Mafalda (1982) - full transcript
Argentine's answer to Peanuts and Charlie Brown is Mafalda. This episodic movie is compiled of several TV shorts based on the comic of the same name about young Mafalda and her friends, who deal with the world in their own way.
Spring.
The colours.
The flowers.
Music.
Love.
Without doubt, spring...
...advertises itself better than
anything in this world.
This is Mafalda.
And this is mummy.
Mummy, what would you like to do
when you grow up?
This is daddy.
Hello!
Daddy. Every day we send
a father...
...to that wretched office and
this is what they send back.
l have decided to face reality.
lf it starts to look any better,
let me know, okay?
This is Phillip.
Oh! l'll tell you what l'd like.
To go on safari!
l'd go deep into the dangerous
jungle,...
...and in the morning, l'd
follow the trail of a wild boar,...
...or a black panther,
or a Bengal tiger,...
...or an African lion.
Ah! l can see myself facing the
wild beast.
His eyes will stare at me.
And l... And l...
What would l do?
And l...Oh!
How do l know what l'd do?
There are too many ways
to be a coward...
Me contribute to humanity?
Me have kids to perpetuate
the species?
What does the species matter
to me?
l want to be a mother...
...not a factory making
replacement parts.
This is Susan.
lt breaks my heart when l see
poor people,...
...how about you?
l've got nothing against
the poor. You saw me.
Quit to the contrary, l think
they need help and protection.
And what is more,...
...l think that most poor
people,...
-...don't do it out of spite.
-What do you mean spite, Susan?
We should give shelter,
work, protection...
...and welfare to the poor.
Why so much? Couldn't we just
hide them?
This is Michael.
How does time get round
the corners...
...in a square clock?
Tell us the story of your life.
Well, l was born,...
...at five months l had
my first tooth.
Then, by the time l was two,...
...l could talk really well.
Now l go to nursery school,
and...
Well, that's all.
The worst thing about
being a boy,...
...is that when you tell your
life story...
...it takes two seconds flat.
This is Manolo.
We are all equal,...
...except some of us have money.
Ha!
Hello, Manolo.
Do you only think about your
future business?
Oh, yes. About my future
supermarket.
l can see you now,
all grown up,...
...in front of your supermarket.
ln front of my fabulous chain
of supermarkets.
And you'll have lots of workers.
Hundreds and hundreds
of workers.
And they'll work happily because
you will pay good wages.
l will pay excellent wages.
No!
You're mad! Look what you made
me say!
This is the world of...
...Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
lt can be really hard to get up
and face the world.
Good morning, world.
Good morning, mummy.
Do you know if they've banned
nuclear weapons yet?
l'm not sure, Mafalda,...
...but l don't think so. Why?
Well, nothing special,...
...but it'd be really nice to
wake up one morning...
...and discover that finally,...
...one's own life...
...is one's own responsibility.
Have you got your pencil case,
Mafalda?
Yes, mummy.
Well, if you're going
to help me,...
...would you give the globe
a good clean?
Should l clean all
the countries...
...or just the ones with bad
governments?
You just couldn't help giving
your opinion on the world.
Out!
Leave my world alone!
Wretched fly!
Get out!
Take that!
l killed it.
Please tell me, did you have
great plans for your future?
When l'm grown up,...
...l want to be an interpreter
in the United Nations.
That way l can help people
to talk to each other.
l'll learn English and Russian.
l think perhaps it would also
be wise to learn karate...
...to settle any doubts.
What are all these books?
They're mine, from when l was
a student.
You studied, but you weren't
a serious student, were you?
Not a serious student?
Of course l was serious.
So why didn't you finish
studying?
Well, l got married...
Why did you leave university
when you got married?
That's how it was.
You mean, if you hadn't got
married,...
...you would have finished
at university...
...you would have a degree...
...you would have had a title...
...and you would be somebody.
Hello, daddy.
Hello.
Please tell me,
what is the cold war?
Mafalda, even if l explained,
you wouldn't understand.
Right, because l'm stupid...
lt's not something for children.
Alright then,...
...how about explaining it
without the pornographic bits?
Nervocalm for one.
Nervocalm, of course.
Do you have the prescription?
Here it is.
Good.
Nervocalm. Nervo...
here it is.
Here's the money.
Miss, this isn't for you, is it?
For me? No.
Ah!
lt's for my daddy, who still
hasn't explained to me...
...what eroticism means.
Could you explain it to me?
But this container has been
opened.
No, l had to give some to the
poor pharmacist.
Poor mummy,...
...she's worried that l won't
like it when l go to school.
lt'll be really easy
to calm her down.
-Hey mummy?
-Yes, Mafalda?
l want to go to school, and then
l want to go to university...
...and l'll study hard, so that
l won't grow up to be...
...a frustrated mediocre woman,
like you.
lt's good to reassure
one's mother.
Hello, Manolo!
Hello!
Are you working?
Yes, can't you see?
Bloody hell!
What do you think?
Do we grow more from the
bellybutton upwards...
...or from the bellybutton
downwards?
l don't have time to answer such
stupid questions.
What's more, we can't grow
downwards, stupid.
Don't you know that's where
the ground is?
So you're stealing the gold.
Give yourself up!
l am the Lone Ranger!
The Lone Ranger?
Pleased to meet you, my name's
Rockefeller.
What can l do for you?
There's always a sarcastic
materialist...
...waiting to spoil my
fantasies.
This can't be happening.
-Ants!
-Ants!
Oh my God! This is a disaster!
The ants are eating my plants!
There's nothing worse than ants!
-Who's that?
-Susan.
Come in, Susan. l'm glad to have
you in my humble home.
This is my mummy.
She was a student, before she
got married.
She went to school and
everything?
-Of course.
-Did she go to university?
-Of course.
-And did she have a boyfriend?
A boyfriend? No.
So she went to university for
nothing.
-This is my daddy, see?
-Hello.
Are you fixing the plug, sir?
No, l'm filling it with sugar.
Then when the ants come...
They'll get electrocuted.
How could anyone be frightened
by such a good idea?
l've finished delivering
the orders, dad.
Already.
You're a pretty good fellow,
my lad.
Come over here to your old dad.
Go on you little rat, go and
play outside for as bit,...
...you've earned it.
A hug with my dad.
Just like everything,...
...as soon as you've got your
feet on the ground,...
... the fun stops.
Get on! Why are you waiting?
Go on, up you get!
l've got to go and help
my mummy.
Well, l really ought to be
serving in the shop.
lt's getting late and l'd like
to watch my soap opera.
Well, we'll just have time
to play atomic war, right?
Yes!
Okay, bye.
ln this modern world,...
...even the games are getting
shorter every day.
The newspapers are full
of bad news...
...and nobody sends them back
on account of it.
Life is full of bad things,
but we all accept them.
You want me to take this salami
back because the filling is bad?
Excuse me, madam!
Manolo,...
...my mummy has sent me to buy
some olives.
Are they good?
They're special for executives.
Try one!
The problem is you're just like
everybody else.
You just imagine you know what
executives are really like.
Mr Managing Director,
the Rockefeller Corporation...
...begs a few days to raise the
millions that are owed.
No!
To the table! The food's ready.
Soup! Not soup again!
But Mafalda, if you don't eat
your soup...
-...you won't grow up.
-Grow up?
Grown up like who?
Like mummy, like me.
Then it's just not worth it.
l look like a girl drying these
plates.
A girl, a girl, a girl!
l have said to myself ten
thousand times...
...that it is not girlish to
help my mummy,...
...it is being a gentleman.
Gentlemen always help
their mummies.
So don't confuse the two, right?
Being girlish is one thing,...
...but being a gentleman is
quite another.
The good little girl cleaning
the dishes!
Mafalda, turn that light off!
Go to sleep, it's midnight.
Okay.
As well as being mummy all day
long,...
...she also does overtime.
Daddy.
ls everybody equal in this
world?
Yes, Mafalda, yes.
We are all equal.
Why don't you go to sleep...
...instead of worrying about
things?
l'm not worrying, l only asked
if we were all equal.
Okay, see you tomorrow.
But, who equal to who?
Next we present a roundup of
international news.
Mafalda,...
...turn that radio off and go
to sleep. lt's one a.m.
...dead, injured and arrested.
Now for the traffic report...
The batteries are dead.
Or have they run out of
international problems?
Goodnight, world.
l'll see you tomorrow.
Be careful, there are still lots
of irresponsible people awake.
The role of public relations...
...is to show people, that we
businessmen...
...have a human side.
-Susan. What are you doing here?
-Hello. How are you?
Help yourself, Susan.
My father's shop invites you...
...to taste a delicious sweet.
Thank you.
Just one delicious sweet!
The role of public relations...
...is to show people we are
human,...
...but not stupid.
Philip, would you go and get
some milk for me?
l'm sorry, mummy.
l just haven't got time.
What?
Of course for grown ups...
...that lie is always valid.
Here comes Commander
Neil Armstrong...
...travelling through space.
NASA has sent him on a mission
into space...
...to find samples of
moon rock.
My mummy sent me to buy some
bread.
