why they have a Spectral Police and why the boys have to disguise themselves in order to play in a band with Julie.
- Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Bia and Julie in Episode 3. They get better.
- Power Perversion Potential: Discussed. Julie asks how she can be sure that three male teenage ghosts won't use their invisibility powers to spy on her while she changes.
- Rock: The genre Os Insólitos plays.
- Shrinking Violet: Julie, at least in the beginning.
- Sickly Neurotic Geek: Though he's not really a geek, Félix otherwise qualifies. One episode has him accidentally walking through a person with a face mask on and getting immediately paranoid he's caught whatever that person had, despite the fact that he's dead.
- Silly Love Songs: Você Não Sabe
and Invisivel about Nicolas. Also Reação Química, heavily implied to be about Daniel, though this is about a more complicated love.But I look at you // And it's worth it to try // To be more than invisible to you - Smitten Teenage Girl: Julie with Nicolás in the beginning. She initially only has eyes for him and turns into a blushing mess when he's around. She gets better.
- Song of Many Emotions: Reação Química, as mentioned above. Though Daniel sings it in the show proper, the lyrics make it clear it's actually about him and it's sung by Julie in the original recording.I don't know if I // Just like looking at you // I'm just certain I can't know // [...] // It's strange, but // My body's going crazy, I don't know what's wrong with me // That is why I'm not going to sit here // Trying to understand what I just can't explain
- Star-Crossed Lovers: A rare example where one of them is already dead. Julie and Daniel's romance is doomed from the start, what with Daniel being a ghost, but they still fall for each other, hard. They decide to remain just friends in the end.Who am I to change // What the world chose for me? // I have to accept it's better this way // Who am I to change // What destiny chose for both of us? // If I leave, I promise not to look for you then.''Original
- Those Two Guys: Félix and Martim are almost never seen without the other and usually aid Pedrinho in his endeavors.
- Tsundere: Daniel towards everyone, but mostly Julie. He's rude and condescending at first, but he eventually starts to show his romantic and sensible side.
