Chiquititas: Rincón de Luz (2001)

"*Quiero elegir mi propria historia*"
— Belén, to the wizard and magical creature Tok, as she embarks on new adventure

***Chiquititas: Rincón de luz*** is a 2001 Argentine fantasy-adventure film directed by *José Luis Massa* and written by *Alex Ferrara* and *Walter Ferrara*. Based on the television series of same name which began on Argentine television in 1995. The film was released in Argentina on 12 July 2001, and is produced by Cris Morena, creator of *Chiquititas* original television series. The movie is heavenly influenced by *The Sound of Music* and it's first scene, with Belén arriving at the village, resembles the song *Belle* on Disney's *Beauty and the Beast*.

## Plot

"*¡Turin Turin!*"
— Tok

The movie opens in a small village in the Andes mountains, where a little girl who's connected to nature grows up to become a beautiful young woman. She befriends Tok, a magical elf, who introduces her to the wizard, a man who offers her a bunch of stories to live from his immense library, but she choses a white book, not the biggest of the thickest, called the book of life, where she decides to be a character who get's to write her own story.

It tale she chooses takes her to a har away village where some orphans who are mistreated and forced to work on a farm, run by Colonel Francisco Estévez (Juan Leyrado) and also by Marga Calvo (Alejandra Flechner). She sees a sign saying the orphanage needs a cook and volunteers for the job. In there, she realizes the terrible condititions, fear, and abuse that the orphans are subjected, but little by little she starts to gain their trust and them her protection.

Belén meets Alejo (Facundo Arana) who lives with a boy named Felipe Mejía (Felipe Colombo)., together they look for the blue diamonds in the legend The colonel, who was also interested in finding those diamonds, use the money that is meant for the orphans to finance his digging and expedition in pursuit of the diamonds.

## Cast

### Protagonists

* **Romina Yan** as Belén Fraga
* **Facundo Arana** as Alejo Méndez Ayala

### Main Cast

* **Camila Bordonaba** as Camila Bustillo
* **Benjamín Rojas** as Bautista Arce
* **Luisana Lopilato** as Luisana Maza
* **Felipe Colombo** as Felipe Mejía
* **Sebastián Francini** as Sebastián Mansilla
* **Nadia Di Cello** as María Fernández
* **Milagros Flores** as Juana Maza
* **Agustín Sierra** as Agustín Maza
* **Natalia Melcon** as Natalia "Tali" Ramos Pacheco Acevedo
* **Federico Barón** as Federico Martínez
* **Cristian Belgrano** as Cristián Maza
* **Brian Vainberg** as Tok

### Antagonists

* **Juan Leyrado** as Coronel Francisco Estévez
* **Alejandra Flechner** as Marga Calvo

### Participations

* Roberto Carnaghi as Mayor
* Franklin Caicedo as Old Wise Man
* Gilda Gentile as Gypsy
* Lelio Lesser as Man in town
* Alejandra Perlusky as Fish Saleswoman
* Gustavo Pastorini as Conejero
* Carlos Kaspar as Huevero

## Production

The first plans of a *Chiquititas* film began four years before the start of this production. The project was supposed to be made for the Brazilian audience but ideas later dropped out.

Cinematography by Ricardo Rodríguez. The movie is distributed by Líder Films S.A.

The movie was shot in 2000 in Villa La Angostura.

## Music

*Chiquititas: Rincón de Luz* features, in addition to the television show's cast, the songs that became a hit with the *Chiquititas* Argentine young audience, such as "Pimpollo", "Había Una Vez", "Penitas", and the main title song that featured in *Chiquititas* show's third season, "Rinconcito De Luz".

The actress Camila Bordonaba and the actor Felipe Colombo sang the song "Pimpollo" in Hebrew for the Israel play *Katantanot* based on the film *Chiquititas: Rincón de Luz*

### Featured songs

1. **Pimpollo** **(Belén and Tok)**
2. **Penitas (Belén)**
3. **Hasta 10 (Marga and the chufos)**
4. **Había una Vez (Belén)**
5. **Pienso en Ti (Camila and Felipe)**
6. **Todo Todo (Belén and the chufos)**
7. **Rebelde (chufos)**
8. **Angel Cocinero (chufos)**
9. **Rinconcito de Luz (chufos)**

## Reception

The *Chiquititas* feature film was not screened for critics, as it was basically a result of the huge success among children from Argentina and other countries, like Israel. However, it received mixed to negative reviews. Reviewers stated that *Rincón de Luz* presented typical elements from famous American musical/fantasy films (which Cris Morena herself enjoys) such as *The Sound of Music* and *The Never Ending Story*. The film received a positive review from Argentine newspaper La Nación.

The film was a huge success at the Israeli box office, and was adapted into a musical production in the country. Actors Sebastián Francini and Nadia Di Cello were featured in a presentation.