Pedro

In the magical realm of Disney cartoons, people don't fly airplanes...they fly themselves! "Pedro" features a daddy airplane, a mommy airplane and a little boy airplane. The daddy is a Chilean mail plane but he's got a cold. That poses a problem.

Some mail has to be picked up in another city so the parents send off their little boy all alone on the dangerous trek. He makes it safely across the Andes Mountains and picks up a mail pouch. On the return trip, though, Pedro runs into some trouble. He encounters a terrible storm and uses up all of his fuel. The little airplane is shown plummeting to a certain death...or is he?

Why did the Disney animators go through the trouble of visiting Chile if this is all they were going to come up with? This slight story could've taken place in virtually any country. 1/10

Would see anything by Disney, having always had so much adoration for it. Not just of Disney but animation overall as well (Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Hanna-Barbera, Studio Ghibli, Pixar, Soyuzmultfilm, most anime) and for as long as can be remembered. There is bad animation though as well, make no mistake, primarily Video Brinquedo and Dingo Pictures.

Saw 'Pedro' at first through seeing one of Disney's "package" films a long time ago 'Saludos Amigos'. Liked the film overall but at the time considered 'Pedro' my least favourite of the shorts that made up 'Saludos Amigos'. Not because it was bad per se, actually still quite liked it. It was more to do with that the other shorts were more colourful, funnier and more imaginative, especially 'Aquarela do Brasil' though the highlight of the film was in 'Donald Duck Visits Lake Titicaca' with the llama.

'Pedro' is not a great cartoon to me. Far from terrible either, consider it decent. Its weakest element is the story, was willing to forgive its slightness (though there is signs of one) but it is very standard. One of those types of stories seen many times in animation well before this, one of the most familiar types in animation along with the melodramatic hero to the rescue type, so they know how everything in the story is going to go and with no real surprises it takes away from the enjoyment a bit.

It is not one of those laugh out loud hilarious cartoons, some mildly amusing moments here and there but it is more one of those quaint, cute-type cartoons. Nothing wrong there, 'Pedro' does that well and is very pleasant but at times it is a bit bland and the energy isn't always there. Didn't always see the need for the narration, and although beautifully delivered by Fred Shields and enjoyably written it did intrude too much at times and could have been used less.

On the other hand, the animation is bright and colourful, with lots of meticulous detail and nice drawing. The music is highly characterful and lushly orchestrated, enhancing the action, gestures and expressions with ease. A great job is done with the setting, which is like its own character. As it should be.

The cuteness didn't go too over the top, and there is a quaint charm throughout that is appealing. Also endearing is the titular character (on the most part, not so much the cockiness). Shields' narration is done beautifully and the actual writing for it is fine, the use of it was the problem.

Concluding, decent. 7/10

The criticism that Pedro is not Chilean enough to justify the Disney artists' trip to Chile misses the point. As a viewer, I find Pedro to be a welcome departure from the depictions of regional dance and music that comprises much of Saludos Amigos. Also, the forbidding majesty of the Andes is very much at the heart of Pedro, which was inspired by the artists' own flight over the Andes during their trip. Indeed, Saludos Amigos (and later The Three Caballeros) did not exactly probe the depths of South American culture--for that, we had Orson Welles' It's All True. Besides, what would you rather have preserved for posterity, the Pedro cartoon or yet another sequence showing yet another regional dance?