Commander Neil Armstrong
is returning home,...
...he's planning not to give the
change back to NASA,...
...they've already got millions
to spend on the space program.
Manolo's shop.
Good morning!
Who's speaking, is it Manolo JR?
At your service, madam.
This is Mafalda's mummy.
Could you bring me my order?
Right away.
Thank you, Manolo.
Put it in the kitchen, please.
-Hello, Manolo, how are you?
-Working as you can see.
A sweet?
Thank you, Manolo.
lt's delicious!
lts a free sample of something
my father's shop sells cheaply.
Now l understand.
You have an ulterior motive.
But the poetry of commerce calls
this public relations.
Please, have you got
a soft drink or something?
Have a look in the fridge.
What's wrong with you?
There is the corpse of a dead
bird in the fridge.
There's only a roast chicken.
What corpse are you talking
about?
lt's dead and if it's dead, then
what is it? What is it?
No, not that, please no.
But son,...
...this is leg of chicken that
you're so fond of.
Education?
Are you going to study it?
No, but there are things that
it's best to know about.
Here it is. Listen.
One should reply
simply and clearly...
...to the questions
of your children.
From today onwards that is how
l shall answer Mafalda.
lt's not here either.
This is really mysterious.
What does it look like?
Well, l give up.
Daddy, the world, l mean,
the earth, what sex is it?
What do you mean what sex...?
But Mafalda, how is the world
going to have a sex?
On top of everything that's
happening to it,...
...our poor earth is sexless?
When l'm grown up
l'm going to have a son.
l'll breast feed him,
l'll bathe him,...
...as he's going to be
a beautiful baby,...
...he'll debut in television.
Then he'll go to school and be
top of the form.
Then he'll go to university and
study medicine.
He'll be a specialist doctor,
who makes lots of money.
He'll take me for drives
in his huge luxury car.
Until one day
he will meet a girl...
Mummy, l'd like you to meet
my girlfriend..
And what if she's a bad woman?
An ambitious woman,
out to destroy him?
What if she ruins him?
Bloody pregnancy!
What a lovely doormat, Michael!
What does it say?
According to my mummy it says,
welcome,...
...but l hate it.
-But why do you hate it?
-ls that you, Michael?
Yes, mummy. l brought Mafalda
home to play.
Your polishing slippers! Where
are you going...
...without your polishers?
Do you want a dirty flat?
Obviously.
That's it, l'm the one who
should be cleaning all day,...
...all day shut in here,
me the idiot.
l hate the doormat because
it's a hypocrite.
Don't play in the dining room.
-Yes, mummy.
-And another thing. When...
...you've finished, don't leave
your toys all over the place.
Put them away.
Don't run in your new shoes,
you'll break them.
Don't jump on the sofa,
you'll break it.
l'm tired of always hearing the
same thing.
Could you tell me, what's the
use of being a child...
...if they don't let you play?
Daddy, when you were a boy,
did you go to school?
Of course l did, son,
just like everyone else.
Did you learn lots of things?
Well, learn, we did learn.
The kids who were a bit slow,...
...they used to beat us.
But if they used to punish you,
why did you use to go to school?
Because if l didn't go,
then my father would beat me.
He'd beat some sense into me!
So then, your childhood was one
long bout?
One long what?
l mean if you didn't get it
from one side then...
-...you got it from the other.
-Well, l suppose you're right!
Spare the rod, spoil the child.
We'll start going to school
soon.
Do you realise, Susan?
We'll learn to read, to write
and to do sums...
Don't you think it's wonderful?
Yes, in some ways yes,...
...but not in others, it's sad
to throw away...
...a whole life dedicated to
illiteracy.
l can't see what good
it will do me...
...to go to school,...
...if the only thing l want
to do in life...
...is get married
and have children.
lf they only teach me to read
and do sums,...
...well l that could be useful
when l do the shopping,...
...but as for the rest,...
...can you tell me what use
the other subjects are?
Philip, you've already been
in first grade,...
...what's school like?
Tell us!
lt's hell!
What's wrong with you?
Why aren't you playing?
We're going to start
school soon.
What's wrong with that?
What do you mean, what's wrong?
When you were a boy,...
...weren't you upset
when school started?
Me upset? But what's wrong
with you?
lt's wonderful to go to school.
Yes, but God knows what the
teacher is going to be like.
And then they start with
the homework...
...and then there's no time
to play or to read comics.
Next Monday all over the country
school term will start.
Enough!
Yes, l didn't like it either,
me neither.
Children grow so quickly...
Well, l could give you
the next size up.
That's better,
we'll take this one.
This one, but this one.
Do you think l'm a clown?
But Mafalda, l'll alter it.
l'll bring up the hem and
l'll shorten the sleeves...
...then you can wear it
next year as well.
What? l refuse to let you
go about...
...sewing and unsewing
my future.
What a cute little girl!
Philip!
Philip, Philip!
Philip!
ls it true that at school...
...the teachers hit
the children?
No, that was before. Now,...
...things are very different.
What? Now the children
hit the teachers?
No, it's not like that either.
Like always,...
...the changes are never
radical enough.
Bloody hell!
Are you going to read?
Just a little bit.
Remember that tomorrow
we've got to get up early.
We've got to take Mafalda
to school.
Mafalda going to school.
Just think Mafalda's
going to start school...
Yes, it's true.
lt's wonderful.
Our daughter's going
to start school.
Our daughters going
to start school!
Daddy, daddy.
Yes?
About parents watching over
their children at night...
Yes, what about it?
Your snoring is spoiling
your parental credibility.
You saved me from the monster!
Thank you, daddy!
This program was sponsored
by Manolo's shop,...
...where everything is cheap.
What's happening?
-What do you want now?
-l'm ready for school.
Come on, l mustn't be late...
...on the first day of school.
The moment has arrived
Yes, her first day of school.
What's wrong with them?
Nothing. lt's just that
some children...
...can't bear to be separated
from their mummy.
Okay, see you later, sweetheart.
l'll come and pick you up
after school.
No, mummy, l only have to go
across the park and l'm home.
-Bye.
-Goodbye, darling.
Will you please shut up?
Shut up now!
Look at the little girl,
she's not crying.
Aren't you ashamed by how
she's looking at you?
She'll think you're a cry baby.
Don't you think so, little girl?
No!
The little girl has a conscience
and sympathises with him.
Dear children,...
...once again, l welcome you...
...into this sacred institution.
School.
To the smallest of you,...
...who are here for the first
time...
...in this temple of
knowledge,...
...l promise you that here you
will find a second home,...
...where every teacher
will give you...
...the thing that all mothers
give their children.
Love.
That was lucky, l thought
she was talking about soup.
Time for class, children!
Look, Susan.
A globe just like mine.
lsn't it beautiful!
But Susan, l think you enjoy...
...fighting the whole time.
lf our great heroes
had never fought.
Who'd have heard of them now?
Nobody, absolutely nobody.
lt's the first time l've ever
heard of heroes fighting...
...to advertise themselves.
Philip, how was it?
Good, good.
l'm so lucky with my teacher.
She's such a wonderful woman,...
...kind-hearted...special.
You're very lucky to have
a teacher like that,...
...because the teacher is
someone we must see every day.
And every week,...
...and every month,...
...for a whole year.
She's an unbearable witch.
Hello, mummy.
Mafalda, how did your
first day of school go?
Good, fine. Really good.
We learnt loads of things.
What about you mummy? How was
your day in this boring hole?
ls Mafalda back from her first
day at school yet?
-How did you get on, Mafalda?
-Fine, thanks.
Do you know that in our class...
...there's a tiny little globe?
A metal one, of course.
Are you ready? Time to eat.
Soup.
l was so happy today and now
you have to give me soup.
Happy or not,
you'll drink it up.
Why do l have to drink it?
Because l tell you to
and l am your mother.
lf you need qualifications,
l am your daughter.
And we both qualified
on the same day, didn't we?
-Hello.
-Hello.
ls your ice cream nice?
Yes, it's delicious.
Would you share with me?
Share? With you?
Alright,...
...for being mean and selfish
the devil will punish you.
You'll see.
l can't even get a taxi
when l need one.
Oh my God!
Damn it.
l bend down to pick up a book...
...and suddenly my back hurts.
What's wrong with me?
ls it that my body is ageing
faster than l am?
Am l getting old?
No, how could l imagine
such a thing at my age?
What if l've been sitting
a draught?
l've been sitting in a draught.
course. That's it.
Obviously someone left
oor open and...
...suddenly without noticing it,
l'm thirty-seven.
Let me think!
How old did you say you were?
Please help homeless children.
Help homeless children, please.
Please help homeless children.
Please help the homeless
children.
Please help the homeless
children.
Peoples of the world!
Can we sit on our stomachs...
...while half of humanity
lacks appetite?
What's wrong with them?
Why are you looking like that?
lt makes me sad to see
poor people as well.
Don't be such a hypocrite.
Please, believe me.
Look, when we're ladies...
...we'll start...
...a big foundation to help
the underprivileged.
We'll organise dinner
and we'll eat turkey,...
...chicken, piglets and all that
stuff they eat at dinners.
