Patito Feo

Patito Feo
Genre
Created by
  • Alejandro Stoessel
  • Mario Schajris
Written byEsteban Mejia and Marcela Citterio[1]
Directed byJorge Montero[1]
Starring
Theme music composer
  • Carlos Nilson
  • Mario Schajris
Opening theme"Un rincón del corazón"
by Laura Esquivel
Ending theme"Amigos del corazón" by Esquivel and Brenda Asnicar
Country of originArgentina
Original languageSpanish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes304 (Original)
265 (Censored)
Production
Executive producerLeonardo Blanco[1]
Production companiesIdeas del Sur
Televisa
Original release
NetworkCanal 13
Release10 April 2007 (2007-04-10) –
3 November 2008 (2008-11-03)
NetworkDisney Channel
Release23 July 2007 (2007-07-23) –
31 March 2011 (2011-03-31)
Related
Atrévete a Soñar
Consentidos
Atracción x4 en Dream Beach

Patito Feo is an Argentine children's and teen comedy drama telenovela produced by Ideas del Sur that originally aired on Canal 13 for two seasons, from 10 April 2007, to 3 November 2008. The series centers on Patito, a teenager with exceptional vocal talent who moves from a small town to Buenos Aires. She enrolls in a prestigious performing arts school, where students are divided into two rival groups, Las populares and Las divinas, the latter led by the arrogant Antonella. As she pursues musical success, Patito confronts lookism, intense school rivalries, a love triangle, and the mystery surrounding her biological father's identity.

Created by Alejandro Stoessel, Mario Schajris, and Marcela Citterio, Patito Feo was produced by Ideas del Sur in association with Televisa. It stars Laura Esquivel and Brenda Asnicar, alongside Juan Darthés, Griselda Siciliani and Gloria Carrá, with a large ensemble cast. Following its successful run in Argentina, Disney Channel acquired the series' broadcast rights and aired the show in over 40 countries across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Despite having received mixed reviews, Patito Feo achieved strong ratings and became an international phenomenon.[2]

Alongside the series, three soundtrack albums and a live album were released, earning multiple certifications across Latin America and Southern Europe and supporting concert tours throughout both regions. In 2007, Patito Feo won the Martín Fierro Award for Best Children's-Youth Program and was nominated in the same category the following year. At the 2008 Gardel Awards, its music recordings received four awards. It was also nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Children & Young People at the 36th ceremony.

Plot

Patricia, lovingly known as Patito, has to leave her humble life in Bariloche with her mother, Carmen, to move to the big city of Buenos Aires. For health reasons, both travel so Patito can receive the medical treatment that she needs. To Carmen's surprise, the doctor of the hospital will be her unforgettable old love, Leandro, the unknown father that Patito has been waiting to find for years.

Due to her passion for music, Patito joins the Pretty Land School of Arts, where she will meet Antonella, the queen bee of the prestigious private school. Antonella is the daughter of Blanca, who is engaged to Leandro for financial reasons. Antonella is unaware that her family is made up of a group of swindlers, which is why her presumed deceased father is actually in prison in Spain.

Patito and Antonella will become best frenemies. Despite their differences, both share the same dreams: reunite with their respective fathers and became music stars. Two decisive groups will be formed at the Pretty Land School of Arts: Las Divinas, led by Antonella, and Las Populares, led by Patito, who will compete to win the talent show and sign a record label.

Cast

Main characters

  • Laura Esquivel as Patricia "Patito" Castro
  • Brenda Asnicar as Antonella Lamas Bernardi
  • Thelma Fardin as Josefina Beltran
  • Eva De Dominici as Tamara Valiente
  • Gaston Soffritti as Matias Beltran
  • Rodrigo Velilla as Felipe Sanchez
  • Brian Vainberg as Facundo Lamas Bernardi

Recurring characters

  • María Sol Berecoechea as Sol Démini
  • Juan Manuel Guilera as Gonzalo Molina
  • Nicolás Zuviria as Alan Luna
  • Nicolás Torcanowsky as Santiago Peep
  • Camila Outon as Pía Zanetti
  • Camila Salazar as Caterina Artina
  • Nicole Luis as Luciana Menditegüi
  • Andrés Gil as Bruno Molina
  • Santiago Talledo as Guido Leinez

Background

The stars of Patito Feo: Brenda Asnicar (l.) played antagonist Antonella Lamas Bernardi, while Laura Natalia Esquivel (r.) played the title role of Patricia "Patito" Díaz-Rivarola Castro (2006)

The series started filming in 2006 in Buenos Aires. With a huge marketing push, the show started its run in April 2007 in Canal 13. Following the phenomenon it generated in the country, the show started airing internationally by Disney Channel across Latin America, Europe, and Asia under the title Patty’s World, the official title for non–Spanish-speaking countries, translated into their respective languages (Il Mondo di Patty, O Mundo de Patty, Bota e Patit, Le Monde de Patricia, etc.).

