The Music and Magic of the Disney Animated Canon, Vol. 6: Saludos Amigos
Songs:
Saludos Amigos
La Bianca Paloma
Escravos de Jo
Aquarela do Brasil
Tico-Tico no Fuba
Previous Threads:
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs The Music and Magic of the Disney Animated Canon, Vol. 1: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Pinocchio [The Music and Magic of the Disney Animated Canon, Vol. 2: Pinocchio
- Fantasia [Happy 75th to Disney's Fantasia!
- Dumbo [The Music and Magic of the Disney Animated Canon, Vol. 4: Dumbo]
- Bambi [The Music and Magic of the Disney Animated Canon, Vol. 5: Bambi]
This is the first of the six Disney “package films” created to save money during hard times for the studio in the 1940s and '50s.
It’s also the first film of the Disney Animated Canon to come with the infamous “cultural insensitivity warning label”, and I can see why. The South American characters in the film are walking stereotypes.
The film is centered around a group of Disney animators who make a trip down to South America to get inspiration for the film. As such, this is a mix of live action and animation, although they’re not seen at the same time, as they would be in the next film, The Three Caballeros.
The scene where Donald struggles with the llama on the bridge is hilarious.
I love the segment with little baby plane Pedro, trying to get the mail through. Nice little forgotten Disney underdog story.
There’s a segment with Goofy playing the part of an Argentine cowboy as only he can.
The movie ends with a brilliant segment called “Aquarela do Brasil”, in which the scene is painted during the music. We see the return of Donald Duck to the movie, and the world premiere of the smooth Jose Carioca, who will be one of the Three Caballeros. He’ll play an even bigger role in the next film and in the action/comedy TV series “The Legend of The Three Caballeros”, which is a fantastic show.
What’s your opinion of Saludos Amigos?