Like that we'll raise funds...
...and then we can buy
flour for the poor,...
...kidney beans, pasta, maize...
...and all those disgusting
things that they eat.
lt's logical that others
feel old when they're 37.
Yes, but me, how could l
possibly feel old?
Come on, l am sat all day...
...in that wretched office
without doing any exercise.
And if l went to the gym
to do some exercise?
That's is some stretching.
One, two.
One, two.
One, two.
One, two.
One, two.
One, two.
Mummy, your first boyfriend,
was it him or someone else?
lt's not time for such questions
it's time to sleep.
Come one go back to sleep.
But l just wanted to know if you
were her first boyfriend or not.
Right, that's enough.
Do you hear me? That's enough!
And you, who are you
thinking about?
l'm off on a business trip,
l'm an important executive.
l'm going to check out
foreign competition...
...the growth of their
companies...
...and their major supermarkets.
Bloody hell! What a life!
Getting the children do
free composition,...
...helps me to understand their
characters,...
...as they express themselves
through their paintings.
Just so,...
...painting reveals
the personality.
Don't you mean...
...that the paint covers
the personality.
l think l've got the wrong tube.
l left the other one at home...
Poor daddy!
What is this? Paint?
Come on, l don't believe you.
l promise you, l'm not lying.
But that's impossible. Not even
a little black and white one?
No, but anyway, so what?
Am l a Martian because l don't
have a television?
She hasn't got a telly!
She hasn't got a telly!
-Daddy.
-Yes, Mafalda?
The children at school look at
me like a Martian...
...because l don't have
a television.
Really? Well look,
you could reply that....
...not having a television
doesn't make you a Martian.
l already did. They said that
it doesn't make me a Martian.
lt makes me an idiot.
Mafalda!
What are you doing, mummy?
l am cutting out a recipe.
What? Does the newspaper teach
cookery as well?
No, but it shows different meals
to vary the menu.
Did you find something yummy?
Yes, daddy's going to love it.
What is it?
Fish soup.
Soup! A curse on the freedom
of the press!
At least looking after plants
is a nice quiet hobby.
l want a television!
Let's see, let's see...
lt smells delicious!
A little more, a little more.
Soup!
You'll drink it up. All of it!
A relaxing shower.
A perfect shave.
An impeccable shirt.
A delicious coffee.
A happy family.
An excellent cigarette.
And this is where things
stop being...
...like they are
in advertisements.
What if l bought Mafalda
a television?
l mean, all of her friends
watch television.
Even if they do lounge about
all day singing...
...those wretched pop songs.
No! That's enough!
l'm not going to let Mafalda be
a retard singing commercials.
Cursed be the day that they
invented the television.
All the wise people at court...
...laughed at Columbus.
Nobody believed him,...
...but he kept on believing that
the earth was round.
-What a donkey!
-Everyone believed it was flat.
Round like a ball.
He was stubborn that Columbus.
Okay children,
did you understand?
lf you didn't understand
put your hand up.
Yes, Manolo. Which bit of the
lesson didn't you understand?
Well, if the truth be told,...
...l haven't understood a thing
since the first day of class.
Bloody hell!
An interesting lesson today.
lnteresting. The teacher made me
look stupid again.
They're going to kill me,
when l get home.
Come on, Manolo,
it won't be so bad.
l can see that you don't...
...have to avoid my dad's hand.
Or my mum's slipper.
And l have to go to school
for them to treat me like that.
Like that.
lf l turned up once in a while,
well it could be expected.
But to behave like that to
someone who comes every day...
Behaving like that
to a regular client!
Tell me, Philip,
do you have a television?
-Yes.
-l don't.
My daddy won't buy one. He says
that it warps children's minds.
That's silly.
l've got a television
and my mind isn't warped.
Well maybe my daddy didn't
mean warped minds...
...maybe he meant
deformed heads.
lf l buy Mafalda
a television,...
...she'll spend all day
sitting...
...watching things that
she doesn't understand.
And violent serials,...
...and advertisements that are
of absolutely no use.
Has policy 7 47 expired?
No, no sir.
Please hurry up then, we've got
to get it in today.
Right away, sir.
Television deforms
children's minds.
And to think
the Pope himself said...
...that television
unites the family...
lf the Pope had children
he'd see it differently.
What the Pope have children?
Have you gone mad?
Or do you want me to sack you
for being a communist?
Philip, look at that
cute little television.
How sophisticated!
Philip, do you watch
a lot of television?
Sort of. But frankly it doesn't
interest me very much.
There's no hope.
God gives bread to those
who have no teeth.
-To those who have no what?
-Te...
Well, there was no reason
to take it so personally.
Give me some chocolate.
Mafalda's going to be so happy
when she sees this.
Come on you, little swine.
Do your prep.
Study, you thick head.
Okay, go on hitting me...
...but one day l'll show you.
When l have my big chain
of supermarkets,...
...my biography will be
published...
...in all the newspapers.
And everybody will know how
you mistreated me, dad.
This beating will also appear...
...as another bitter anecdote...
...of my childhood.
Go on hitting me, go on.
You just keep on giving me
more anecdotes.
l'm home.
Guess what l've brought you.
A television.
You brought me a television.
Well? What's wrong?
Did you bring it or not?
Um. Well...
-No.
-So what did you bring me!
Well, a bar of chocolate.
Bah! A bar of chocolate.
l want a television.
l never thought that something
as delicious as chocolate...
...could have such a bitter
taste of disaster.
Hello, Michael.
Hello.
What are you eating?
Popcorn.
Popcorn, popcorn.
lf you don't share when
you eat...
...you'll turn into a frog
with webbed feet.
You greedy pig,...
...don't you know if you don't
share when you eat...
...you'll turn into a frog
with webbed feet?
Look, to tell you the truth...
...we selfish people
never believe...
...in those old wives tales.
Selfish brat!
Children, please write.
My mummy loves me.
My mummy looks after me.
Bloody hell!
My mummy loves me.
My congratulations, Miss.
Now we know that you have
a mummy...
...who loves you
and looks after you.
She's an excellent mummy.
Now, please would you...
... teach us something that is
actually important.
My dad said that if he'd kept
all the money he's spent....
...on my books and materials...
...and invested it
in the shop,...
...he'd have made a 30% profit.
So?
l told him that my education
and my culture...
...were also a good investment.
Very good, Manolo.
-So what did he say?
-No.
Not with that retarded
face of yours.
Hello. ls your mummy in, child?
The television!
The television!
Who is it, Mafalda?
Madam, we've brought
the television.
Ah, yes. Do come in please.
This way, please.
-Where shall we put it, madam?
-On that little table.
And where should we put
the little girl?
But, Mafalda...
Mummy, they brought the
television, didn't they?
ls it true or is it an illusion?
Yes, Mafalda. Daddy
bought you a television.
Monocotyledons...
...have leaves...
...without petioles
and their petals...
He looses the man marking him
and also the full back.
l'd like to be a footballer,...
...and not have to go to school.
This attack looks pretty
dangerous.
He's getting near the area.
There's only one defender and
the goalkeeper left.
l think he's going to score
He's going to shoot.
Foul! An awful deliberate foul.
Attention, ladies and gentlemen
we are informed...
...that he has broken his leg.
Monocotyledons...
...have leaves
without petioles...
...and their petals...
lf l tell her not to watch
so much television,...
...she'll end up hating me.
Why don't you speak to her?
Right, me. lt's always
got to be me.
Look Mafalda,...
...it'd be better if you didn't
watch so much television.
Because sitting there
for so long...
...your imagination...
What? You said that
the television makes...
What?
What, darling?
Soup!
Get up, Manolo. lt's time
to go to school.
Bloody hell!
l warn you that this time
l'm serious!
l'm sick of it!
l'm not going to school
and that's it! lt's over!
Do you see,
this you little swine?
Come on, Philip. Get up you're
going to be late.
No...! l don't want
to go to school.
Mummy! l don't feel like going
to school today.
What? lt's okay, Philip.
Stay home.
l too once was a girl...
...and l remember when someone
was absent...
...l used to love to go
and sit at their desk.
At my desk?
Never!
You'll never sit in my place
you jealous fat pig!
l'll never give ...
...that fat moron Bertolucci
the chance.
My mummy doesn't smack me with
the slipper any more,...
...if she shows it to me it's
enough to make me go to school.
-What?
-Well that's it,...
...today audio-visual methods
are fashionable.
Monocotyledons have leaves
without petioles...
...and their petals
and stamens...
...are arranged in groups
of three.
Monocotyledons...
Goal!
Monopetioles...
No...no.
The Petimonodioles... No, no.
Oh drat! How did it go?
Motopetoladons...
Oh, God, l've forgotten.
Alright Manolo, read out yours.
A few words about spring.
When spring takes hold
and begins,
the plants have lots of leaves
and flowers.
People drink more lemonade
and soft drinks...
...and other sorts of drinks.
And beer and ham as well.
The shops shut later...
...because it doesn't get dark
as early...
...as it does in winter,...
...when it's impossible to sell
anything at 5:15 in the evening.
Spring however is
a much better season.
