Gatarina e a Voz da Harmonia

Gatarina e a Voz da Harmonia (literally translated as Gatarina and the Voice of Harmony but released in the US as The Magical Adventure of Catarina) is a 1989 Brazilian animated musical fantasy adventure film directed by Rodrigo Barbosa and produced at Estúdios Pintura, starring Gatarina (the anthropomorphic persona of pop star/TV hostess Catarina) and the first in her quadrilogy of animated films.

It premiered in Brazil on December 21, 1989 through Columbia Pictures and ART Films and was later released internationally.

Synopsis
Gatarina suffers from a bitter rivalry with her sister Gisela; the feline optimist prefers to put others before herself and make them happy while her arrogant sibling cares more about fame. One night, Gisela is scheduled to perform at a local talent function and she offers her sister a spot on stage to try and make up for it but Gatarina says she'll only accept if the neighbourhood kids get to attend for free. This causes another feud between the two whereupon the malevolent demon lord Silem arrives to steal Gisela's singing voice.

Guilt-stricken, Gatarina takes it upon herself to traverse a desolate world hidden from regular society and face numerous challenges involving an array of eccentric creatures to retrieve the singing voice from Silem, who plans to use it and act upon his vision of a united and harmonious world... but Gatarina learns what makes real harmony. Moreover, this journey will put her kindness and selfless disposition to the test.

Impeding her progress along the way are the Confusions, Temptations and Deceptions, but she is accompanied on her journey by the friendly and bookish dragon Livrogão.

Production
With Catarina's evening kid show on Rede Bandeirantes moderately picking up steam and her albums/videocassettes selling fairly well in her home country, Kirschner decided to create an animated character adapted from her likeness and produce an animated feature. Rodrigo Barbosa and his studio Pintura were contacted and eventually agreed to make the film (after Kirschner was impressed by the studio's short works and being provided a lullaby animation segment for Catarina's show).

Catarina's animated representation was designed as an anthropomorphic calico cat to match her then known childlike naïve optimist persona, also inspired by the 1970's Disney films The Aristocats and Robin Hood (both of which she enjoyed during her childhood).

The film took 22 months to complete, with the animation produced at Estúdios Pintura in São Paulo, Brazil, and some parts subcontracted to Jaime Diaz Productions in Argentina, with sponsorship by Bob's, Fanta, Johnson & Johnson and Lacta.

Reception
The film received mixed to positive reactions from critics and the general public. While some considered it derivative of fantasy adventure films like The Wizard of Oz, Labyrinth and The NeverEnding Story, others complimented the movie for its stylized look and message.

In the United States, the film received Film Advisory Board's Award of Excellence and has been positively rated by some parental organizations.

Home media
Sometime after its initial release in Brazil, Vídeo Ban (then a division of Bandeirantes) released it on VHS in conjunction with ART Video in February 1990. Years later, Paramount Home Entertainment released the film on DVD in December 2007, containing Dolby Digital 2.0 Portuguese, Spanish and English dub language tracks as well as subtitles. It was included in a set with the other three films in the classic Gatarina quadrilogy.

In the United States, GoodTimes Entertainment released the film under its Kids Klassics branding (under license from MCA) in 1991. MCA/Universal Home Video later re-released it in December 1995 and again through Universal Studios Home Video in 1998.