Reviewing - The Three Caballeros
When you think of Disney’s biggest three cartoon stars, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy might come to mind. If so, you’re probably right. But Disney’s smallest three cartoon stars are probably The Three Caballeros. Organized in the midst of the second World War as part of a government-funded mission to ease tensions in South America, this forgotten trio came back in 2018 for new and exciting adventures. They may not have the iconic status of Mickey and his pals, but you’ll never find three birds of a feather quite like these.
Saludos Amigos (**)
In which a plane gets in a fight with a mountain
Although we need to cut Disney some slack here considering Hitler was in the middle of trying to take over the world, this is a far cry from the historic heights previously set by this animation studio.
So it's 1942. In North America, Pearl Harbor got blown up last year by the Japanese, triggering the United States' entry into the second World War. Over in Europe, Germany was well on their way to World Domination. France had fallen, and most of the mainland was under Nazi boots. And down in South America, the Nazis were trying to win the allegiance of various nations to help them in the war. The States no doubt recognized the potential threat that could come from a Nazi-occupied neighbour to the south, so they launched an interesting strategy.
They hired Walt Disney.
The American government figured that if they sent Walt down to make a few 'cartoons' inspired by the culture and landscape in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, it would strengthen the relationship between North and South America. Going on a business trip down south probably wasn't on Walt's mind at the time, given that a huge strike had just been kicked off by many of his animators. But finances were tight since the war had begun, and the government was offering to pay for the entire production. Walt got in the plane.
Saludos Amigos is super short. At 42 minutes, it barely counts as a movie. Its runtime is split into four segments. The first segment is Donald Duck touring South America, and it's utterly forgettable. The second segment is about a plane delivering mail - and it's not much more exciting than it sounds. There's a bit of Goofy doing his standard slapstick stuff that's fine, I guess. The final segment is its best - the animation is creative and charming, and it really captures the vibrance of South America that Walt's creative team saw during their trip.
But honestly, unless you're studying the history of Walt Disney Animation Studios, I can't think of a good reason to sit down and watch this. There's just nothing remarkable about it.
The Three Caballeros (**)
In which a duck tries hitting on a bunch of young women and they're surprisingly okay with it
This is mildly better than "Saludos Amigos", but that's not saying much.
Just like Disney's last picture, this film is not really one coherent narrative as much as it is a few scenes loosely strung together. Maybe back in the day that was an acceptable sort of experience to have in the movie theatre, but I can't really wrap my head around it as I watch them today. This should be a series of YouTube videos or a collection of short films, not a package film.
There's seven segments to this thing. The only ones worth bringing up are the ones with live-action elements, because they're actually pretty neat. The Three Caballeros (Donald Duck, Jose Carioca from "Saludos Amigos" and the newcomer Panchito Pistoles) travel through South America, dancing with real people that are sometimes on real sets and sometimes on cartoon backdrops. It's relatively seamless, and there's a particularly cool bit where two animated dancing rooster silhouettes transform into the live-action silhouettes of two dancing men. It's like a one-second shot, but it was the part of this film that I'm going to remember. There's a few creative ways they make it look like Donald Duck is really interacting with the live-action environment, like the spot where a bunch of girls on the beach appear to be repeatedly throwing Donald up into the air and catching him on a live-action blanket.
On the whole, though, I just want to get back to the stuff that Disney is known for. I know I've got a few more films ahead of me that are package deals like this one, but there's a reason nobody's seen these. They may have been necessary to get the company through World War II, but that doesn't mean they have a whole lot to offer us today.
Legend of the Three Caballeros (***)
It’s no stretch to say that of all the characters to make a TV show off of, this trio really seemed like an unlikely pick. Two of the Three Caballeros were together in “Saludos Amigos” back in 1942, and they made their big debut in 1944’s “The Three Caballeros” film. But nobody has really seen those movies. There’s a ride at Disney World that features these characters, but to be honest it’s more or less hidden in a dark corner at Epcot. Whose idea was this show?
Don’t let this convince you that the show isn’t any fun. I only watched the first five episodes, but I was impressed with the humour, design, and narrative that the show presented. This was competently funny for a children’s show, though there was nothing gut-busting that I saw. The aesthetic design was exciting and well-done; Donald and Co. move through major mythological worlds from all sorts of different cultures in a way that is mildly educational while being entertaining. What I found most intriguing was the way that these first episodes got the framework set up for a season-long battle. There’s some classic bad guy, and in the first episode, we are given a foreshadowing glimpse of what seems to be the final clash between him and our heroes. Knowing that there’s a definitive direction in mind for a show like this was a bit of a surprise.
The fact that this show only has one season must mean that there was something about it that made it not worth renewing, but I didn’t see anything wrong with it. If your kids are looking for something to watch, there’s no harm in giving this a shot.
But please, do not consider the 1940s films as essential viewing beforehand!
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