We're all much happier...
...when spring comes.
Manolo Boreiro.
Mother Nature is so clever!
lf that bird had died,...
...l wouldn't have been able
to sleep for three months.
Hi-ho Silver!
We'll rob a bank and get away
with a great haul.
Go on, l'll cover you.
This is a robbery!
lf you don't like the prices go
to another shop, madam.
l'm sorry, it's a habit.
Susan, stop in the name
of the law!
l've been shot.
Great sorrow and mourning will
be caused by the loss...
...of someone like me,
a person who gained the love...
...and affection of everybody
who knew me.
My death will leave a gap
difficult to fill...
...in many different circles
of society...
...in which my noble character
manifested itself,...
...my sensibility,
my generous heart.
What's wrong with them?
Don't you want to play?
Look, a bee.
Shall we kill it?
No, it's wrong to kill bees.
-No?
No,...
Bees are good
and hardworking,...
...they make honey which is
healthy and nutritious.
Now l understand.
We shouldn't kill them because
they work for us.
lsn't that it?
How beautiful!
Thanks be to God
that it's spring!
Thanks be God that it's spring
and l'm still alive!
l do say the silliest things.
Hello.
Are you the dove of peace?
Long live aggression!
Long live the H-bomb!
lt really is the dove of peace!
Hello, Manolo.
Hello, Susan.
So, you're putting up
the prices, are you?
l'll bet that's the part
of the business...
...that you like best, isn't it?
No, no, you know how it is.
The costs go up and we have
to increase our prices.
All that inflation,
all that inflation...
Finally one gets fond of it.
Bloody hell!
How much does your daddy earn?
Well, you know the shop doesn't
leave us much profit.
Sometimes we even loose money.
Are you serious?
Then my daddy...
...earns more than
your daddy does.
Don't you understand, Michael?
How's the world not going
to have problems?
When it's daytime in America,
it's night in China.
Do you understand?
So that means half the world
is awake...
...while the other half
are asleep.
That's it. That's why it's
impossible for them to get on...
...500 million people
are having lunch...
...while another 700 million
are snoring.
-Certainly.
-lt probably means that...
...the divisions in this world
are not political,...
...but to do with sleep.
What's up with Michael, Mafalda?
Why is he walking like that?
As it's night on the other side of the world,...
...he doesn't want to wake the
people that are asleep.
That reminds me of something
that Mao said,...
...if all 700 million
of the Chinese people...
...agreed to stamp
on the ground...
...at the same moment,...
...the world would be
in serious difficulties.
lsn't that funny?
No, it's not funny.
We'll have tea and we'll gossip
like the ladies do.
Let's play.
Right, who's going to say
the first stupidity?
Me. l've got it all planned out.
Firstly, l'm going to be
a great lady.
Then l'll have lots and lots
of children.
Then l'll buy a big house,
an immense one.
Then l'll buy a cute little car.
And jewels, lots of jewels.
And then later on,
l'll have grandchildren.
That's not a life,
it's a royal family.
Yes, yes, yes.
l don't think l'll go
to work today.
Are you really
going to stay home?
Well...
l'll stay, l'll stay. Yes, yes.
l knew that would happen.
We know that the earth
is shaped like a...
Like a what?
Like a...? lt's...
Yes, it's a what?
Ah, yes. lt's a sphere.
A sphere. Yes, that's correct.
And it is slightly dented...
Where?
ln the spirit.
At the poles, Manolo.
At the poles.
Well, in 1853,...
...Mr Juan de Garay,...
...who had just disembarked from
a boat on the river Plate,...
...was killed. By whom?
Oh, no. l might be slow, yes,...
...as slow as can be,
but an informer, never.
Manolo, why so serious?
What's wrong?
l'm worried about my exams.
Come on.
You'll see how
it all works out okay.
Exams aren't that bad.
ln the end, they'll be easier
than you think they are..
-What are you talking about?
-About what's in store for us.
That's it, Philip's worried
about his exams.
What does a cat have to do
to live? Be a cat.
What does a bear have to do
to live? Be a bear.
What does any animal have to do
to live?
Be an animal.
What do l have to do
to live?
l've got to be a doctor,
an actor,...
...a pilot, a builder,
a chemist or whatever.
Why does man have to play
the stupid role...
...of a superior animal?
Can you see anything different?
Yes, l can see your watch
is not automatic,...
...waterproof, or luminous and
it doesn't have a calendar...
...like my daddy's watch.
Pardon me, would you mind if
l ask how much your daddy earns?
No, of course l don't mind...
...if you ask me that.
Well, how much does your daddy
earn? How much does he earn?
Well, l sure you also won't mind
if l don't answer that.
You show off.
Hello, Michael.
Aren't you bored all alone?
-No.
-Do you know?
Neither Mafalda, nor Philip,
nor Manolo...
...will tell me how much
their daddies earn.
l think they're just envious,
because...
...l'm sure my daddy earns lots
more than their daddies.
lt seems to me that you...
...are just a little bit
jealous,...
...because my daddy earns
much more than your daddy.
That's right, isn't it Michael?
No, compared to the earnings
of bankers,...
...or footballers
or oil men,...
...our fathers earn a pittance.
Flies are so lucky, they don't
have to go to school.
l'd like to be a fly,...
...l'd zoom about and
l wouldn't have to study,...
...those wretched times tables.
Once time three is three.
Two times three is...
Look Manolo, can't you see?
That dove doesn't know
what money is.
But clearly it's very happy.
You however, blindly believe...
...that money is the most
important thing in life.
Of course money isn't
everything,...
...there are also cheques.
There's something that
l don't understand.
lf we go up into the sky
when we die,...
...then what on earth has the
cemetery got to do with it?
ls it a sort of Cape Kennedy?
Michael.
You said to me that when we die
we go up into the sky.
Yes, why?
Well how do they send fat people
on a journey like that?
But, Michael.
Only the soul goes
into the sky,...
...the body stays here on earth.
What? You mean the body
is a returnable container?
At last school has broken up.
No more worries
about studying lessons.
Finally, no more homework.
No more sums, or dictations.
No more geography,
or important people, at last.
Oh my God! What'll we do now...
...with all this freedom
before us?
Susan.
Hearing the children play
reminds me of my youth.
So many fantasies.
Shoot outs, fights, Tarzan,...
...The Phantom, Sandokan,...
...Mandrake, Flash Gordon.
lt makes me feel like
a kid again.
Sandokan to the rescue!
-Sand can what?
-What's he talking about?
Where's the queue?
-What's he playing at?
-Something old fashioned.
No, l'm a kid too,
like when l was young.
Listen to this!
lt says here that a nuclear war
would cause...
...the deaths of...
...700 million people.
700 million people...
...all dead together
at the same time?
That's what it says.
How disgusting!
ln something so promiscuous,...
...who knows what sort of person
you might end up...
...dying next to.
Why don't you explain all this
about a world crisis to me?
Why not.
You're a girl and children just
don't understand...
...grown up subjects.
Alright, but promise me
one thing.
What is it? Tell me.
When l'm grown up,
l don't want you to say...
...that us grown ups...
...don't understand your affairs
as only the old understand them.
Well, what do you think?
Thank you very much, Manolo.
The poor are so thankful when
you give them something...
Dad, dad!
This year we've really scored
with the calendar!
She's going to be really happy
with this present.
-Hello, Susan.
-Hello. How's it going, Manolo?
l've brought you a calendar,
a present from my dad's shop.
Do you like it? Mafalda and
Philip were speechless.
Yes, Mafalda and Philip...
...have just given me two.
But thank you anyway.
Bloody hell!
And those sunglasses?
lt's holiday time, isn't it?
Holidays. Let's talk
about holidays, Mafalda.
l love talking about them,
can't you see?
Talking about making
preparations.
l could spend my whole life
talking about them.
You see, not everybody can
afford to pay for holidays.
No, no, no. Did you know...
... that l'm going on holiday
next week?
What a coincidence! l'm going
on holiday as well, Susan.
Yes?
-So, you're going on holiday?
-Yes.
-Where are you going?
-l'm going to the mountains.
How lovely!
Yes, my mummy went there on
her honeymoon...
...and she says it is fantastic.
When people get married...
...everything must seem
so beautiful...
Don't you think so, Philip?
No! You're mad!
Philip just hasn't got
a sense of humour.
The silly boy didn't even
realise l was joking.
lt's ready.
Well, all the ornaments
are in place.
Daddy, l really want to see
the Christmas tree lit up.
Okay, Mafalda.
Wait, there's one more.
Here daddy, the star's missing.
Of course, right on top,
goes the star of Bethlehem.
Yes, yes, daddy. lt's the star
that guided the three kings.
Yes, Mafalda,...
...and do you know what
was in their saddlebags?
l'm sure l know what they had.
Spare fuses for the electricity.
Everyone in the world,
pay attention!
We're going to dedicate
our Christmas song to you.
Now guys.
Silent night!
Holy night!
One second. Peace and love.
They did get on with each other,
didn't they?
Because if you've forgotten
the meaning of these words...
...it's of no use trying
to use them, isn't it?