It premiered on Disney Channel Latin America on July 23, 2007, on Disney Channel Italy on June 9, 2008, and on Disney Channel Spain on September 14, 2009, and subsequently on the respective national networks of Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Albania, Portugal, France, Turkey, Romania, Belarus, Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia), Bosnia and Herzegovina, among others. The series was ultimately broadcast in more than 50 countries, achieving worldwide success.

Patito Feo succeeded in positioning its discography at number one on international sales charts with Patito Feo: La historia más linda (2007), Patito Feo en el Teatro (2007), La vida es una fiesta (2008), and the live album Patito Feo: El musical más bonito (2010), becoming the best-selling soundtracks of the year and certified for 11× Platinum in countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, among others.[3][4][5]

From 2007 to 2011, Laura Esquivel and Brenda Asnicar became Argentina’s leading teen idols of the time, performing for more than two million spectators worldwide during four musical tours. After staging numerous performances at the Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and serving as opening acts for High School Musical at the Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti, the actresses toured countries across Europe and Latin America, performing in venues renowned for their historical prestige. Highlights included Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional, the Arena di Verona in Italy, the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, and the Faliro Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece, among other major arenas, where performances were repeated for up to three consecutive days. Due to high public demand, the respective solo tours of the lead actresses were announced, further solidifying its status among critics as a genuine cultural phenomenon.[6][7][8][9]

The show spawned over 200 international merchandising including a collection of books, bestselling novels and magazines, as well as products such as DVDs, school supplies, clothing (including an exclusive fashion collection at El Corte Inglés between 2009 and 2011), footwear (Cover Your Bones, among other brands), dolls, perfumes, makeup, accessories, board games, electronic toys, collectibles, costumes, and decorative items. Two Patito Feo video games were released by PlayStation. Patito Feo: El juego más bonito was released on November 4, 2010, for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), receiving the award for Best Product of the Year granted by Televisa. SingStar Patito Feo was released on December 3, 2010, for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2, compiling the greatest hits from its soundtrack in karaoke format.

In 2008, Patito Feo won the Martin Fierro Award and received a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Children & Young Adults program.

Although the show was incredibly well received by the audience, Patito Feo attracted huge criticism due to the fact it glamorized the villains, a group of mean and beautiful girls that called themselves Las Divinas (The Divines). Besides being superficial, Las Divinas were also mean and bullied Patito. The fact the villains were much more popular among young girls than the main character caused concern over some groups and the issue was even on the cover Noticias, Argentina's most important current affairs magazine, under the headline "The Triumph of Discrimination".[10]

In late 2008, Alejandro Stoessel, creator of Patito, was fired. Disagreements between him and the production company started after two shows he was in charge of, the second season of Patito Feo and the teen-oriented show Atraccion x 4, failed to reach expectations and ended up being canceled. After parting ways with the company, he started a lawsuit against Ideas del Sur asking for a part of Patito Feo profits because he claims he was responsible for creating the entire concept. The lawsuit not only was the reason a new leg of a Latin American tour was canceled but also a European tour, where the show was also enjoying huge popularity.

After his dismissal, Alejandro Stoessel was hired by Dori Media to develop a new show targeted to kids and teenagers.

At the same time, Ideas del Sur started to develop a new youth-oriented show, Malcriados (now titled Consentidos), and chose Brenda Asnicar, who had enjoyed high popularity in her role as Antonella, as one of the lead actresses. At the same time, Dori Media and Stoessel wanted her to star in their new show, Ñeka.

