Tobi (film): Difference between revisions

Tobi
Tobi
Directed by	Antonio Mercero
Written by	Horacio Varcarcel; Antonio Mercero;
Produced by	Antonio Martin
Starring	Lolo Garcia; Francisco Vidal; Norma Aleandro; Antonio Ferrandis; Walter Vidarte;
Cinematography	Manuel Rojas
Edited by	Javier Moran
Production; company	Blau Films
Distributed by	C.B. Films S.A.
Release date	December 19, 1978 (Spain theatrical);
Running time	91 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

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Tobi (or Tobi el niño con alas) is a 1978 Spanish comedy^[1] written by Horacio Varcarcel and Antonio Mercero. Directed by Antonio Mercero, it stars Lolo Garcia, Francisco Vidal, Norma Aleandro, Antonio Ferrandis and Walter Vidarte. In the film a young boy, Tobi, grows wings on his back which give him the appearance of an angel. This phenomenon draws attention to his community, which includes doctors, scientists and schoolmates. After Tobi's wings are surgically removed, they grow back.

Plot

Tobi and his parents, Jacinto and María López, are at a picnic. Back home, Tobi begins feeling strange itches on his back and is brought to the hospital for an evaluation. The next day, Tobi's parents learn that a pair of wings have grown from the itchy spots on his back. The hospital separates Tobi and his parents, but they can watch him through a one-way window. The doctors cannot explain why Tobi grew the wings and Jacinto, concerned about his son’s future, asks the doctors to remove them surgically. María is upset, and says that she wants Tobi back with or without his wings.

Tobi asks his nurse Lucy for his parents, and she says he will see them soon. Disappointed and lonely, he escapes from the clinic with no clothing. Tobi hides in a garbage pail, which two workers load into a truck. He escapes, hiding in a box which is brought into a store, and blends in with the mannequins. An employee hears Tobi sneeze, but the boy remains still and is not discovered. He begins to play tricks, kicking the employee and hiding again. The employee finds Tobi, the only "mannequin" who is anatomically accurate, and flees in a panic. Tobi runs away from the store, heading home through the city. He wants to see his mother and asks a drunk man (who thinks he is hallucinating) for help. A passer-by sees Tobi talking to the drunk man, takes photographs and gives them to the media.

Back home, Tobi and his parents hear a doctor say on television that the clinic should study him further; the doctors consider him to be Homo angelicus, rather than Homo sapiens. In a crowd outside their house, Professor Jourdain unsuccessfully tries to convince Tobi’s parents to return him to the clinic. To satisfy the crowd, his mother picks Tobi up and shows them his wings. Jacinto befriends media worker Marla Sullivan, who makes him offers he refuses because his son is not for sale. She then offers Jacinto a better job, which he accepts. Tobi reluctantly appears in a deodorant commercial, ruining every scene and angering the director. After he works all day, Tobi’s mother takes him home without finishing the commercial. She makes him a cover for his wings for him to wear to school.

When a classmate pulls Tobi's wings, their teacher seats Tobi apart from the others to protect him. He stays in the classroom during recess to avoid the other boys, and becomes friends with a little girl. Tobi shows her his wings, and is seen by another classmate who tells his friends; the group demands that Tobi show them his wings. Maria is summoned to school and told that Tobi’s presence is a distraction to the other students. When, back home, he begins having nightmares he has his wings removed. Tobi is discharged from the hospital to continued media attention, Marla Sullivan tells Jacinto that he is liable for breach of contract. Maria brings Tobi to the park, where he again feels an itch on his back. When Marla hears on the news that Tobi’s wings have grown back, she exhibits him at a carnival as "Tobi, the boy with wings". The boy escapes, climbing to the top of a tower; he flies away, leaving the crowd, his parents and his clothes behind.

Cast

Lolo Garcia as Tobi López
Norma Aleandro as the professor
Antonio Ferrandis as Doctor Juldain
Walter Vidarte as Enfermero
Francisco Vidal as Jacinto
Silvia Tortosa as Marga
José Lifante as Marga's friend
Andrés Mejuto as Professor Burman
María Casanova as María
Manuela Camacho as Luci
Lorenzo Ramírez as Borracho
Jose Yepes as Photographer
Fabián Conde as Dolfo

Reception

Tobi has not been reviewed on Rotten Tomatoes.^[2]

References

^ Clarke Fountain (2015), "Tobi (1979)", Movies & TV Dept., The New York Times, Baseline & All Movie Guide, archived from the original on May 27, 2015, retrieved November 23, 2015
^ "Tobi (1979)", Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved November 23, 2015

