Patito Feo
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Patito Feo is an Argentine children's and teen comedy drama telenovela produced by Ideas del Sur that originally aired on Canal 13 for two seasons, from 10 April 2007, to 3 November 2008. The series centers on Patito, a teenager with exceptional vocal talent who moves from a small town to Buenos Aires. She enrolls in a prestigious performing arts school, where students are divided into two rival groups, Las populares and Las divinas, the latter led by the arrogant Antonella. As she pursues musical success, Patito confronts lookism, intense school rivalries, a love triangle, and the mystery surrounding her biological father's identity.
Created by Alejandro Stoessel, Mario Schajris, and Marcela Citterio, Patito Feo was produced by Ideas del Sur in association with Televisa. It stars Laura Esquivel and Brenda Asnicar, alongside Juan Darthés, Griselda Siciliani and Gloria Carrá, with a large ensemble cast. Following its successful run in Argentina, Disney Channel acquired the series' broadcast rights and aired the show in over 40 countries across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Despite having received mixed reviews, Patito Feo achieved strong ratings and became an international phenomenon.
Alongside the series, three soundtrack albums and a live album were released, earning multiple certifications across Latin America and Southern Europe and supporting concert tours throughout both regions. In 2007, Patito Feo won the Martín Fierro Award for Best Children's-Youth Program and was nominated in the same category the following year. At the 2008 Gardel Awards, its music recordings received four awards. It was also nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Children & Young People at the 36th ceremony.
Plot
Patricia, lovingly known as Patito, has to leave her humble life in Bariloche with her mother, Carmen, to move to the big city of Buenos Aires. For health reasons, both travel so Patito can receive the medical treatment that she needs. To Carmen's surprise, the doctor of the hospital will be her unforgettable old love, Leandro, the unknown father that Patito has been waiting to find for years.
Due to her passion for music, Patito joins the Pretty Land School of Arts, where she will meet Antonella, the queen bee of the prestigious private school. Antonella is the daughter of Blanca, who is engaged to Leandro for financial reasons. Antonella is unaware that her family is made up of a group of swindlers, which is why her presumed deceased father is actually in prison in Spain.
Patito and Antonella will become best frenemies. Despite their differences, both share the same dreams: reunite with their respective fathers and became music stars. Two decisive groups will be formed at the Pretty Land School of Arts: Las Divinas, led by Antonella, and Las Populares, led by Patito, who will compete to win the talent show and sign a record label.
Cast
Main characters
- Laura Esquivel as Patricia "Patito" Castro
- Brenda Asnicar as Antonella Lamas Bernardi
- Thelma Fardin as Josefina Beltran
- Eva De Dominici as Tamara Valiente
- Gaston Soffritti as Matias Beltran
- Rodrigo Velilla as Felipe Sanchez
- Brian Vainberg as Facundo Lamas Bernardi
Recurring characters
- María Sol Berecoechea as Sol Démini
- Juan Manuel Guilera as Gonzalo Molina
- Nicolás Zuviria as Alan Luna
- Nicolás Torcanowsky as Santiago Peep
- Camila Outon as Pía Zanetti
- Camila Salazar as Caterina Artina
- Nicole Luis as Luciana Menditegüi
- Andrés Gil as Bruno Molina
- Santiago Talledo as Guido Leinez
Background
The series started filming in 2006 in Buenos Aires. With a huge marketing push, the show started its run in April 2007 in Canal 13. Following the phenomenon it generated in the country, the show started airing internationally by Disney Channel across Latin America, Europe, and Asia under the title Patty’s World, the official title for non–Spanish-speaking countries, translated into their respective languages (Il Mondo di Patty, O Mundo de Patty, Bota e Patit, Le Monde de Patricia, etc.).
It premiered on Disney Channel Latin America on July 23, 2007, on Disney Channel Italy on June 9, 2008, and on Disney Channel Spain on September 14, 2009, and subsequently on the respective national networks of Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Albania, Portugal, France, Turkey, Romania, Belarus, Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia), Bosnia and Herzegovina, among others. The series was ultimately broadcast in more than 50 countries, achieving worldwide success.