Silent night!
Holy night!
All is calm!
All is bright!
Praise yonder virgin
and her child!
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
The colours.
The flowers.
Music.
Love.
Without doubt, spring...
...advertises itself better than
anything in this world.
This is Mafalda.
And this is mummy.
Mummy, what would you like to do
when you grow up?
This is daddy.
Hello!
Daddy. Every day we send
a father...
...to that wretched office and
this is what they send back.
l have decided to face reality.
lf it starts to look any better,
let me know, okay?
This is Phillip.
Oh! l'll tell you what l'd like.
To go on safari!
l'd go deep into the dangerous
jungle,...
...and in the morning, l'd
follow the trail of a wild boar,...
...or a black panther,
or a Bengal tiger,...
...or an African lion.
Ah! l can see myself facing the
wild beast.
His eyes will stare at me.
And l... And l...
What would l do?
And l...Oh!
How do l know what l'd do?
There are too many ways
to be a coward...
Me contribute to humanity?
Me have kids to perpetuate
the species?
What does the species matter
to me?
l want to be a mother...
...not a factory making
replacement parts.
This is Susan.
lt breaks my heart when l see
poor people,...
...how about you?
l've got nothing against
the poor. You saw me.
Quit to the contrary, l think
they need help and protection.
And what is more,...
...l think that most poor
people,...
-...don't do it out of spite.
-What do you mean spite, Susan?
We should give shelter,
work, protection...
...and welfare to the poor.
Why so much? Couldn't we just
hide them?
This is Michael.
How does time get round
the corners...
...in a square clock?
Tell us the story of your life.
Well, l was born,...
...at five months l had
my first tooth.
Then, by the time l was two,...
...l could talk really well.
Now l go to nursery school,
and...
Well, that's all.
The worst thing about
being a boy,...
...is that when you tell your
life story...
...it takes two seconds flat.
This is Manolo.
We are all equal,...
...except some of us have money.
Ha!
Hello, Manolo.
Do you only think about your
future business?
Oh, yes. About my future
supermarket.
l can see you now,
all grown up,...
...in front of your supermarket.
ln front of my fabulous chain
of supermarkets.
And you'll have lots of workers.
Hundreds and hundreds
of workers.
And they'll work happily because
you will pay good wages.
l will pay excellent wages.
No!
You're mad! Look what you made
me say!
This is the world of...
...Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
lt can be really hard to get up
and face the world.
Good morning, world.
Good morning, mummy.
Do you know if they've banned
nuclear weapons yet?
l'm not sure, Mafalda,...
...but l don't think so. Why?
Well, nothing special,...
...but it'd be really nice to
wake up one morning...
...and discover that finally,...
...one's own life...
...is one's own responsibility.
Have you got your pencil case,
Mafalda?
Yes, mummy.
Well, if you're going
to help me,...
...would you give the globe
a good clean?
Should l clean all
the countries...
...or just the ones with bad
governments?
You just couldn't help giving
your opinion on the world.
Out!
Leave my world alone!
Wretched fly!
Get out!
Take that!
l killed it.
Please tell me, did you have
great plans for your future?
When l'm grown up,...
...l want to be an interpreter
in the United Nations.
That way l can help people
to talk to each other.
l'll learn English and Russian.
l think perhaps it would also
be wise to learn karate...
...to settle any doubts.
What are all these books?
They're mine, from when l was
a student.
You studied, but you weren't
a serious student, were you?
Not a serious student?
Of course l was serious.
So why didn't you finish
studying?
Well, l got married...
Why did you leave university
when you got married?
That's how it was.
You mean, if you hadn't got
married,...
...you would have finished
at university...
...you would have a degree...
...you would have had a title...
...and you would be somebody.
Hello, daddy.
Hello.
Please tell me,
what is the cold war?
Mafalda, even if l explained,
you wouldn't understand.
Right, because l'm stupid...
lt's not something for children.
Alright then,...
...how about explaining it
without the pornographic bits?
Nervocalm for one.
Nervocalm, of course.
Do you have the prescription?
Here it is.
Good.
Nervocalm. Nervo...
here it is.
Here's the money.
Miss, this isn't for you, is it?
For me? No.
Ah!
lt's for my daddy, who still
hasn't explained to me...
...what eroticism means.
Could you explain it to me?
But this container has been
opened.
No, l had to give some to the
poor pharmacist.
Poor mummy,...
...she's worried that l won't
like it when l go to school.
lt'll be really easy
to calm her down.
-Hey mummy?
-Yes, Mafalda?
l want to go to school, and then
l want to go to university...
...and l'll study hard, so that
l won't grow up to be...
...a frustrated mediocre woman,
like you.
lt's good to reassure
one's mother.
Hello, Manolo!
Hello!
Are you working?
Yes, can't you see?
Bloody hell!
What do you think?
Do we grow more from the
bellybutton upwards...
...or from the bellybutton
downwards?
l don't have time to answer such
stupid questions.
What's more, we can't grow
downwards, stupid.
Don't you know that's where
the ground is?
So you're stealing the gold.
Give yourself up!
l am the Lone Ranger!
The Lone Ranger?
Pleased to meet you, my name's
Rockefeller.
What can l do for you?
There's always a sarcastic
materialist...
...waiting to spoil my
fantasies.
This can't be happening.
-Ants!
-Ants!
Oh my God! This is a disaster!
The ants are eating my plants!
There's nothing worse than ants!
-Who's that?
-Susan.
Come in, Susan. l'm glad to have
you in my humble home.
This is my mummy.
She was a student, before she
got married.
She went to school and
everything?
-Of course.
-Did she go to university?
-Of course.
-And did she have a boyfriend?
A boyfriend? No.
So she went to university for
nothing.
-This is my daddy, see?
-Hello.
Are you fixing the plug, sir?
No, l'm filling it with sugar.
Then when the ants come...
They'll get electrocuted.
How could anyone be frightened
by such a good idea?
l've finished delivering
the orders, dad.
Already.
You're a pretty good fellow,
my lad.
Come over here to your old dad.
Go on you little rat, go and
play outside for as bit,...
...you've earned it.
A hug with my dad.
Just like everything,...
...as soon as you've got your
feet on the ground,...
... the fun stops.
Get on! Why are you waiting?
Go on, up you get!
l've got to go and help
my mummy.
Well, l really ought to be
serving in the shop.
lt's getting late and l'd like
to watch my soap opera.
Well, we'll just have time
to play atomic war, right?
Yes!
Okay, bye.
ln this modern world,...
...even the games are getting
shorter every day.
The newspapers are full
of bad news...
...and nobody sends them back
on account of it.
Life is full of bad things,
but we all accept them.
You want me to take this salami
back because the filling is bad?
Excuse me, madam!
Manolo,...
...my mummy has sent me to buy
some olives.
Are they good?
They're special for executives.
Try one!
The problem is you're just like
everybody else.
You just imagine you know what
executives are really like.
Mr Managing Director,
the Rockefeller Corporation...
...begs a few days to raise the
millions that are owed.
No!
To the table! The food's ready.
Soup! Not soup again!
But Mafalda, if you don't eat
your soup...
-...you won't grow up.
-Grow up?
Grown up like who?
Like mummy, like me.
Then it's just not worth it.
l look like a girl drying these
plates.
A girl, a girl, a girl!
l have said to myself ten
thousand times...
...that it is not girlish to
help my mummy,...
...it is being a gentleman.
Gentlemen always help
their mummies.
So don't confuse the two, right?
Being girlish is one thing,...
...but being a gentleman is
quite another.
The good little girl cleaning
the dishes!
Mafalda, turn that light off!
Go to sleep, it's midnight.
Okay.
As well as being mummy all day
long,...
...she also does overtime.
Daddy.
ls everybody equal in this
world?
Yes, Mafalda, yes.
We are all equal.
Why don't you go to sleep...
...instead of worrying about
things?
l'm not worrying, l only asked
if we were all equal.
Okay, see you tomorrow.
But, who equal to who?
Next we present a roundup of
international news.
Mafalda,...
...turn that radio off and go
to sleep. lt's one a.m.
...dead, injured and arrested.
Now for the traffic report...
The batteries are dead.
Or have they run out of
international problems?
Goodnight, world.
l'll see you tomorrow.
Be careful, there are still lots
of irresponsible people awake.
The role of public relations...
...is to show people, that we
businessmen...
...have a human side.
-Susan. What are you doing here?
-Hello. How are you?
Help yourself, Susan.
My father's shop invites you...
...to taste a delicious sweet.
Thank you.
Just one delicious sweet!
The role of public relations...
...is to show people we are
human,...
...but not stupid.
Philip, would you go and get
some milk for me?
l'm sorry, mummy.
l just haven't got time.
What?
Of course for grown ups...
...that lie is always valid.
Here comes Commander
Neil Armstrong...
...travelling through space.
NASA has sent him on a mission
into space...
...to find samples of
moon rock.
My mummy sent me to buy some
bread.
Commander Neil Armstrong
is returning home,...
...he's planning not to give the
change back to NASA,...
...they've already got millions
to spend on the space program.
Manolo's shop.
