‘Tromba-Trem’: check out the chat with the cast and director of national animation

Inspired by a series of the same name released in 2011, ‘Tromba-Train’ hits theaters this Thursday featuring the forgetful elephant Ganjah and his troupe. In an interview with Crescer, Marisa Orth, who unleashes a loud voice like the famous cat Mirella Miramontes and Ed Gama who takes a chance on a rap song like the imaginative Calango Leso, talk about the creation of their characters. Director Zé Brandão reveals why he decided to turn his protagonist’s origin story into a feature film. Check out:

The characters in the film were inspired by the series, but where did the idea to expand this universe into a feature film come from?

Zé Brandão: The ‘Tromba-Trem’ series begins with an elephant falling from the sky from a mysterious airship. And everyone who followed the drawing asked: “when are you going to answer the question where he came from and what is his past?”. And we always knew that it wouldn’t fit in one episode. So we decided to make a movie to tell this story and filled it with music, jokes and new characters.

What most interested you when you received the invitation to the film?

Marisa Orth: I love animation, it was an amazing chance to be a part of building the project and the character before the movie was ready. I always loved Quino, Asterix, Maurício de Sousa and Disney, they were my childhood. By looking at the lines in the comics, I could already see if the artist was a good actor. On the one hand, the logic is similar. The difference is that the actor acts with his own body and the designer through a puppet. So I’ve always been interested in watching that. They invited me to the project and said it was from the same production company as ‘Irmão do Jorel’, which I, in my ignorance, didn’t know about. People were shocked by my ignorance and I felt very old, but I quickly caught on. My son already knew, obviously (laughs). When I saw their other works, I liked the proposal, the script and the character even more and it was just a joy to accept this invitation.

It was also really cool to have the experience of creating my own character, without having to base myself on what had been done in the original by a foreign actor. It’s a different technique. I really admire both. Giving a new voice to a character is also very difficult, it’s like being able to shine in a tight little box. Now, being able to make your own sequence of notes is luxurious. It’s up to you to decide when the character opens or closes his mouth and whether or not he looks to the side. It’s incredible power.

Ed Gama: I think the coolest thing anyone can do is voice an animation because it’s such a crazy process and when you see it done it’s amazing. The pleasure of making Brazilian animation was what most caught my attention and being able to count on a team that was super open to suggestions. My character has many interventions, several words and phrases from the popular Northeastern songbook. I was very happy to be able to add these words that are part of my daily life and that of my family to the film.

The film discusses the impact that instant fame and popularity on social media can have on people’s lives. How do you observe this in the new generations?

Ed Gama: Nowadays, we live in a moment when everyone wants to be famous, wants to have a booming profile and a million followers. A while ago, everyone wanted to be a football player. In fact, I do comedy because it’s my life, it’s my day to day and fame is a consequence of work. The film shows that it is important that fame is not your main goal, but a consequence of what you do. So, regardless of what you’re going to do in life, it’s important to do it well not to be famous, but to be proud of it.

Watch the trailer: