original production:
Cast: Luis Osorno Barona, Jr. ("Blue"), Maria Elena Marques (Mariana, "Blue's" mother), Jorge Martinez de Hoyos (Don Lorenzo, "Blue's" father)
PLOT OUTLINE:
(from AFI): Little Boy Blue leaves home to find his pet monkey Pancho. Although he becomes involved with thieves illegally hunting deep in the jungle, all ends happily as Blue, his family, and Pancho are reunited.
SYNOPSIS:
Deep in the heart of the Yucatan jungle, two independent filmmakers, Bob and Manolo, break camp, and excitedly discuss their mission: to capture on film a rare colony of pink flamingoes!
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, a little boy, Blue, and his pet monkey, Pancho, romp and play. They watch the colorful birds and tigers at play.
Blue has set a trap for a baby fox. He captures one to bring back to his "zoo" at home.
On their way home, Blue and Pancho see a beautiful flamingo pass by. Blue finds a feather to the rare bird.
Blue runs to tell his Uncle Luis about the rare white feather. Blue also shows Luis a bird egg he stole, and says he can have his turkey sit on it, to hatch it.
Luis tells Blue the story of the great pink birds, and their white offspring.
Blue arrives at his home, the family farm. His mother, Mariana, watches, amused, as Blue places the flamingo egg under his pet turkey.
Blue places the baby fox he caught with Pearlita, his other baby fox.
Mariana tells Blue to come inside and prepare to take lunch to his father.
Blue's father, Don Lorenzo, works as the foreman of a group of laborers, who gather sugar cane. Blue shows up with his father's lunch: freshly baked corn cakes!
That evening, Lorenzo asks Blue how his "private zoo" is coming along. Blue tells him about the turkey and the flamingo egg.
Next morning, Blue checks on the flamingo egg. It is warm, but unhatched.
Mariana tells him to stop spending so much time with his animal friends. Blue laughs, watching Pancho ride a wild pig across the farmyard.
Blue and Pancho prepare for Blue's last day of school, and also gather jars of honey for sale in the marketplace. Pancho doesn't want to go to school, so he hides on the roof.
Blue washes up in the river, and soon, Mariana calls him to breakfast. After saying his prayers, Blue digs in to the delicious meal.
Mariana reminds Blue to take the honey directly to market after school.
Shortly after, Blue enters the one-room schoolhouse, while Pancho remains outside.
Pancho sneaks into the classroom later and starts writing on the blackboard. The teacher comes in and shoos him out.
On the way out of the schoolhouse, Pancho steals a little girl's notebook. Pancho then rings the school bell, and the children, believing it means early dismissal, leave school!
Later, Blue and Pancho arrive at the town market and peddle their honey.
As Blue does business, Pancho tries his hand at stringing beads.
Elsewhere in the market, two suspicious characters discuss some shady business: one sells the other a piece of illegal venison. The man's partner then comes over and yells at him for being so reckless.
Pancho brings Blue some bird feathers, which piques the interest of the game warden, standing nearby. The game warden traces the feathers to the two seedy men, and pulls out a basket in which lays a deer head! The game warden arrests the two poachers for illegal hunting.
Blue returns home, and tells his mother he sold all the honey, and that Pancho caught two criminals.
The police commissioner ends a conversation with Lorenzo, who then leaves. The poachers are brought in, and are fined. The poachers pay the fine, and are told to leave Yucatan immediately.
Back on the farm, Blue looks for Pancho. Lorenzo's friend San Pedro visits with his little girl, Martha Lou. The two children run off together.
Blue and Martha Lou visit a carnival in town, and then go for a nude swim in a nearby creek, while Pancho watches, blushing.
Blue returns to the farm, only to find that his baby foxes have escaped, and have eaten some of the family chickens, which they need for eggs. Mariana tells Blue that his father will be furious.
Blue visits Uncle Luis, and tells him about his problem. Luis declines a request to relocate Blue's zoo on his property, but instead suggests that Blue investigate the ruins of an old hacienda which is nearby. Luis warns Blue, however, to be careful, for ruins can be dangerous for little boys.
Later that day, Lorenzo returns home for supper. He smells chicken cooking, and asks Mariana who the guest is. Mariana tells father squeamishly about the fox-and-chicken incident. Lorenzo is furious. He runs outside, and tells Blue to let all of his animals go free, the first thing next morning.
To add insult to injury, Pancho tries to steal Lorenzo's food, and Lorenzo throws him out, telling Blue to keep Pancho out of the house from now on. Blue is very upset by this turn of events.
The next morning, Blue rises early, and steals out of the house before his parents wake up. He walks with a lantern to the old hacienda, to see if it will suit his zoo relocation plan.
Blue walks through a waterfall to reach the inside of the old place, and becomes afraid as he enters the dingy ruins.
Blue walks cautiously through the dank, dark hallways of the creepy old stone building. He encounters a nest of bats, and later falls into an open mass grave, containing exposed human remains! A skull starts moving towards Blue, but it is being propelled by a big ugly rat!
Blue happens upon a decaying statue of Saint Francis, whom Blue knows to be the patron saint of animals. He then knows that this place will be perfect for his beloved pets.
Blue returns home, and sneaks back to bed before his parents find him missing.
Later that morning, Blue assures his animal friends that they will like their new home. Martha Lou shows up, and Blue takes her to the old hacienda to show her around.
Martha Lou hesitates to cross the waterfall, but eventually does, covering her hair with her handbag.
Blue and Martha Lou begin clearing the place up for the new inhabitants.
Mariana cooks supper for Lorenzo. Jose, one of Don Lorenzo's workers, visits, and is grateful to share some breakfast.
Meanwhile, Pancho, upset by Blue's absence, wrecks most of the family's honey inventory.
Lorenzo is furious, and tells Jose to take Pancho away with him!
Near the hacienda, the two poachers arrested earlier approach the building; it is where they stash their illegal game! They hear Blue and Martha Lou constructing a cage.
Blue wanders off, and finds more feathers like the one he found in the marketplace.
The poachers assume that Blue is in the building with the game warden, trying to put them out of business. They plot to collapse the rickety structure, killing those inside.
They rig up some ropes to collapse the roof.
Blue shows Martha Lou the statue of St. Francis. They both agree this is the perfect place for "Blue's Zoo."
Blue then shows Martha Lou the stash of exotic feathers, as the poachers prepare their death plot.
Blue and Martha Lou walk back inside the building, just as the place starts to crumble. The roof caves in; it looks like Blue and Martha Lou are trapped inside!
The poachers run away.
Meanwhile, in the town square, Jose tries to sell Pancho. The poachers happen by, and ask his price.
Back at the old hacienda, Blue and Martha Lou have managed to find an escape route, and are soon out in the open, none the worse for wear.
The poachers purchase Pancho, and head out of town with him.
Blue returns home, and Mariana tells him, sadly, that his father made Pancho go away. Blue is angered and horrified.
Blue runs to Jose, who tells Blue he sold Pancho to some hunters on the way to Muntule.
Mariana tells Lorenzo that Blue has gone searching for Pancho.
Blue runs towards town, and asks some passerby if they have seen the poachers with Pancho.
At the farm, Lorenzo is upset by his hasty action, and vows to Mariana that he will go out and find his son.
Blue travels further and further into the Yucatan jungle as night falls, and finally falls asleep on a hay-cart.
The next morning, Blue wakes up at cock's crow, and continues his sad journey. He happens upon a farmer, who feeds him breakfast, and steers him in the right direction. As Blue runs off, the farmer shouts after him to be very careful, for this is wild country!
Blue wades knee-deep through the jungle swamp, searching everywhere for his beloved Pancho.
Blue climbs a large tree, in an attempt to have a better view of the land ahead. He scans the horizon, but finds no sign of his beloved companion.
Soon, Blue happens upon the two poachers, who are shocked to see him. Blue demands to see Pancho. One of the men points to the ground. Pancho lays there, apparantly dead!
Blue runs to his friend, struck with grief. He picks up the chimp, and starts to cry.
The poachers decide they must kidnap Blue, in order to avoid prosecution by the authorities.
A thunderstorm approaches. The poachers decide to break camp.
Blue starts to dig a grave for Pancho, but one of the poachers tells him he has to come with them now. The poacher drags Blue off.
As Blue and the poachers start off, the rain begins to fall in torrents. Amazingly, the rain revives Pancho, who wasn't dead after all!
Pancho gets up, and runs through the rainy forest, looking for his dear pal Blue.
That evening, as Blue and the poachers sleep, Blue wakes up just in time to see a snake approach one of the men. Blue kills the snake with a knife. The poacher wakes up, and at first thinks Blue was trying to kill him, but then he sees the snake, and takes Blue in his arms.
Later, Lorenzo stumbles on Pancho. The two travel together to find Blue.
The poachers and Blue take a raft and travel towards a peninsula where rare eagles are known to nest. They discover to their dismay that they have arrived too late to collect their annual eagle feathers, and blame Blue for the delay.
The trio come ashore. The poachers make Blue collect the eagle feathers that still remain on the ground.
One of the poachers reminisces about how fertile this area used to be. The other suggests they next go to Flamingo Island.
Meanwhile, Blue has made a hat for himself out of eagle feathers.
Unfortunately, one of the poachers sees only the feathers of Blue's hat peeking through a bush, and almost shoots him. The other poacher tells him to cut it out, but the man with the gun says he just wants to scare Blue.
The poacher shoots, and the hat flies off Blue's head as the two evil men laugh.
The poachers next plot what to do with Blue. One wants to kill him, while the other suggests they just leave him behind to fend for himself.
That evening, while the poachers rest in a drunken stupor, Blue sneaks to the shore, and steals a tiny rowboat. He quietly rows away from his captors.
Soon, the exhausted Blue is asleep in the boat, which floats gently to the opposite shore.
Blue wakes up some time later, and amazingly finds himself in the land of the great white birds: Flamingo Island!
Blue walks ashore excitedly, and observes the rare and graceful birds as they congregate in immense flocks. Blue watches silently, so as not to disturb the elegant creatures.
Blue watches in delight as some of the majestic birds take off.
Blue happens upon the nesting ground of the flamingoes, and picks up an egg. He watches in awe as baby flamingoes test their tiny wings.
Unbeknownst to Blue, his little boat is floating back out to sea! Blue continues to watch the amazing actions of the flamingoes, acting as one in their massive assemblies.
Back at the farm, Luis visits Mariana, and asks if there is any news regarding Blue. Mariana sadly replies no. Luis states that he has prayed for Blue's safe return. Mariana confirms that she too has been praying.
Just then, Martha Lou rushes in with a baby flamingo, which has just hatched from Blue's egg! They all agree that this is a sign that Blue is alive!
Meanwhile, Blue has discovered to his dismay that his boat has floated away. He sits on the beach, despondent. later, Blue makes a nest for himself and falls asleep in the jungle.
As fate would have it, filmmakers Bob and Manolo are in the same territory. Their helper tells them of his discovery of Blue's little boat, with his straw hat in it.
Meanwhile, the two poachers make their way towards Flamingo Island, and start to shoot at the birds as they approach.
Bob and Manolo hear shooting, and start to film the action. Blue has heard the shots as well, and runs towards the scene of the commotion.
Lorenzo approaches Bob and Manolo, and explains his situation. Manolo shows Lorenzo Blue's hat. Lorenzo is ecstatic. The filmmakers agree to help Lorenzo search for his lost boy.
The poachers land on Flamingo Island. They split up, to cover more territory.
Meanwhile, Blue hacks his way through a dense swamp, while Pancho swims through another part of the swamp.
One of the poachers finds evidence of Blue's trail.
Finally, Blue and Pancho converge. Pancho jumps into Blue's arms.
Shortly, however, the poacher joins the happy pair and prepares to shoot Pancho, but Pancho attacks the poacher instead. The other poacher arrives, and almost shoots Pancho as well, but instead tells Blue to control his pet.
The poachers scram. Lorenzo finds his boy, and hugs him as Pancho watches happily.
Bob and Manolo join the happy family. Blue tells the filmmakers about the nesting ground of the rare flamingoes.
Blue leads the filmmakers to the land of the great white flamingo, and all watch in awe as the great birds assemble and fly.
Lorenzo, Blue and Pancho return home. Blue is excited to see he is now the proud papa of a baby flamingo!
Blue looks up at the sky, and ponders his sacred night on Flamingo Island.
THE END
REVIEW:
LITTLE BOY BLUE AND PANCHO is a strange and affecting little film. Whereas most of the Mexican fairy tales were filmed either on fanciful and brightly-colored studio sets, or in attractive outdoor surroundings, LBB is filmed outdoors, entirely on location in the dense, creepy forests of Yucatan, giving the film a murky, eerie tropical flavor.
Though the production is Mexican, the actors seem to be speaking (overdubbed) English, implying the film was targeted for an international market. Why such a grim and lackluster tale would be mounted as an international showcase for Mexican kiddie cinema one can only wonder, when much more attractive and accessible fairy tales, like the Santa Claus and Little red Riding Hood films, were spoken in Spanish and had to be completely re-dubbed for foreign markets.
LITTLE BOY BLUE AND PANCHO is not a fairy tale by any stretch of the imagination, but more of a minor wildlife adventure with a coming-of-age premise (and nary a fantasy element in sight), sort of a Mexican "Tom Sawyer" (a comparison Murray was quick to make in his advertising for the picture).
The opening credits roll over spooky, stock-footage shots of Aztec temple ruins at sunset(!), images more akin to the opening of a horror film than to a frothy holiday confection for the wee ones.
And this is likely the only children's film ever made in which the main title is superimposed over a scene of a decaying human skull!
The virtually apologetic narrator is quick to make a very shaky fairy tale connection, by claiming that the hero of the film (called "Blue", "Boy", and even "Little Boy", but NEVER "Little Boy Blue"!), is like every little boy in the world, that is, both lazy and adventurous, preferring to sleep in the hay rather than do his chores, in essence a "Little Boy Blue" like the nursery rhyme of old. Spurious logic, to say the least.
As in much Murray product, we have a fascinating look at the life of really poor people, the total antithesis of the sterile, overfed WASP reality of Disney. This is a largely realistic, almost grim, look at circa-1958 life in the grungy and depressed Yucatan peninsula.
We also have an amazing nude swimming scene that's almost as provocative as one in the notorious exploitation film CHILD BRIDE, and very similar to one that would come much later in THE BLUE LAGOON. Even Pancho freaks out at seeing Blue and his chick in the buff.
Speaking of Pancho, Blue's pet monkey was stricken by the modesty censors; he wears red underpants throughout the film, to avoid showing us his pee-pee.
A strange English (hand-lettered) sign hangs over the doorway to Blue's schoolhouse: "Please remove your hats in the classroom."
There is some pretty amazing photography, and some incredible wildlife footage here, especially of the hordes of great white (and pink) flamingoes.
There's a majestic, though somewhat inappropriate, score by Don Muller.
Yet the film has its grisly moments, with lots of hunting and killing and shooting going on. In one key example, a game warden pulls a disgusting deer's head out of a basket.
Later, for no other apparent reason than to make this a bonafde case of "kiddie exploitation", Blue visits a spooky old ruins in which he finds swarms of bats and an open grave filled with decomposing human remains! A human skull walks towards Blue, but it's only being propelled by a giant rat!
Even later, the poachers kidnap Pancho, kick and beat him up and leave him for dead, traumatizing Blue and the audience, but Jesus' father sends a miracle rain that brings the godlike primate back to life.
All in all, LITTLE BOY BLUE AND PANCHO is a real odd duck, a grungy, harrowing, bewitching thrill-ride for lower-middle class youngsters, an excellent illustration of Murray's unique cultural role as child-frightener.
COMMENTS:
* (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!
* I always thought I was nuts for finding this film visually (and in some ways even subtextually) similar to Luis Bunuel's notorious LA JOVEN, (aka THE YOUNG ONE, ISLAND OF SHAME), about a poor pre-teen orphan who is seduced and violated by a local tyrant. However, the general look of rural poverty is quite similar, and curiously enough, the art director (Jesus Bracho) was the same for both films! In addition, Blue's girlfriend Martha Lou bears some physical resemblance to Evelyn, the coveted youth in the brutal and obscure Bunuel film! Thus, LBB and TYO have always been weird parallel universe cousins, for me at least.
* According to Mexican film historian David Wilt, the source film, PARAISO ESCONDIDO, was finished in 1958, but was not released in Mexico City until 1962, four years later. Thanks to Mr. Wilt for locating the source film for this obscure Murray release.
* Luis Osorno Barona, who wrote and filmed this woodsian adventure, also cast his son, Luis Jr., in the role of "Blue".
* According to AFI, LITTLE BOY BLUE AND PANCHO premiered in the US on October 12, 1963, in des Moines, Iowa.
NOTABLE DIALOGUE:
*
"We found our quiz kid. We found our quiz kid..."
Original Mexican one-sheet for PARAISO ESCONDIDO.
For more fun pictures, visit
LITTLE BOY BLUE'S Fairy Tale Foto Gallery!