Patito Feo succeeded in positioning its discography at number one on international sales charts with Patito Feo: La historia más linda (2007), Patito Feo en el Teatro (2007), La vida es una fiesta (2008), and the live album Patito Feo: El musical más bonito (2010), becoming the best-selling soundtracks of the year and certified for 11× Platinum in countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, among others.
From 2007 to 2011, Laura Esquivel and Brenda Asnicar became Argentina’s leading teen idols of the time, performing for more than two million spectators worldwide during four musical tours. After staging numerous performances at the Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and serving as opening acts for High School Musical at the Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti, the actresses toured countries across Europe and Latin America, performing in venues renowned for their historical prestige. Highlights included Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional, the Arena di Verona in Italy, the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, and the Faliro Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece, among other major arenas, where performances were repeated for up to three consecutive days. Due to high public demand, the respective solo tours of the lead actresses were announced, further solidifying its status among critics as a genuine cultural phenomenon.
The show spawned over 200 international merchandising including a collection of books, bestselling novels and magazines, as well as products such as DVDs, school supplies, clothing (including an exclusive fashion collection at El Corte Inglés between 2009 and 2011), footwear (Cover Your Bones, among other brands), dolls, perfumes, makeup, accessories, board games, electronic toys, collectibles, costumes, and decorative items. Two Patito Feo video games were released by PlayStation. Patito Feo: El juego más bonito was released on November 4, 2010, for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), receiving the award for Best Product of the Year granted by Televisa. SingStar Patito Feo was released on December 3, 2010, for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2, compiling the greatest hits from its soundtrack in karaoke format.
In 2008, Patito Feo won the Martin Fierro Award and received a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Children & Young Adults program.
Although the show was incredibly well received by the audience, Patito Feo attracted huge criticism due to the fact it glamorized the villains, a group of mean and beautiful girls that called themselves Las Divinas (The Divines). Besides being superficial, Las Divinas were also mean and bullied Patito. The fact the villains were much more popular among young girls than the main character caused concern over some groups and the issue was even on the cover Noticias, Argentina's most important current affairs magazine, under the headline "The Triumph of Discrimination".
Legal problems
In late 2008, Alejandro Stoessel, creator of Patito, was fired. Disagreements between him and the production company started after two shows he was in charge of, the second season of Patito Feo and the teen-oriented show Atraccion x 4, failed to reach expectations and ended up being canceled. After parting ways with the company, he started a lawsuit against Ideas del Sur asking for a part of Patito Feo profits because he claims he was responsible for creating the entire concept. The lawsuit not only was the reason a new leg of a Latin American tour was canceled but also a European tour, where the show was also enjoying huge popularity.
After his dismissal, Alejandro Stoessel was hired by Dori Media to develop a new show targeted to kids and teenagers.
At the same time, Ideas del Sur started to develop a new youth-oriented show, Malcriados (now titled Consentidos), and chose Brenda Asnicar, who had enjoyed high popularity in her role as Antonella, as one of the lead actresses. At the same time, Dori Media and Stoessel wanted her to star in their new show, Ñeka.
Brenda finally decided to do the Dori Media project and, not satisfied with being turned down, Ideas de Sur started a lawsuit against Brenda's management since her contract stipulated she should prioritize Ideas del Sur projects over other production companies.
Finally, Ñeka was renamed Mia, mi Amiga Invisible and will debut at Mipcom in Cannes starring Brenda. But the show is also facing various lawsuits: besides Ideas del Sur, Valeria Britos, the creator of the original script (when it was titled Ñeka), is also suing Dori Media.
The lawsuit prevented the cast, especially Brenda Asnicar, of touring across Europe in 2010 to promote the show.
International release
External links
- (archived 2007, in Spanish)
- at IMDb