Good morning!
Who's speaking, is it Manolo JR?
At your service, madam.
This is Mafalda's mummy.
Could you bring me my order?
Right away.
Thank you, Manolo.
Put it in the kitchen, please.
-Hello, Manolo, how are you?
-Working as you can see.
A sweet?
Thank you, Manolo.
lt's delicious!
lts a free sample of something
my father's shop sells cheaply.
Now l understand.
You have an ulterior motive.
But the poetry of commerce calls
this public relations.
Please, have you got
a soft drink or something?
Have a look in the fridge.
What's wrong with you?
There is the corpse of a dead
bird in the fridge.
There's only a roast chicken.
What corpse are you talking
about?
lt's dead and if it's dead, then
what is it? What is it?
No, not that, please no.
But son,...
...this is leg of chicken that
you're so fond of.
Education?
Are you going to study it?
No, but there are things that
it's best to know about.
Here it is. Listen.
One should reply
simply and clearly...
...to the questions
of your children.
From today onwards that is how
l shall answer Mafalda.
lt's not here either.
This is really mysterious.
What does it look like?
Well, l give up.
Daddy, the world, l mean,
the earth, what sex is it?
What do you mean what sex...?
But Mafalda, how is the world
going to have a sex?
On top of everything that's
happening to it,...
...our poor earth is sexless?
When l'm grown up
l'm going to have a son.
l'll breast feed him,
l'll bathe him,...
...as he's going to be
a beautiful baby,...
...he'll debut in television.
Then he'll go to school and be
top of the form.
Then he'll go to university and
study medicine.
He'll be a specialist doctor,
who makes lots of money.
He'll take me for drives
in his huge luxury car.
Until one day
he will meet a girl...
Mummy, l'd like you to meet
my girlfriend..
And what if she's a bad woman?
An ambitious woman,
out to destroy him?
What if she ruins him?
Bloody pregnancy!
What a lovely doormat, Michael!
What does it say?
According to my mummy it says,
welcome,...
...but l hate it.
-But why do you hate it?
-ls that you, Michael?
Yes, mummy. l brought Mafalda
home to play.
Your polishing slippers! Where
are you going...
...without your polishers?
Do you want a dirty flat?
Obviously.
That's it, l'm the one who
should be cleaning all day,...
...all day shut in here,
me the idiot.
l hate the doormat because
it's a hypocrite.
Don't play in the dining room.
-Yes, mummy.
-And another thing. When...
...you've finished, don't leave
your toys all over the place.
Put them away.
Don't run in your new shoes,
you'll break them.
Don't jump on the sofa,
you'll break it.
l'm tired of always hearing the
same thing.
Could you tell me, what's the
use of being a child...
...if they don't let you play?
Daddy, when you were a boy,
did you go to school?
Of course l did, son,
just like everyone else.
Did you learn lots of things?
Well, learn, we did learn.
The kids who were a bit slow,...
...they used to beat us.
But if they used to punish you,
why did you use to go to school?
Because if l didn't go,
then my father would beat me.
He'd beat some sense into me!
So then, your childhood was one
long bout?
One long what?
l mean if you didn't get it
from one side then...
-...you got it from the other.
-Well, l suppose you're right!
Spare the rod, spoil the child.
We'll start going to school
soon.
Do you realise, Susan?
We'll learn to read, to write
and to do sums...
Don't you think it's wonderful?
Yes, in some ways yes,...
...but not in others, it's sad
to throw away...
...a whole life dedicated to
illiteracy.
l can't see what good
it will do me...
...to go to school,...
...if the only thing l want
to do in life...
...is get married
and have children.
lf they only teach me to read
and do sums,...
...well l that could be useful
when l do the shopping,...
...but as for the rest,...
...can you tell me what use
the other subjects are?
Philip, you've already been
in first grade,...
...what's school like?
Tell us!
lt's hell!
What's wrong with you?
Why aren't you playing?
We're going to start
school soon.
What's wrong with that?
What do you mean, what's wrong?
When you were a boy,...
...weren't you upset
when school started?
Me upset? But what's wrong
with you?
lt's wonderful to go to school.
Yes, but God knows what the
teacher is going to be like.
And then they start with
the homework...
...and then there's no time
to play or to read comics.
Next Monday all over the country
school term will start.
Enough!
Yes, l didn't like it either,
me neither.
Children grow so quickly...
Well, l could give you
the next size up.
That's better,
we'll take this one.
This one, but this one.
Do you think l'm a clown?
But Mafalda, l'll alter it.
l'll bring up the hem and
l'll shorten the sleeves...
...then you can wear it
next year as well.
What? l refuse to let you
go about...
...sewing and unsewing
my future.
What a cute little girl!
Philip!
Philip, Philip!
Philip!
ls it true that at school...
...the teachers hit
the children?
No, that was before. Now,...
...things are very different.
What? Now the children
hit the teachers?
No, it's not like that either.
Like always,...
...the changes are never
radical enough.
Bloody hell!
Are you going to read?
Just a little bit.
Remember that tomorrow
we've got to get up early.
We've got to take Mafalda
to school.
Mafalda going to school.
Just think Mafalda's
going to start school...
Yes, it's true.
lt's wonderful.
Our daughter's going
to start school.
Our daughters going
to start school!
Daddy, daddy.
Yes?
About parents watching over
their children at night...
Yes, what about it?
Your snoring is spoiling
your parental credibility.
You saved me from the monster!
Thank you, daddy!
This program was sponsored
by Manolo's shop,...
...where everything is cheap.
What's happening?
-What do you want now?
-l'm ready for school.
Come on, l mustn't be late...
...on the first day of school.
The moment has arrived
Yes, her first day of school.
What's wrong with them?
Nothing. lt's just that
some children...
...can't bear to be separated
from their mummy.
Okay, see you later, sweetheart.
l'll come and pick you up
after school.
No, mummy, l only have to go
across the park and l'm home.
-Bye.
-Goodbye, darling.
Will you please shut up?
Shut up now!
Look at the little girl,
she's not crying.
Aren't you ashamed by how
she's looking at you?
She'll think you're a cry baby.
Don't you think so, little girl?
No!
The little girl has a conscience
and sympathises with him.
Dear children,...
...once again, l welcome you...
...into this sacred institution.
School.
To the smallest of you,...
...who are here for the first
time...
...in this temple of
knowledge,...
...l promise you that here you
will find a second home,...
...where every teacher
will give you...
...the thing that all mothers
give their children.
Love.
That was lucky, l thought
she was talking about soup.
Time for class, children!
Look, Susan.
A globe just like mine.
lsn't it beautiful!
But Susan, l think you enjoy...
...fighting the whole time.
lf our great heroes
had never fought.
Who'd have heard of them now?
Nobody, absolutely nobody.
lt's the first time l've ever
heard of heroes fighting...
...to advertise themselves.
Philip, how was it?
Good, good.
l'm so lucky with my teacher.
She's such a wonderful woman,...
...kind-hearted...special.
You're very lucky to have
a teacher like that,...
...because the teacher is
someone we must see every day.
And every week,...
...and every month,...
...for a whole year.
She's an unbearable witch.
Hello, mummy.
Mafalda, how did your
first day of school go?
Good, fine. Really good.
We learnt loads of things.
What about you mummy? How was
your day in this boring hole?
ls Mafalda back from her first
day at school yet?
-How did you get on, Mafalda?
-Fine, thanks.
Do you know that in our class...
...there's a tiny little globe?
A metal one, of course.
Are you ready? Time to eat.
Soup.
l was so happy today and now
you have to give me soup.
Happy or not,
you'll drink it up.
Why do l have to drink it?
Because l tell you to
and l am your mother.
lf you need qualifications,
l am your daughter.
And we both qualified
on the same day, didn't we?
-Hello.
-Hello.
ls your ice cream nice?
Yes, it's delicious.
Would you share with me?
Share? With you?
Alright,...
...for being mean and selfish
the devil will punish you.
You'll see.
l can't even get a taxi
when l need one.
Oh my God!
Damn it.
l bend down to pick up a book...
...and suddenly my back hurts.
What's wrong with me?
ls it that my body is ageing
faster than l am?
Am l getting old?
No, how could l imagine
such a thing at my age?
What if l've been sitting
a draught?
l've been sitting in a draught.
course. That's it.
Obviously someone left
oor open and...
...suddenly without noticing it,
l'm thirty-seven.
Let me think!
How old did you say you were?
Please help homeless children.
Help homeless children, please.
Please help homeless children.
Please help the homeless
children.
Please help the homeless
children.
Peoples of the world!
Can we sit on our stomachs...
...while half of humanity
lacks appetite?
What's wrong with them?
Why are you looking like that?
lt makes me sad to see
poor people as well.
Don't be such a hypocrite.
Please, believe me.
Look, when we're ladies...
...we'll start...
...a big foundation to help
the underprivileged.
We'll organise dinner
and we'll eat turkey,...
...chicken, piglets and all that
stuff they eat at dinners.
Like that we'll raise funds...
...and then we can buy
flour for the poor,...
...kidney beans, pasta, maize...
...and all those disgusting
things that they eat.
lt's logical that others
feel old when they're 37.
Yes, but me, how could l
possibly feel old?
Come on, l am sat all day...
...in that wretched office
without doing any exercise.
And if l went to the gym
to do some exercise?
That's is some stretching.
One, two.
One, two.
One, two.
One, two.
One, two.
One, two.
Mummy, your first boyfriend,
was it him or someone else?
lt's not time for such questions
it's time to sleep.
Come one go back to sleep.
But l just wanted to know if you
were her first boyfriend or not.
Right, that's enough.
Do you hear me? That's enough!
And you, who are you
thinking about?
l'm off on a business trip,
l'm an important executive.
l'm going to check out
foreign competition...
...the growth of their
companies...
...and their major supermarkets.
Bloody hell! What a life!
Getting the children do
free composition,...
...helps me to understand their
characters,...
...as they express themselves
through their paintings.
Just so,...
...painting reveals
the personality.
Don't you mean...
...that the paint covers
the personality.
l think l've got the wrong tube.
l left the other one at home...
Poor daddy!
What is this? Paint?
Come on, l don't believe you.
l promise you, l'm not lying.
But that's impossible. Not even
a little black and white one?
No, but anyway, so what?
Am l a Martian because l don't
have a television?
She hasn't got a telly!
She hasn't got a telly!
-Daddy.
-Yes, Mafalda?
The children at school look at
me like a Martian...
...because l don't have
a television.
Really? Well look,
you could reply that....
...not having a television
doesn't make you a Martian.
l already did. They said that
it doesn't make me a Martian.
lt makes me an idiot.
Mafalda!
What are you doing, mummy?
l am cutting out a recipe.
What? Does the newspaper teach
cookery as well?
No, but it shows different meals
to vary the menu.
Did you find something yummy?
Yes, daddy's going to love it.
What is it?
Fish soup.
Soup! A curse on the freedom
of the press!
At least looking after plants
is a nice quiet hobby.
l want a television!
Let's see, let's see...
lt smells delicious!
A little more, a little more.
Soup!
You'll drink it up. All of it!
A relaxing shower.
A perfect shave.
An impeccable shirt.
A delicious coffee.
A happy family.
An excellent cigarette.
And this is where things
stop being...
...like they are
in advertisements.
What if l bought Mafalda
a television?
l mean, all of her friends
watch television.
Even if they do lounge about
all day singing...
...those wretched pop songs.
No! That's enough!
l'm not going to let Mafalda be
a retard singing commercials.
Cursed be the day that they
invented the television.
All the wise people at court...
...laughed at Columbus.
Nobody believed him,...
...but he kept on believing that
the earth was round.
-What a donkey!
-Everyone believed it was flat.
Round like a ball.
He was stubborn that Columbus.
Okay children,
did you understand?
lf you didn't understand
put your hand up.
Yes, Manolo. Which bit of the
lesson didn't you understand?
Well, if the truth be told,...
...l haven't understood a thing
since the first day of class.
Bloody hell!
An interesting lesson today.
lnteresting. The teacher made me
look stupid again.
They're going to kill me,
when l get home.
Come on, Manolo,
it won't be so bad.
l can see that you don't...
...have to avoid my dad's hand.
Or my mum's slipper.
And l have to go to school
for them to treat me like that.
Like that.
lf l turned up once in a while,
well it could be expected.
But to behave like that to
someone who comes every day...
Behaving like that
to a regular client!
Tell me, Philip,
do you have a television?
-Yes.
-l don't.
My daddy won't buy one. He says
that it warps children's minds.
That's silly.
l've got a television
and my mind isn't warped.
Well maybe my daddy didn't
mean warped minds...
...maybe he meant
deformed heads.
lf l buy Mafalda
a television,...
...she'll spend all day
sitting...
...watching things that
she doesn't understand.
And violent serials,...
...and advertisements that are
of absolutely no use.
Has policy 7 47 expired?
No, no sir.
Please hurry up then, we've got
to get it in today.
Right away, sir.
Television deforms
children's minds.
And to think
the Pope himself said...
...that television
unites the family...
lf the Pope had children
he'd see it differently.
What the Pope have children?
Have you gone mad?
Or do you want me to sack you
for being a communist?
Philip, look at that
cute little television.
How sophisticated!
Philip, do you watch
a lot of television?
Sort of. But frankly it doesn't
interest me very much.
There's no hope.
God gives bread to those
who have no teeth.
-To those who have no what?
-Te...
Well, there was no reason
to take it so personally.
Give me some chocolate.
Mafalda's going to be so happy
when she sees this.
Come on you, little swine.
Do your prep.
Study, you thick head.
Okay, go on hitting me...
...but one day l'll show you.
When l have my big chain
of supermarkets,...
...my biography will be
published...
...in all the newspapers.
And everybody will know how
you mistreated me, dad.
This beating will also appear...
...as another bitter anecdote...
...of my childhood.
Go on hitting me, go on.
You just keep on giving me
more anecdotes.
l'm home.
Guess what l've brought you.
A television.
You brought me a television.
Well? What's wrong?
Did you bring it or not?
Um. Well...
-No.
-So what did you bring me!
Well, a bar of chocolate.
Bah! A bar of chocolate.
l want a television.
l never thought that something
as delicious as chocolate...
...could have such a bitter
taste of disaster.
Hello, Michael.
Hello.
What are you eating?
Popcorn.
Popcorn, popcorn.
lf you don't share when
you eat...
...you'll turn into a frog
with webbed feet.
You greedy pig,...
...don't you know if you don't
share when you eat...
...you'll turn into a frog
with webbed feet?
Look, to tell you the truth...
...we selfish people
never believe...
...in those old wives tales.
Selfish brat!
Children, please write.
My mummy loves me.
My mummy looks after me.
Bloody hell!
My mummy loves me.
My congratulations, Miss.
Now we know that you have
a mummy...
...who loves you
and looks after you.
She's an excellent mummy.
Now, please would you...
... teach us something that is
actually important.
My dad said that if he'd kept
all the money he's spent....
...on my books and materials...
...and invested it
in the shop,...
...he'd have made a 30% profit.
So?
l told him that my education
and my culture...
...were also a good investment.
Very good, Manolo.
-So what did he say?
-No.
Not with that retarded
face of yours.
Hello. ls your mummy in, child?
The television!
The television!
Who is it, Mafalda?
Madam, we've brought
the television.
Ah, yes. Do come in please.
This way, please.
-Where shall we put it, madam?
-On that little table.
And where should we put
the little girl?
But, Mafalda...
Mummy, they brought the
television, didn't they?
ls it true or is it an illusion?
Yes, Mafalda. Daddy
bought you a television.
Monocotyledons...
...have leaves...
...without petioles
and their petals...
He looses the man marking him
and also the full back.
l'd like to be a footballer,...
...and not have to go to school.
This attack looks pretty
dangerous.
He's getting near the area.
There's only one defender and
the goalkeeper left.
l think he's going to score
He's going to shoot.
Foul! An awful deliberate foul.
Attention, ladies and gentlemen
we are informed...
...that he has broken his leg.
Monocotyledons...
...have leaves
without petioles...
...and their petals...
lf l tell her not to watch
so much television,...
...she'll end up hating me.
Why don't you speak to her?
Right, me. lt's always
got to be me.
Look Mafalda,...
...it'd be better if you didn't
watch so much television.
Because sitting there
for so long...
...your imagination...
What? You said that
the television makes...
What?
What, darling?
Soup!
Get up, Manolo. lt's time
to go to school.
Bloody hell!
l warn you that this time
l'm serious!
l'm sick of it!
l'm not going to school
and that's it! lt's over!
Do you see,
this you little swine?
Come on, Philip. Get up you're
going to be late.
No...! l don't want
to go to school.
Mummy! l don't feel like going
to school today.
What? lt's okay, Philip.
Stay home.
l too once was a girl...
...and l remember when someone
was absent...
...l used to love to go
and sit at their desk.
At my desk?
Never!
You'll never sit in my place
you jealous fat pig!
l'll never give ...
...that fat moron Bertolucci
the chance.
My mummy doesn't smack me with
the slipper any more,...
...if she shows it to me it's
enough to make me go to school.
-What?
-Well that's it,...
...today audio-visual methods
are fashionable.
Monocotyledons have leaves
without petioles...
...and their petals
and stamens...
...are arranged in groups
of three.
Monocotyledons...
Goal!
Monopetioles...
No...no.
The Petimonodioles... No, no.
Oh drat! How did it go?
Motopetoladons...
Oh, God, l've forgotten.
Alright Manolo, read out yours.
A few words about spring.
When spring takes hold
and begins,
the plants have lots of leaves
and flowers.
People drink more lemonade
and soft drinks...
...and other sorts of drinks.
And beer and ham as well.
The shops shut later...
...because it doesn't get dark
as early...
...as it does in winter,...
...when it's impossible to sell
anything at 5:15 in the evening.
Spring however is
a much better season.
We're all much happier...
...when spring comes.
Manolo Boreiro.
Mother Nature is so clever!
lf that bird had died,...