External links

Tobi at IMDb

[1] Clarke Fountain (2015), "Tobi (1979)", Movies & TV Dept., The New York Times, Baseline & All Movie Guide, archived from the original on May 27, 2015, retrieved November 23, 2015

[2] "Tobi (1979)", Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved November 23, 2015

[1]

[2]

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+{{More citations needed|date=May 2015}}
-{{multiple issues|
-{{all plot|date=September 2014}}
-{{copy edit|date=July 2014}}
-{{Refimprove|date=May 2015}}
-}}
 {{Infobox film
 | name           = Tobi
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 | alt            =
 | caption        =
-| film name      =
+| native_name      =
 | director       = [[Antonio Mercero]]
 | producer       = Antonio Martin
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 | screenplay     =
 | story          =
-| based on       = <!-- {{based on |[title of the original work] |[writer of the original work]}} -->
+| based_on       = <!-- {{based on |[title of the original work] |[writer of the original work]}} -->
 | starring       = {{unbulleted list|Lolo Garcia|Francisco Vidal|[[Norma Aleandro]]|[[Antonio Ferrandis]]|[[Walter Vidarte]]}}
 | narrator       =
@@ Line 22: / Line 17: @@
 | cinematography = Manuel Rojas
 | editing        = Javier Moran
-| production companies = Blau Films
+| production_companies = Blau Films
 | distributor    =  C.B. Films S.A.
 | released       = {{film date |1978|12|19|[[Spain]] [[theatrical]]}}
@@ Line 32: / Line 27: @@
 }}
-'''''Tobi''''' (or '''''Tobi el niño con alas''''') is a 1978 [[Cinema of Spain|Spanish]] [[dramedy]] written by [[imdbname:0883553|Horacio Varcarcel]] and [[Antonio Mercero]]. It was directed by [[Antonio Mercero]], and it also stars [[Lolo Garcia]], Francisco Vidal, [[Norma Aleandro]], [[Antonio Ferrandis]], and [[Walter Vidarte]]. The film is about a little boy named Tobi who grows a pair of wings on his back which gives him the appearance of an angel. This circumstance draws attention to his community, including doctors, scientists, and schoolmates. Later on, the wings are surgically removed, but they eventually grow back.
+'''''Tobi''''' (or '''''Tobi el niño con alas''''') is a 1978 [[Cinema of Spain|Spanish]] [[comedy]]<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/160909/Tobi/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527035617/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/160909/Tobi/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 27, 2015|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=[[The New York Times]]|publisher=[[Baseline (database)|Baseline]] & [[All Movie Guide]]|author=Clarke Fountain|date=2015|title=Tobi (1979)|accessdate=November 23, 2015}}</ref> written by Horacio Varcarcel and [[Antonio Mercero]]. Directed by [[Antonio Mercero]], it stars Lolo Garcia, Francisco Vidal, [[Norma Aleandro]], [[Antonio Ferrandis]] and [[Walter Vidarte]]. In the film a young boy, Tobi, grows wings on his back which give him the appearance of an [[angel]]. This phenomenon draws attention to his community, which includes doctors, scientists and schoolmates. After Tobi's wings are surgically removed, they grow back.
-==Plot summary==
+=={{anchor|Plot summary}}Plot==
+Tobi and his parents, Jacinto and María López, are at a picnic. Back home, Tobi begins feeling strange itches on his back and is brought to the hospital for an evaluation. The next day, Tobi's parents learn that a pair of wings have grown from the itchy spots on his back. The hospital separates Tobi and his parents, but they can watch him through a one-way window. The doctors cannot explain why Tobi grew the wings and Jacinto, concerned about his son’s future, asks the doctors to remove them surgically. María is upset, and says that she wants Tobi back with or without his wings.
-{{very long|section|date=December 2014}}
-The movie begins with Tobi and his parents, Jacinto and María López, at a picnic. Back home, Tobi starts to feel a strange itch on his back, and he is subsequently taken to the hospital for further evaluation. The next day, the doctor escorts Tobi's parents to the hospital to see him, where they learn that a pair of wings grew out of the two itchy spots on Tobi's back. At this point, the hospital does not let Tobi and his parents interact, but his parents are able to see him through a one way window with Tobi not being aware that he is being watched. Tobi’s parents are taken to the doctor's office to discuss the rare condition, where the doctors can't explain why Tobi grew a pair of wings. Jacinto becomes concerned about his son’s future and what he will face in society, so he asks the doctors to surgically remove the wings. After arguing with the professor and doctor, María grows upset, expressing that she wants her son back with or without his wings, because she loves him either way. Eventually, the parents go home without Tobi.
-At the hospital, Tobi asks Lucy, his nurse, for his parents, and the nurse tells him that he will see his parents soon. Tobi, disappointed with the answer, complains that she always gives him that answer but it never happens. Tobi escapes from the clinic naked, with his wings still attached to his back. Lucy returns to Tobi’s room and finds him gone. Tobi hides in a garbage pail, and two workers unknowingly transport him into a pickup truck where they don’t believe there is anyone in the back, even though they hear noises.  Tobi escapes from the van by hiding inside a box that is taken to a store where he is still naked, and he manages to blend in with the other naked mannequins. An employee enters the room where Tobi and the other mannequins are and hears Tobi sneeze, but the boy stays still in order to not be discovered. Tobi enjoyed the situation and started to play pranks on the employee at the store, kicking him in the back and replacing himself with the mannequin. The employee then started to look at all the naked mannequins only to discover that the only one with a penis is Tobi. The employee then suffers a panic attack and runs away. Tobi then also runs away from the store and heads through the city to get back to his parents' house. While on his journey and unseen by other people, he plays with a water fountain. Tobi then gets tired and frustrated because he wants to see his mother. He asks for help from a drunk man who thinks he is hallucinating, and then another passer-by sees Tobi talking with the drunk man and becomes fascinated with the winged boy. He starts to take pictures of Tobi that are then given to the media for the public view.
+Tobi asks his nurse Lucy for his parents, and she says he will see them soon. Disappointed and lonely, he escapes from the clinic with no clothing. Tobi hides in a garbage pail, which two workers load into a truck. He escapes, hiding in a box which is brought into a store, and blends in with the mannequins. An employee hears Tobi sneeze, but the boy remains still and is not discovered. He begins to play tricks, kicking the employee and hiding again. The employee finds Tobi, the only "mannequin" who is anatomically accurate, and flees in a panic. Tobi runs away from the store, heading home through the city. He wants to see his mother and asks a drunk man (who thinks he is hallucinating) for help. A passer-by sees Tobi talking to the drunk man, takes photographs and gives them to the media.
-Tobi is now back home with his parents watching the news and the media frenzy about him, where they hear one of the doctors say that due to Tobi’s nature, the clinic should have the child’s custody for further study. The doctors consider Tobi to not be Homo Sapien, but a new species called Homo Angelicus. Tobi’s parents then find out that they have a crowd waiting to see the boy outside their house. Professor Jourdain then goes to their home to unsuccessfully try to talk to Tobi’s parents to get Tobi back to the clinic. To get the crowd away, Tobi’s mom picks up Tobi and shows him with his wings. Jacinto then befriends Marla Sullivan, who works in the media, where she makes Jacinto an offer. He tells her that his son is “not for rent”. Marla then offers Jacinto a contract to use Tobi in a commercial, but he rejects the offers given. She then offers him a better job, which Jacinto later accepts. In the next scene, Tobi appears in a stupid suit and uninterested in filming a women’s deodorant commercial, ruining every scene and causing the anger of the director. Tobi has been filming the commercial from 9&nbsp;am to 7&nbsp;pm and is now exhausted, so Tobi’s mom takes the boy without completing the commercial. Marla makes a comment to a staff member that the Lopez' had signed a contract and that later on she would catch up with them. Maria is preparing Tobi to go to school and makes him a pair of covers to hide his wings. Tobi needs to use the bathroom but because his mom is using it, he decides to pee outside the window, where the urine lands on a policeman. The policeman then knocks on the door to inform Mrs. López of the incident but when he found out it's Tobi, the boy with wings, he forgives him.
+Back home, Tobi and his parents hear a doctor say on television that the clinic should study him further; the doctors consider him to be ''Homo angelicus'', rather than ''Homo sapiens''. In a crowd outside their house, Professor Jourdain unsuccessfully tries to convince Tobi’s parents to return him to the clinic. To satisfy the crowd, his mother picks Tobi up and shows them his wings. Jacinto befriends media worker Marla Sullivan, who makes him offers he refuses because his son is not for sale. She then offers Jacinto a better job, which he accepts. Tobi reluctantly appears in a deodorant commercial, ruining every scene and angering the director. After he works all day, Tobi’s mother takes him home without finishing the commercial. She makes him a cover for his wings for him to wear to school.
