Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros DVD Credits:

Region: 1

Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros DVD Release Date: 5th May 2008

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Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros DVD Review:

Disney has a niche market just from releasing classic Disney films onto DVD for a short period of time before they go back into the “vault”. This time, Disney has released two treasures together: Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. This Classic Caballeros Collection takes you back to a time when gay meant happy. Started by a goodwill mission between the United States and Latin America, these two cartoons provided entertainment and education in these pseudo-travelogues.

Saludos Amigos starts off as a travelogue, following a Disney crew around several countries in South America. From live action we switch to tourist Donald at Lake Titicaca. There he has quite a run in with a rambunctious llama. Donald is also featured in the finale, “Aquarelo do Brasil” (Watercolors of Brasil) along with Jose Carioca. Goofy is featured in his own cartoon, El Gaucho Goofy, as he learns the way of the south of the border cowboys. An original character, named Pedro, is featured in his own cartoon as well. The little plane is a mail carrier that has one bumpy trip to Mendoza.

The Three Caballeros was a follow up to Saludos Amigos, marking the return of Jose Carioca. The film centers on Donald Duck, who receives three gifts from his Latin American friends for his birthday. First he watches several home videos. The first features a cold-blooded penguin attempting to migrate to a warmer climate near the equator. Next we meet a little gauchito and his flying donkey. Jose Carioca then takes Donald to Bahia, Brazil where they meet up with singer/dancer Carmen Miranda. Donald’s Mexican cousin, Panchito Pisoles, brings along a piñata and explains the history of the piñata and Las Posadas. The three caballeros then travel through Mexico meeting beautiful women in Patzcuaro, Veracruz, and Acapulco. After falling for a girl in “You Belong In My Heart”, Donald enters a surreal cockeyed dream. The film ends with a bang, literally, as Donald ends up beating up on a toy bull full of fireworks.

The two cartoons not only combine education and entertainment seamlessly, but also live action. Only in Three Caballeros do we see live action actors placed within a cartoon world or the three caballeros flying through our own universe. The animation quality clearly changes when this process is done, but the action is seamless.

Along with two full-length cartoons, the disc also contains numerous bonus features. Backstage Disney features South of the Border, a camera record of a survey trip though all of the Americas by Walt Disney and a group of eighteen artists, musicians, and writers. There is also a Walt Disney CBC interview excerpt. It’s actually more of a sound bite, lasting barely a minute.

Two bonus shorts are also included: Don Donald and Contrary Condor. Don Donald features an earlier style of Donald Duck and possibly Daisy Duck. The short centers around the classic Spanish hit, “Cielito Lindo”. Along with a change in animation, Daisy Duck actually calls Donald a jackass. Contrary Condor follows Donald as an ornithologist, trying to capture condor eggs. He bites off more than he can chew when the mother condor’s maternal instincts kick in.

It might just be reminiscence that makes this collection such a treasure. Many of the visual and musical cues in the films have affected my own style of filmmaking. But the animation of old school Disney still has a lot to teach modern day animators. Their ability to combine learning and fun is seamless and current filmmakers should take note.

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Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros DVD review written by: Lyz Reblin