The Three Caballeros

A lot of things can be said about this movie, but no one can say it is dull. Disney's Donald Duck takes us on a scenic and musical tour of Latin America with episodes in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. It begins in a lively tempo and speeds up until it explodes in fireworks at the end.

It was a big and necessary hit for Disney at the time but, in a way, it's too bad the film couldn't have been released about 1968, when so many youngsters were doing acid and weed, because this is one trippy movie. It belongs right up there with "2001: A Space Odyssey." A live figure may begin to dance and sing through a cartoon village. Soon Donald Duck joins the dance. Then the lamp posts begin to sway rhythmically, and soon the buildings are bouncing up and down, and then the moon darts from side to side. The viewer may twitch a bit too, because some of the rhythm is very catchy. America gave the world jazz, and Latin America gave us the samba, the conga, the bossa nova, the tango, Carmen Miranda, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and the transplanted Manuel de Falla. And the piñata.

It's a pageant of color and music. All but one of the tunes are converted from earlier Latin American songs and they're very catchy. Two made the Hit Parade, which was a big deal at the time -- "Baia", "Brazil", and "You Belong To My Heart." It's unsophisticated cornball resembling nothing real but you can't find the exit.

President Roosevelt was all in favor of making a movie like this, for several reasons, none of them musical. He called it "the good neighbor policy." South American countries were a supply source for the Allies. We needed access to airfield like Recife in Brazil to shorten the hop to Europe. And few of us found is a sound idea to encourage the pro-Nazi population of countries like Paraguay and Argentina.

See it -- and have yourself an extended myoclonic spasm.

Funny, people nowadays don't seem to realize that this was a World War II propaganda film -- only one comment below makes that point. Many such features and shorts were turned out during this time, and not just from Disney; Warner Bros., MGM and others did as well. Keep this in mind and it makes a little more sense. Even more of the fractured, surreal nature of this film is explainable when viewed in the context of other Disney animated features of this time. "Fantasia" (of course), "Dumbo," "Pinocchio" and other movies contained what seemed like drug- or alcohol-induced sequences (maybe someone with more intimate knowledge of Disney productions of the time can shed some light on those!). Disney also seemed eager to experiment with blending of animation and live action during this time ("Song of the South"). Anyway, this was aimed primarily at engendering better relations between North Americans and our ostensible allies in Latin America. The animation is very good and some of the music (especially the title song) is memorable. Watch it for what it is and enjoy!

Walt Disney's outreach to the South American market resulted in a couple of films--SALUDOS AMIGOS was the first, and THE THREE CABALLEROS came next. To make a comparison, I'd have to see "SA" again, but I do recall that it had some charming musical sequences.

The same is true of THE THREE CABALLEROS, especially when the musical score includes the title song (delightully done by Panchito, Jose Carioca and Donald Duck), and repeated throughout, and ballads such as YOU BELONG TO MY HEART and HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO BAIA? All of them are performed with some fantastic art work and animation combining live action and cartoon characters.

The last fifteen minutes seems to be scrambling for a way to keep the viewer's attention with some explosive fireworks and a dazzling display of surrealism, minus any conception of a way to end the movie on a high note. The film itself is uneven, offering typical Disney animation for the flying donkey sequence and then resorting to over-the-top fireworks that outdo the Pink Elephants number from DUMBO.

But it's hard to resist the bouncy South American flavor of the score and the charming characterizations of Donald, Panchito and Jose Carioca. The stylized conception of a Mexican Christmas by artist Mary Blair is a standout among the art work involved here, although later the piñata sequence is a bit overwhelming in effects.

The dazzling color and the music make it worth watching at least once, although it's hard to make a comparison between this and other Disney full-length features. Some of the action is fast and furious but the sort of thing that will appeal to very young children.

Summing up: You will either love it or hate it, but if you're a Disney fan you should see it at least once.

Similar to it's predecessor, but with higher highs and lower lows. The first segment (Pablo the penguin) is my favorite and I gladly go back to it. It gives me cozy vibes and drives me down memory lane. The second segment (the flying donkey) is also good but not at the same level. The third one (Brazil) has great songs and interesting animation, but introduces the issues of the film. First, the blend between live-action and animation is subpar, as we are now used to the post-Roger Rabbit standard; secondly, Donald Duck turns into a horny beast who just wants to hunt pretty girls (??). And then comes the nail in the coffin, the final needlessly lengthy segment about Mexico: boring, uninspired, and with a Donald as turned on as he can get. It didn't age well, and I'm sorry because the first part is just so good.

It was a cold January Saturday evening. The park was beautifully lit. People were cheery. We could see the Matterhorn on our right hand side. Magical is the best description I could find.

Suddenly, I started singing...

"Somos los tres carros, los Tres Caballeros, y nadie es igual a nosotros..."

What do I know. My friends all knew the words. 4 guys, ranging from 27 to 31 years old, began forming a chrous line and singing off the top of our lungs...

I don't know how this happened. This is not, by any stretch of imagination, a popular or wildly succesful film. I guess it just touched us, the way Donald Duck had a mexican friend (Panchito), or the wild "Piñata" scene, or the strong latin flavour of the film.

Memories notwithstanding, we kept on singing... and singing... and singing.

People around us seemed to enjoy the show, too.

"Valientes brillamos, como brilla un peso

-Quien dice?!?

NOSOTROS, LOS TRES CABALLEROS!"