The local children's film Xuxa Wiggles (Xuxa Requebra) is stealing the show at the Brazilian box office despite intense competition from big-budget animations Toy Story 2 and Pokemon (pictured). Xuxa, known as 'Queen Of The Littlies', opened six weeks ago in time for the Christmas and school summer holidays and has now attracted 1.8 million cinema-goers. This is more than either the Disney/Pixar sequel to Toy Story or the Japanese animation Pokemon: The Movie which have pulled in 1.7 million and 1.5 million admissions respectively. However, in terms of box office Toy Story 2 has scooped more dollar revenue because of its appeal to older audiences paying for full price tickets.

Distributed by 20th Century Fox through its joint venture with Warner Bros, a strong advertising and merchandising campaign has maintained the appeal of Xuxa at the cinema, who gained a following through a daily morning TV entertainment programme for children.

The film is directed by Tizuka Yamazaki, who found fame with her debut film about Japanese immigration into Brazil, Gaijin: Roads To Freedom in 1980 and more recently had a box office hit with the family comedy O Novico Rebelde starring one of Brazil's top TV comedians, Renato Aragao.