Walt & El Grupo

When I heard this film was being made, I could hardly wait to see it. I was a story artist at Disney Studios for many years and the trip to South America was that of legend. Having know Frank Thomas and an admirer of his work and that of the group that went to South America, I found the film inspiring and thoughtful. I didn't want to rush through the film and savored how it took it's time and revisited each location. I would say that if you are unfamiliar with Disney history then this film will not hold the same meaning.

I have a painting from that trip hanging in my sitting room painting by one of the Blairs. I look at it with different eyes now. I'd say as a Disney fan, it's a film I'll be watching again.

Wonderfully entertaining documentary from writer-director Theodore Thomas, working alongside the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distribution arm, chronicles a turbulent time in Mr. Disney's life: the years 1940 and 1941, when an animators strike and the looming threat of a dominant union threatened to tear the Disney Company apart. With the war in Europe putting a financial damper on Disney's output overseas, "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia" fell into the red, causing Walt to owe the bank four million dollars. An invitation, then, from President Roosevelt for Disney and his hand-picked team to make a good will tour of South America came as a godsend, although Disney was initially reluctant to travel through Latin America "just shaking hands". He turned the trip to his advantage, however, and released two pictures dedicated to the culture of our neighbors and their people, "Saludos Amigos" in 1942 and "The Three Caballeros" in 1944. Looking back, the movies, though certainly entertaining, were just a stop-gap while Disney came up with bigger ideas, but the underlying notion here--that Walt felt utterly betrayed by his employees--lends this documentary a tough emotional core. Walt also lost his father during the trip, and one senses the emotional weight on him as he is photographed on boats and emerging from planes, waving at the crowds. This is a beautifully-produced sentimental journey, wherein still shots come to life and (now-aged) witnesses and relatives recount this fascinating chapter in Disney history. *** from ****

EXPLOITATION IS ONE of those perfectly good, useful and innocently crafted words that is shackled with a great disparity between its denotative and connotative meanings. Simply stated, it means making good use of circumstances, surroundings and any resources available to achieve an end; that being the denotative. The implication of unfairly exploiting any persons, things or situations or situations for an unfairly gained result is the connotative side of the ledger.

THE HISTORICAL EPISODE of Mr. Disney and Company's being asked by the Federal Government during the 3rd term of the Roosevelt Administration to embark on a Good Will tour of South America is a fine example of exploitation at its best. It also brings us a fine example of a sort of double edged sword version of the concept of exploiting opportunity. In this case, there is no doubt that both the US and the Disney Company both benefited in totally unexpected levels of success.

THE PROBLEM FACING the USA and the Republics of Latin America was the widespread appeal of German-style Fascism in the Western Hemisphere. The various nations, who struggling socially and economically to achieve a higher level of success found many of both their leaders as well as their citizenry among them, who were willing to emulate what had been going on in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan. Much in the same manner as so many of Depression Era people of the United States viewed Marxism and various other Socialisms as being an answer to economic woes, so did the South American see fascism.

THE STORY STARTS out with Disney in a proverbial "behind the Eight Ball" situation; as his plans to do two Animated Features in one year are endangered by the economic realities of the late 1930's. The fate of both PINOCHIO and FANTASIA were put on hold as labor problems also engulfed the Disney Organization. Then along came this State Department sponsored multi-nation tour. With US dollar$ underwriting both the trip, as well as the eventual productions to come out of this sojourn, things couldn't have been better.

IN THE FILM, which was crafted from so many other film sources, the traveling caravan of Disney's artists, writers, musicians and technicians were shown in their visit to so many locales in the Continent of South America and the outstanding reception that they received. In the choice of where to visit, the individuality of the many varied nations was both recognized and established as a reciprocal fact of the relationship of the Americas.

SO FAR AS it is, so good for the US Department of State and the Roosevelt Administration's efforts and purposes; but what about Disney's goals?

AS IS SO beautifully told in the film, "el Grupo" hit the ground with its collective feet running and did not stop. In every locale, music, painting, sculpture, folk dance and the traditional native costuming were the featured items of the day. Walt led the company in a total immersion of the cultures of each people and nation. The best of the artists in each field were called upon for their input and ultimate participation.

THERE WAS SUCH extensive filming and carefully recorded written histories of the various stops along the way as to be the foundation for some of the finest animation that would be done by the studio. Indeed, the filmed record produced was not only the great animated sequences, but also of the breathtakingly beautiful terrain, forests, plains and waterways. All of this had the most pleasing and artistically successfully music ever put to a soundtrack.

AS A RESULT OF this whole expedition, the World would receive two animated features. SALUDOS AMIGOS and THE THREE CABALLEROS were the films that emerged. Both were highly successful at the old Box Office and had high critical acclaim. (Well Schultz, that means that both the public as well as the critics liked them!)

LITTLE DOES THE current population of Americans realize how much Mickey Mouse and the guy behind him were responsible for preserving the Free World. And could we ever use him again today!

America sending Disney as an ambassador to Central America during WWII is certainly fascinating but this profoundly dull bit of brown-nosery never captures that. Normally access is a positive, but this is just TOO in-depth. I care about the strike, the war, the government intervention, the trip footage & the films that came from this. I DON'T care about every travelers' descendant & their individual thoughts on how their grandparent had a fun trip.

This is a highly nostalgic look back at a very long goodwill tour Walt Disney took along with a group of artists from his studio. Apparently, there was an animators strike going on and no work was being done, so Walt accepted an offer from the State Department to go on a visit of several South American nations--and to get inspiration for some projects incorporating South American culture. Unfortunately, there are some major problems with the film even though in some ways the documentary can be engaging. First, the people involved in this tour are mostly dead and the sources are almost exclusively second-hand and third-hand. Second, the pacing was slow...glacially slow. The film could easily have had half an hour trimmed, as so much of the film was filler. Too many long musical sequences where nothing is being said. And, thirdly (and this will surely ruffle some feathers), the projects inspired by the trip were incredibly bland. I know some Disney-philes out there might be having palpitations when I say this, but I have always hated "Saludos Amigos" and "The Three Caballeros". So, as the people in the film are reminiscing fondly, I am left feeling a bit confused--because what they are talking about sounds great but the films certainly were not! As a result of all this, the film is one I'd recommend only to the staunchest Disney fans. Otherwise, it's slow going and not nearly as interesting as you might expect.

By the way, one of the video extras on this new release is "Saludos Amigos". I gave it another watch to see if it was as bad as I remembered. It was.