-Tobi is then taken to school, where another classmate starts to pull his wings, so the teacher decided to sit Tobi apart from the others in order to protect him. The bell rings, and Tobi stays inside the classroom in order to not be bullied by the other boys.  He then becomes friends with a little girl and shows her his wings, which were hidden in covers prepared by his mother. Unknown to the pair, they are being watched by another classmate who then tells his friends about it, and the group goes back to Tobi to demand him to show them his wings. Tobi’s mom is taken to the principal’s office, where they tell her that the boy’s presence in the school is causing problems and is a distraction to the other students. Back at home, Tobi struggles with his new-found situation and starts getting nightmares. Tobi is then taken to the hospital and has his wings removed as a way to give him back his normal life. As he exits from the hospital, again he has the media waiting for him, taking pictures of his back. Marla Sullivan called Jacinto and reminded him that he signed a contract, and now that that Tobi had his wings removed, he will face a lawsuit. Tobi’s mom takes him to the park where he started to feel an itch on his back again. Marla then finds out through the news that Tobi’s wings grew back, and because of the contract, Tobi is now at carnival and being displayed as “Tobi the boy with wings” where people pay and get in a long line waiting to see him. The parents arrived and plan to get him out of there, but Tobi managed to escape on his own and ran towards the top of a tower having the crowd and his parents run after him. Once he reached the top, the boy flies away into the sky leaving the crowd and his parents behind him.
+When a classmate pulls Tobi's wings, their teacher seats Tobi apart from the others to protect him. He stays in the classroom during recess to avoid the other boys, and becomes friends with a little girl. Tobi shows her his wings, and is seen by another classmate who tells his friends; the group demands that Tobi show them his wings. Maria is summoned to school and told that Tobi’s presence is a distraction to the other students. When, back home, he begins having nightmares he has his wings removed. Tobi is discharged from the hospital to continued media attention, Marla Sullivan tells Jacinto that he is liable for breach of contract. Maria brings Tobi to the park, where he again feels an itch on his back. When Marla hears on the news that Tobi’s wings have grown back, she exhibits him at a carnival as "Tobi, the boy with wings". The boy escapes, climbing to the top of a tower; he flies away, leaving the crowd, his parents and his clothes behind.
 ==Cast==
-{{divcol|2}}
+{{div col}}
-* [[Lolo Garcia]] as Tobi López
+* Lolo Garcia as Tobi López
-* [[Norma Aleandro]] as Profesora
+* [[Norma Aleandro]] as the professor
 * [[Antonio Ferrandis]] as Doctor Juldain
 * [[Walter Vidarte]] as Enfermero
 * Francisco Vidal as Jacinto
-* Silvia Tortosa as Marga
+* [[Silvia Tortosa]] as Marga
-* José Lifante as Compañero de Marga
+* [[José Lifante]] as Marga's friend
 * Andrés Mejuto as Professor Burman
 * María Casanova as María
 * Manuela Camacho as Luci
 * Lorenzo Ramírez as Borracho
-* Jose Yepes as Fotógrafo
+* Jose Yepes as Photographer
+* Fabián Conde as Dolfo
-* Pepe Ruiz as Hombre en el almacén
-* Fabián Conde as dolfo
 {{div col end}}
 ==Reception==
+''Tobi'' has not been reviewed on ''Rotten Tomatoes''.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tobi/|title=Tobi (1979)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=November 23, 2015}}</ref>
-It has no score yet on Rotten Tomatoes.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tobi/</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 72: / Line 64: @@
 ==External links==
 *{{IMDb title|0078404|Tobi}}
-*[http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/160909/Tobi/overview Overview in the New York Times]
+{{Antonio Mercero}}
-==External links==
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tobi}}
 [[Category:1978 films]]
-[[Category:1970s drama films]]
+[[Category:1978 drama films]]
-[[Category:Spanish films]]
 [[Category:Spanish drama films]]
-[[Category:Spanish-language films]]
+[[Category:1970s Spanish-language films]]
 [[Category:Spain in fiction]]
+[[Category:1970s Spanish films]]

v t e Antonio Mercero
Films directed and written	Manchas de sangre en un coche nuevo (1975) La guerra de papá (1977) Tobi (1978) Wait for Me in Heaven (1988) A Time for Defiance (1998) Don Juan, mi querido fantasma (1990) The 4th Floor (2003) ¿Y tú quién eres? (2007)
Television	La cabina (1972) Don Juan (1974) Verano azul (1981–82) Farmacia de guardia (1991–95)