Condorito: The Chilean Icon

Condorito: The Chilean Icon

• Condorito is a comic book character created in 1949 as a response to Walt Disney's 1942 film "Saludos Amigos," which represented Chile as a plucky infantilized plane.
• Condorito is a mischievous, lazy, charming, and irresponsible condor who often ends his comic strips with a "flop take" and the caption "Plop!"
• He was created by René Ríos Boettiger, a Chilean cartoonist, as a response to Disney's portrayal of Chile.

The Creation of Condorito

• In 1941, the U.S. Department of State commissioned Walt Disney to produce a movie to increase goodwill towards America in South America.
• The movie, "Saludos Amigos," premiered in 1942 and featured a character named Pedro, a little mail plane who represented Chile.
• René Ríos Boettiger saw the film and decided to create a character that truly represented Chilean identity.

Characteristics of Condorito

• Condorito is a down-on-his-luck condor who hangs out with his friends at the Bar El Tufo (The Halitosis Bar).
• He is known for his adult humor and is often depicted as a cad.
• He has a close circle of friends, including Don Máximo Tacaño (Sir Maximal Stingy), Ungenio (A Genius), Garganta de Lata (Tin Throat), and Yayita, his bombshell girlfriend.
• The town of Pelotillehue, where Condorito lives, is dirty and vital, populated by weirdos, and has a patron saint named San Guchito.

The World of Condorito

• Pelotillehue has an intense soccer rivalry with neighboring Buenas Peras, plenty of stray dogs, and a fancy restaurant called El Pollo Farsante (The Charlatan Chicken).
• Condorito's friends include Don Chuma, a neatly dressed mustachioed string bean of a man, and Huevoduro, a man with an egg for a head.
• His nemesis is Pepe Cortisona, a roided-out jock with blinding teeth and great hair.

The Impact of Condorito

• Condorito captured the essence of the Chilean character: goodwill, humor, a healthy sense of mischief, and a never-ending capacity to hold a grudge.
• The character has become a beloved icon in Latin America, with a magazine that has been popular for decades.
• Condorito has been adapted to fit local cultures, with the Argentine edition, for example, having 50% Chilean content and the rest adapted to Argentine idioms and humor.

The 2018 Film Adaptation

• The 2018 film adaptation of Condorito, directed by a Brit and produced by a Peruvian film company, is a 3D animated film that tries to appeal to an international audience.
• The film's attempt to water down the character's rough edges and misogyny has resulted in a film that bears little resemblance to the original comic strips.
• The film's animation is beautiful and smooth, but it loses the lo-fi, low-tech aesthetic of the original comics.

Condorito: The Chilean Icon

• Condorito is a comic book character created in 1949 as a response to Walt Disney's 1942 film "Saludos Amigos," which represented Chile as a plucky infantilized plane.
• Condorito is a mischievous, lazy, charming, and irresponsible condor who often ends his comic strips with a "flop take" and the caption "Plop!"
• He was created by René Ríos Boettiger, a Chilean cartoonist, as a response to Disney's portrayal of Chile.

The Creation of Condorito

• In 1941, the U.S. Department of State commissioned Walt Disney to produce a movie to increase goodwill towards America in South America.
• The movie, "Saludos Amigos," premiered in 1942 and featured a character named Pedro, a little mail plane who represented Chile.
• René Ríos Boettiger saw the film and decided to create a character that truly represented Chilean identity.

Characteristics of Condorito

• Condorito is a down-on-his-luck condor who hangs out with his friends at the Bar El Tufo (The Halitosis Bar).
• He is known for his adult humor and is often depicted as a cad.
• He has a close circle of friends, including Don Máximo Tacaño (Sir Maximal Stingy), Ungenio (A Genius), Garganta de Lata (Tin Throat), and Yayita, his bombshell girlfriend.
• The town of Pelotillehue, where Condorito lives, is dirty and vital, populated by weirdos, and has a patron saint named San Guchito.

The World of Condorito

• Pelotillehue has an intense soccer rivalry with neighboring Buenas Peras, plenty of stray dogs, and a fancy restaurant called El Pollo Farsante (The Charlatan Chicken).
• Condorito's friends include Don Chuma, a neatly dressed mustachioed string bean of a man, and Huevoduro, a man with an egg for a head.
• His nemesis is Pepe Cortisona, a roided-out jock with blinding teeth and great hair.

The Impact of Condorito

• Condorito captured the essence of the Chilean character: goodwill, humor, a healthy sense of mischief, and a never-ending capacity to hold a grudge.
• The character has become a beloved icon in Latin America, with a magazine that has been popular for decades.
• Condorito has been adapted to fit local cultures, with the Argentine edition, for example, having 50% Chilean content and the rest adapted to Argentine idioms and humor.

The 2018 Film Adaptation

• The 2018 film adaptation of Condorito, directed by a Brit and produced by a Peruvian film company, is a 3D animated film that tries to appeal to an international audience.
• The film's attempt to water down the character's rough edges and misogyny has resulted in a film that bears little resemblance to the original comic strips.
• The film's animation is beautiful and smooth, but it loses the lo-fi, low-tech aesthetic of the original comics.