...l wouldn't have been able
to sleep for three months.
Hi-ho Silver!
We'll rob a bank and get away
with a great haul.
Go on, l'll cover you.
This is a robbery!
lf you don't like the prices go
to another shop, madam.
l'm sorry, it's a habit.
Susan, stop in the name
of the law!
l've been shot.
Great sorrow and mourning will
be caused by the loss...
...of someone like me,
a person who gained the love...
...and affection of everybody
who knew me.
My death will leave a gap
difficult to fill...
...in many different circles
of society...
...in which my noble character
manifested itself,...
...my sensibility,
my generous heart.
What's wrong with them?
Don't you want to play?
Look, a bee.
Shall we kill it?
No, it's wrong to kill bees.
-No?
No,...
Bees are good
and hardworking,...
...they make honey which is
healthy and nutritious.
Now l understand.
We shouldn't kill them because
they work for us.
lsn't that it?
How beautiful!
Thanks be to God
that it's spring!
Thanks be God that it's spring
and l'm still alive!
l do say the silliest things.
Hello.
Are you the dove of peace?
Long live aggression!
Long live the H-bomb!
lt really is the dove of peace!
Hello, Manolo.
Hello, Susan.
So, you're putting up
the prices, are you?
l'll bet that's the part
of the business...
...that you like best, isn't it?
No, no, you know how it is.
The costs go up and we have
to increase our prices.
All that inflation,
all that inflation...
Finally one gets fond of it.
Bloody hell!
How much does your daddy earn?
Well, you know the shop doesn't
leave us much profit.
Sometimes we even loose money.
Are you serious?
Then my daddy...
...earns more than
your daddy does.
Don't you understand, Michael?
How's the world not going
to have problems?
When it's daytime in America,
it's night in China.
Do you understand?
So that means half the world
is awake...
...while the other half
are asleep.
That's it. That's why it's
impossible for them to get on...
...500 million people
are having lunch...
...while another 700 million
are snoring.
-Certainly.
-lt probably means that...
...the divisions in this world
are not political,...
...but to do with sleep.
What's up with Michael, Mafalda?
Why is he walking like that?
As it's night on the other side of the world,...
...he doesn't want to wake the
people that are asleep.
That reminds me of something
that Mao said,...
...if all 700 million
of the Chinese people...
...agreed to stamp
on the ground...
...at the same moment,...
...the world would be
in serious difficulties.
lsn't that funny?
No, it's not funny.
We'll have tea and we'll gossip
like the ladies do.
Let's play.
Right, who's going to say
the first stupidity?
Me. l've got it all planned out.
Firstly, l'm going to be
a great lady.
Then l'll have lots and lots
of children.
Then l'll buy a big house,
an immense one.
Then l'll buy a cute little car.
And jewels, lots of jewels.
And then later on,
l'll have grandchildren.
That's not a life,
it's a royal family.
Yes, yes, yes.
l don't think l'll go
to work today.
Are you really
going to stay home?
Well...
l'll stay, l'll stay. Yes, yes.
l knew that would happen.
We know that the earth
is shaped like a...
Like a what?
Like a...? lt's...
Yes, it's a what?
Ah, yes. lt's a sphere.
A sphere. Yes, that's correct.
And it is slightly dented...
Where?
ln the spirit.
At the poles, Manolo.
At the poles.
Well, in 1853,...
...Mr Juan de Garay,...
...who had just disembarked from
a boat on the river Plate,...
...was killed. By whom?
Oh, no. l might be slow, yes,...
...as slow as can be,
but an informer, never.
Manolo, why so serious?
What's wrong?
l'm worried about my exams.
Come on.
You'll see how
it all works out okay.
Exams aren't that bad.
ln the end, they'll be easier
than you think they are..
-What are you talking about?
-About what's in store for us.
That's it, Philip's worried
about his exams.
What does a cat have to do
to live? Be a cat.
What does a bear have to do
to live? Be a bear.
What does any animal have to do
to live?
Be an animal.
What do l have to do
to live?
l've got to be a doctor,
an actor,...
...a pilot, a builder,
a chemist or whatever.
Why does man have to play
the stupid role...
...of a superior animal?
Can you see anything different?
Yes, l can see your watch
is not automatic,...
...waterproof, or luminous and
it doesn't have a calendar...
...like my daddy's watch.
Pardon me, would you mind if
l ask how much your daddy earns?
No, of course l don't mind...
...if you ask me that.
Well, how much does your daddy
earn? How much does he earn?
Well, l sure you also won't mind
if l don't answer that.
You show off.
Hello, Michael.
Aren't you bored all alone?
-No.
-Do you know?
Neither Mafalda, nor Philip,
nor Manolo...
...will tell me how much
their daddies earn.
l think they're just envious,
because...
...l'm sure my daddy earns lots
more than their daddies.
lt seems to me that you...
...are just a little bit
jealous,...
...because my daddy earns
much more than your daddy.
That's right, isn't it Michael?
No, compared to the earnings
of bankers,...
...or footballers
or oil men,...
...our fathers earn a pittance.
Flies are so lucky, they don't
have to go to school.
l'd like to be a fly,...
...l'd zoom about and
l wouldn't have to study,...
...those wretched times tables.
Once time three is three.
Two times three is...
Look Manolo, can't you see?
That dove doesn't know
what money is.
But clearly it's very happy.
You however, blindly believe...
...that money is the most
important thing in life.
Of course money isn't
everything,...
...there are also cheques.
There's something that
l don't understand.
lf we go up into the sky
when we die,...
...then what on earth has the
cemetery got to do with it?
ls it a sort of Cape Kennedy?
Michael.
You said to me that when we die
we go up into the sky.
Yes, why?
Well how do they send fat people
on a journey like that?
But, Michael.
Only the soul goes
into the sky,...
...the body stays here on earth.
What? You mean the body
is a returnable container?
At last school has broken up.
No more worries
about studying lessons.
Finally, no more homework.
No more sums, or dictations.
No more geography,
or important people, at last.
Oh my God! What'll we do now...
...with all this freedom
before us?
Susan.
Hearing the children play
reminds me of my youth.
So many fantasies.
Shoot outs, fights, Tarzan,...
...The Phantom, Sandokan,...
...Mandrake, Flash Gordon.
lt makes me feel like
a kid again.
Sandokan to the rescue!
-Sand can what?
-What's he talking about?
Where's the queue?
-What's he playing at?
-Something old fashioned.
No, l'm a kid too,
like when l was young.
Listen to this!
lt says here that a nuclear war
would cause...
...the deaths of...
...700 million people.
700 million people...
...all dead together
at the same time?
That's what it says.
How disgusting!
ln something so promiscuous,...
...who knows what sort of person
you might end up...
...dying next to.
Why don't you explain all this
about a world crisis to me?
Why not.
You're a girl and children just
don't understand...
...grown up subjects.
Alright, but promise me
one thing.
What is it? Tell me.
When l'm grown up,
l don't want you to say...
...that us grown ups...
...don't understand your affairs
as only the old understand them.
Well, what do you think?
Thank you very much, Manolo.
The poor are so thankful when
you give them something...
Dad, dad!
This year we've really scored
with the calendar!
She's going to be really happy
with this present.
-Hello, Susan.
-Hello. How's it going, Manolo?
l've brought you a calendar,
a present from my dad's shop.
Do you like it? Mafalda and
Philip were speechless.
Yes, Mafalda and Philip...
...have just given me two.
But thank you anyway.
Bloody hell!
And those sunglasses?
lt's holiday time, isn't it?
Holidays. Let's talk
about holidays, Mafalda.
l love talking about them,
can't you see?
Talking about making
preparations.
l could spend my whole life
talking about them.
You see, not everybody can
afford to pay for holidays.
No, no, no. Did you know...
... that l'm going on holiday
next week?
What a coincidence! l'm going
on holiday as well, Susan.
Yes?
-So, you're going on holiday?
-Yes.
-Where are you going?
-l'm going to the mountains.
How lovely!
Yes, my mummy went there on
her honeymoon...
...and she says it is fantastic.
When people get married...
...everything must seem
so beautiful...
Don't you think so, Philip?
No! You're mad!
Philip just hasn't got
a sense of humour.
The silly boy didn't even
realise l was joking.
lt's ready.
Well, all the ornaments
are in place.
Daddy, l really want to see
the Christmas tree lit up.
Okay, Mafalda.
Wait, there's one more.
Here daddy, the star's missing.
Of course, right on top,
goes the star of Bethlehem.
Yes, yes, daddy. lt's the star
that guided the three kings.
Yes, Mafalda,...
...and do you know what
was in their saddlebags?
l'm sure l know what they had.
Spare fuses for the electricity.
Everyone in the world,
pay attention!
We're going to dedicate
our Christmas song to you.
Now guys.
Silent night!
Holy night!
One second. Peace and love.
They did get on with each other,
didn't they?
Because if you've forgotten
the meaning of these words...
...it's of no use trying
to use them, isn't it?
Silent night!
Holy night!
All is calm!
All is bright!
Praise yonder virgin
and her child!
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.
Mafalda, Mafalda, Mafalda.