Brenda finally decided to do the Dori Media project and, not satisfied with being turned down, Ideas de Sur started a lawsuit against Brenda's management since her contract stipulated she should prioritize Ideas del Sur projects over other production companies.[11]

Finally, Ñeka was renamed Mia, mi Amiga Invisible and will debut at Mipcom in Cannes starring Brenda. But the show is also facing various lawsuits: besides Ideas del Sur, Valeria Britos, the creator of the original script (when it was titled Ñeka), is also suing Dori Media.

The lawsuit prevented the cast, especially Brenda Asnicar, of touring across Europe in 2010 to promote the show.

International release

Country Language Channel Title
 Argentina Spanish Canal 13, Disney Channel, Magazine
 Albania Albanian Junior TV Bota e Patit: Historia më e bukur (Patty's World: The most beautiful story)
 India Hindi Disney Channel India Patito Feo (Patito Feo: The most beautiful story)
 Turkey Turkish D Çocuk, ATV, Nickelodeon Turkey, Kidz TV Patito Feo: En güzel hikaye (Patito Feo: The most beautiful story)
 Italy Italian Disney Channel Italy, Italia 1, La5, Boing Italia Il Mondo di Patty (Patty's World)
 San Marino Italian Disney Channel Italy
 Greece Greek Mega Channel Patty: Η πιο όμορφη ιστορία (Patty: The most beautiful story)
 Cyprus Greek ANT1 Cyprus
 France French Gulli / Cartoon Network / Boing (France) / IDF1 De tout mon Coeur (With all my Heart) / Le Monde de Patricia (Patricia's world)
 Portugal Portuguese SIC, Panda Biggs O Mundo de Patty
 Spain Spanish Cartoon Network Spain, Disney Channel Spain, Telecinco Patito Feo
 Belgium French MTV Belgium Le Monde de Patricia
 Switzerland French MTV Switzerland
 Chile Spanish TVN Patito Feo
 Colombia Spanish Caracol TV, Disney Channel
 Mexico Spanish Televisa, Disney Channel
 Dominican Republic Spanish Disney Channel, Antena Latina
 Costa Rica Spanish Teletica
 Honduras Spanish Televicentro
 El Salvador Spanish Disney Channel
 Panama Spanish Telemetro
 Peru Spanish Disney Channel
 Paraguay Spanish Telefuturo
 Uruguay Spanish Teledoce
 Venezuela Spanish Televen, Disney Channel
 Ecuador Spanish Ecuavisa
 Guatemala Spanish Disney Channel
 Nicaragua Spanish Disney Channel
 Ecuador Spanish Disney Channel
 Bolivia Spanish PAT
 United States Spanish Univision
 Czech Republic Czech Disney Channel Czech Republic
 Slovakia Czech Disney Channel Czech Republic
 Hungary Hungarian FEM3, Disney Channel Hungary
 Romania Romanian Disney Channel Romania
 Bulgaria Bulgarian Disney Channel Bulgaria
 Israel Hebrew ערוץ הילדים פטיטו
 Serbia Serbian Ultra Ružno pače / Ружно паче (Ugly Duckling)
 Montenegro Serbian Ultra
 Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian Ultra
 North Macedonia Serbian Ultra

References

  1. ^ a b c A planet without the Cris's Galaxy Archived 6 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, note of Pablo Sirvén for La Nación Daily, April 12, 2007, [retrieved on April 30, 2008] (in Spanish)
  2. ^ Press, Pamela Rolfe,The Associated (27 May 2010). "Disney embraces tween telenovelas". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 April 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "PATITO FEO TRIUNFÓ EN GRECIA". infobae (in European Spanish). 6 November 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  4. ^ "El Disco de Patito Feo es número uno en Italia - Asteriscos.Tv". www.asteriscos.tv. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  5. ^ "La Argentina, país generoso". Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  6. ^ "ADNMundo.com | Diario de Actualidad de España". ADNMundo.com | Diario de Actualidad de España (in Spanish).
  7. ^ "Un patito feo que habla en griego | TN". tn.com.ar (in Spanish). 31 January 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  8. ^ LOS40 (18 April 2010). "La mayor estrella adolescente argentina visita España | Actualidad". LOS40 (in European Spanish). Retrieved 17 February 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Il Mondo di Patty, un successo planetario!". 10eLOL (in Italian). Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  10. ^ "Revista Noticias | Patito feo - El triunfo de la discriminación" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Exclusivo, casualidad o causalidad? Juan Darthes trabajará con Brenda Asnicar y Alejandro Stoessel" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 August 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
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