Saludos Amigos (1943)

Disney's Sixth "Full-Length" Animated Feature

This movie was one of two movies made at the request of the Office of Inter-American Affairs during World War II. The goal of the trip that created this movie was to help improve relations with South America during the war. Some countries in South America had little reason to be friendly with the United States during the war, and some of these countries had relatively friendly relations with the Axis powers. Walt Disney's goodwill trip was a relatively low-key way for the United States to show South Americans how friendly the Unites States was.

There are three problems with this "full-length" animated feature. First, the animation is actually four cartoons that Disney wove into the visit by Walt Disney and a team of artists to South America. The second problem is that this feature is only 42 minutes long, which is well short of feature length. The 75 minutes shown on the box includes a documentary titled "South of the Border with Disney." The third problem with this "full-length" animated feature is that it is very dated. South America has changed a lot in the six-plus decades since this movie was initially released. The result of these problems is that the movie falls well short of being a "must-have," unless you are a die-hard Disney fan and you must have everything created by Disney.

This DVD does have two redeeming features.

First, the four cartoons woven into this feature are cute and clever. "Lake Titicaca" shows Donald Duck in various locations in South America. Donald shows some interesting and exciting aspects of riding a llama on suspension bridges, among other things. This short is funny, clever and worth watching multiple times. "El Gaucho Goofy" has Goofy showing the similarity between American cowboys and South American gauchos. The demonstration is hilarious. "Pedro" is similar to "The Little Engine That Could," only Pedro is a small mail plane rather than a train. This short is quite clever and is one of the best reasons to have this DVD. The fourth short is "Aquarela do Brasil," or "Watercolor of Brazil." Donald Duck and José Carioca experience the wonders of 1942 Brazil in colorful and clever ways.

Second, the film shows Disney and a team of artists in action as they gather information and sketch scenes. Though this portion of the feature is dated, fans of Disney Studios and Disney artists may find scenes of their favorite artists from this era that they would be unable to find anywhere else.

I am a huge fan of Disney movies, with a collection of probably more than 300 movies. There are parts of this one that I like a lot. However, most modern audiences will consider this "feature" to be four cartoons connected by a lot of boring stuff. You may want to consider just how valuable this feature is to your collection considering how difficult and relatively expensive it will be to add it to your collection.

Good luck!

June 25, 2007

Not as lively and exciting as The Three Cabelleros.

In this film, we see Disney and his fellow animators travel to Latin America. In this however, you feel as if you are watching the Discovery channel with a little Disney thrown in. The film is whimsical when you come across a Disney cartoon, but all the inbetween bits are lackluster and boring. If maybe you traveled along with Mickey or Goofy it may have been more exciting. Sorry. Good but lacks. May 25, 2004

For True Disney Fans

This film was made during the war and Walt didn't have the money to turn out another full length animated film. To appease his fans, he made a film which is basically a trip with him and some of his best animators "South of the Border." The animators where then inspired to make several short animated films, which are all packaged together to make this feature. The back of the box says "Total Running Time: Approc. 75 Minuites." By total running time, the mean with special features. The film is only 45 minuites, and the bonus "South of the Border With Disney" was a television show he did. If you are not a Disney fan, I don't recomend this film to you, because it is not like the other well known animated films you are used to. The picture and sound are not very good. Disney didn't feel the need to tough it up because hardley anyone knew of it's existance. January 23, 2004

Greetings Friends...

This rather cute collection of four Disney cartoons are kinda interconnected with a travelogue of South America that is very dated by today's standards, but entertaining nevertheless.

The best of the four cartoons is "El Gaucho Goofy". Previously unavailable on DVD, "Gaucho Goofy" is Goofy at his all time best. Watch the bit with the bolas - simply hilarious.

The next best is "Pedro". The story of the little airplane that could (think "The Little Engine That Could" with wings) is very good at telling a story - and you almost believe for a moment that Pedro didn't get through the Andes.

Next best is "Lake Titicaca". This hilarious romp with Donald Duck fighting a reluctant Llama (could this be the inspiration for "The Emperor's New Groove"?) will leave most anyone laughing.

Finally, there's "Aquarela do Brasil" - probably closest to the material that links the four stories and introducing the great Jose Carioca.

It's kind of a mystery to me why Disney considers this mixture of animation with live-action to be a "canon" movie. It's simply a collection of four Disney cartoons joined together with a live-action look at travelling in parts of South America.

The supplementary material, about Disney artists travelling in South America is a nice addition to the material on this disc, and also helps explain that this material is presented as a courtesy to the Office of Inter-American Affairs.

The interconnecting material that tries to tie together these four Disney cartoons is sadly dated, and is live-action and not animation. It also does not do near as good a job at tying together the various cartoons as "Three Caballeros" would later do.

An entertaining look at what movie theaters used to do - provide news, travel info, and cartoons together and all for a dime. But not recommended for anything but Disney purists. December 13, 2003

Great Film for Disney Fans

An enchanting product of the Good Neighbor policy with Latin America, Saludos Amigos gives viewers a nostalgic trip back. The film chronicles the good will tour Walt Disney and his animators made to Latin America in 1941. Footage of Walt and company on their trip tie the four cartoons that make up this feature (Lake Titicaca staring Donald Duck, Pedro, El Gaucho Goofy, and Aquarela do Brasil). The four cartoons are cleaver and very well done in the Disney tradition, staring existing Disney favorites such as Donald Duck and Goofy, and new characters such as Pedro the airplane and Jose Carioca (the last of which would go on to appear with Donald in two other features during the 1940s). However, it is truly the live action at the artists finding inspiration that elevates the film to more than just a collection of four shorts. Also included with the film is a travelogue entitled "South of the Boarder with Walt Disney" which includes even more footage of Disney and company and their travels in South America. To any Disney fan, this is a hidden gem and a nostalgic treasure. April 6, 2003

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