Saludos Amigos (1942)

Directed by: Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts | 42 minutes | animation, comedy, family, short film, musical | Original voice cast: Lee Blair, Mary Blair, Pinto Colvig, Walt Disney, Norman Ferguson, Frank Graham, Clarence Nash, José Oliveira, Fred Shields, Frank Thomas

During the period when Disney Studios made ‘Saludos Amigos’ (during World War II), Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Goofy were nowhere as popular as in South America. Dollars were there for the taking in this market, so Disney decided to send some of its artists on a trip to Latin America. The inspiration they gained here was used directly for ‘Saludos Amigos’ (and later also for ‘The Three Caballeros’ in 1946). The film is unique in its design, because it is a combination of live action and animation, but in a travel program-like concept. We see Disney artists get on a plane and the impressions they get from the countries they visit are translated into drawings on the screen. However, they only visit four locations in the film, leaving the rest of the beautiful continent underexposed. Especially considering the length of the film (just forty minutes), if some locations could have been added, the Disney classic would have deserved the designation classic more than it does now.

The tourist spots that are visited are Lake Titicaca, the Andes, Argentina and Rio de Janeiro. In the first, Lake Titicaca, we see Donald Duck as an American tourist who has trouble with a llama in Lake Titicaca. Nice movie, but definitely not memorable. Pedro is already a big improvement, although the story is a bit cliché. It’s about a family of planes, father, mother and Pedro, the little son. Father is an important mail plane, but when he gets sick Pedro has to take over because his mother doesn’t want to fly over the high Andes. However, it is Pedro’s first flight and that is not so easy. Sweet, endearing film, beautifully animated. In the third cutscene, Goofy is mysteriously moved from America to Argentina to learn the gaucho way-of-life. This video has been edited for the DVD, because Goofy – shame! – smoke a cigarette. This video is also not very impressive. Finally, the last movie, Aquarela do Brasil, is nice again, because Joe Carioca, Donald Duck’s green parrot friend, is introduced. The animations in this movie also jump above the two lesser movies; beautiful colorful transitions are made from one scene to another.

For the hardcore Disney fan who wants to see or own it all, ‘Saludos Amigos’ is a must, for those who only enjoy a story like ‘Bambi’ or even ‘Panic on the Prairie’, ‘Saludos Amigos’ can be left alone. turn into.