
Perdidos no Meio do Nada! (lit. Lost in the Middle of Nowhere!) is the title of a story originally published in Cascão #329 (Globo series) in 1999. The story was later adapted into a cartoon episode in 2002.
The story was written by Emerson Abreu.
Plot[]
The story begins with Smudge, Jimmy Five and Mr. Antenor lost in the middle of a desert after Mr. Antenor's car crashed. While Mr. Antenor tries to repair the car's engine the bored boys make a bet. Antenor's attempt to repair the car ends up failing causing the car to break down for good and also making Antenor give up on repairing (after being humiliated in every attempt). Jimmy Five celebrates Antenor's withdrawal, thus winning Smudge on the bet. Antenor realizes that they were betting and believes that his son was betting that he would be able to repair the car's engine, until Smudge reveals that he was actually betting that he would give up earlier.

"It's written on the sign!"
Mr. Antenor is disappointed with the attitude of the boys and says that he would never call them for a walk again having deviated a "little" way from the mall. Smudge tries to make his father realize that they are actually lost in a desert, but he doesn't believe it trying to consult a map to prove it. Jimmy Five says they are lost in the middle of nowhere, but Antenor still doesn't believe it until Smudge shows a sign written "Middle of Nowhere".
Mr. Antenor tries to forget the map and decides to look for a garage to repair the car. Jimmy Five asks if they can ride a camel, but Antenor thinks that they are not in a desert and there are no camels where they are, causing Jimmy Five to respond to the camel (which only he saw) that it does not exist.

Jimmy Five washes his feet
After so much walking in the desert the boys start to get tired, Jimmy Five decides to take a bottle of water from the backpack (leaving Smudge with disgust). Mr. Antenor then comes across a man crawling asking for water (leaving Smudge in disgust again) who says he saw a mirage by Luane Piovana (a parody of actress Luana Piovani) with strawberry milkshake. The lost man complains about them having only water instead of milksahe and Antenor tries to convince the man to stop tantruming, until he realizes that Jimmy Five used all the water in the bottle to wash his feet.

A very real mirage
Antenor is frustrated by what Jimmy Five has done and wonders what else could happen. At that very moment a band of desert bandits appear and run towards Jimmy Five and Antenor (who says they are just a mirage). The two try to escape, but end up being buried in the sand. Mr. Antenor wonders where Smudge is and the two find him taking a strawberry milkshake that he claims to have received from Luane Piovana's mirage.

Smudge almost falls into the water
Antenor and Jimmy Five then look at an oasis and jump into the water. Smudge (believing that the oasis is a mirage) says they have bad taste, but believing that the water is not real he decides to jump in too, but the moment he is about to fall into the water Smudge stops in midair when a director of films appears prohibiting them from bathing in that water.
The director reveals that they are inside a movie studio and are disturbing the recordings of his film revealing that the thieves and the lost man were just actors. Smudge looks at Luana Piovana, while Jimmy Five looks at Fernanda Montepreto (a parody of actress Fernanda Montenegro).

Antenor misses the way to the mall (again)
Antenor then asks the director for help to repair his car and so the trio leaves the place where the film is being shot going towards the mall. Antenor promises that he will not go wrong again, but ends up accidentally ending up in a jungle full of wild animals.
Characters[]
- Smudge
- Jimmy Five
- Mr. Antenor
- Vulture
- Camel
- Lost man
- Luane Piovana
- Desert Bandits
- The Director
- Production team
- Fernanda Montepreto (mentioned)
- Wild animals
Animated episode[]

Title card
In 2002 the story was adapted into a episode, which was distributed directly on DVD along with other episodes. This episode debuted in a new season which would later also include the films of the Cine Gibi series, and like many others this season, uses traditional animation with backgrounds made by Mauro Souza. This episode had some changes from the comics, for example:
- Antenor's car has a darker color.
- Jimmy Five wears a blue cap instead of red and white.
- Jimmy Five is not licking a lollipop.
- Antenor's pants and shoes are gray and are more detailed, being drawn separately.
- After Antenor is hit by the car's smoke he appears dirty for a instant.
- Antenor closes the car's engine door before admitting that he gives up. In the comic he doesn't close it in any moment.
- Smudge pays Jimmy Five with a lollipop instead of a coin.
- When Smudge tries to convince his father that they are lost in the middle of a desert, Smudge is on top of the car.
- The sign and the vulture have different looks.
- When Antenor looks at the sign he doesn't jump in amazement.
- When Jimmy Five asks Antenor if they can ride a camel, he makes some Egyptian dance gestures. In the comic he asks Antenor this highly excited.
- The camel has a slightly different look.
- The dialogue in which Mr. Antenor breaks the fourth wall saying "Just make a panel that we are walking!" was replaced by him saying "We walk almost nothing.".
- The backpack and the water bottle have lighter colors.

The blackwashing
- A blackwashing occurs in the lost man, being black instead of white. The colors of his clothes are also different.
- Luane Piovana is referred to by the characters only as a "The Pretty Blonde".
- Jimmy Five remains in his cap until the desert thieves attack. In the comic the cap disappears the moment he appears washing his feet.
- The look of desert bandits and their horses is different. The horses also appear with mean expressions on their faces.
- Jimmy Five appears with a black eye and bump on the head after being buried in the sand.
- The milkshake cup is different.
- Jimmy Five remains in his shorts when he jumps into the oasis lake. In the comic, he's just in his underwear.
- Smudge leaves his milkshake on top of a rock. In the comic he throws it back.
- The look of the film's director is different.
- It is revealed that Antenor and the boys are inside a movie studio. In the comic the film was being shot in an open field.
- Jimmy Five's mention of Fernanda Montepreto was replaced by making him point to a random actor who is dressed as a Arab character.
- The wild animals that appear are a elephant, a giraffe, a bear, a rhinoceros, a gorilla, a lion and a tiger (with some eyes appearing in the background), while in the comic only the elephant, the giraffe and the gorilla appear, with the presence of a snake, a monkey and a jaguar. The giraffe also appears looking at the car with a mean expression instead of the gorilla.
Trivia[]
- This was the first story written by Emerson Abreu to be adapted in animation along with Um Doente, sua Irmã e a Grande Competição de Cuspe a Distância!.
- Although Smudge is mentioned as the protagonist in the title, the real protagonist of this story is Mr. Antenor.
- This is one of the first stories to present Mr. Antenor in his current personality as a goofy and sensitive father who is more immature than his son, probably having been recreated in this way by Emerson Abreu.
- An error occurs in the scene where Jimmy Five appears washing his feet, Mr. Antenor has no mustache.
- This is one of the rare moments when a character has his or her ethnicity changed in the cartoon.
- The references to the actresses have been removed in the animated episode for unknown reasons.