The Three Caballeros (1944)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Norman Ferguson

Writers:

Homer Brightman (story) &
Ernest Terrazas (story) ...

Release Date:

3 February 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Music

Tagline:

UTTERLY FASCINATING! ENTIRELY DIFFERENT! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Donald receives his birthday gifts, which include traditional gifts and information about Brazil (hosted by Zé Carioca) and Mexico (by Panchito, a Mexican Charro Rooster).

Plot Keywords:

Brazil | Birthday | Bird | Mexico | Bahia

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Aurora Miranda	...	The Brazilian Girl (as Aurora Miranda of Brazil)
Carmen Molina	...	Mexico Girl (as Carmen Molina of Mexico)
Dora Luz	...	Mexico Girl (as Dora Luz of Mexico)
Sterling Holloway	...	Narrator for 'The Cold-Blooded Penguin' / Professor Holloway
Clarence Nash	...	Donald Duck (voice)
Joaquin Garay	...	Panchito (voice)
José Oliveira	...	José Carioca / Zé Carioca (voice)
Frank Graham	...	Narrator
Fred Shields	...	Narrator
Nestor Amaral
Almirante
Trío Calaveras		(as Trio Calaveras)
Trío Ascencio del Río		(as Ascencio Del Rio Trio)
Padua Hills Players	...	Actors

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Portuguese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1976) | UK:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Spain:T

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

The song "You Belong to My Heart" was later featured in a Disney short called Pluto's Blue Note (1947) and eventually recorded by Bing Crosby.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: During the flying zarape ride, Panchito tells Donald and Joe about the town of Patzcuaro and its lake Janitzio. Actually the lake is also named Patzcuaro; Janitzio is the main island in the lake.

Quotes:

Panchito: Some fun, eh kid?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: Troldspejlet special: Aladdin" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Baía

An imperfectly polished semi-precious stone

"The Three Caballeros" is a nice little gem of golden-age Disneyana, that could have used perhaps a little more polishing.

The Disney Studios apparently produced several pieces around the time period of this animated-live action featurette; "Caballeros" is probably the best known of the series. The basic premise here is that Donald Duck is celebrating his birthday, and a large package of presents is sent to him from friends in several Latin American countries. The event turns into a celebration of Latin culture, focusing on Brazil and Mexico; Donald is given tours by two "colleagues," a cigar-chomping parrot-cum-boulevardier named Joe Carioca, and Panchito, a bandito rooster (complete with never-empty six-guns).

Perhaps twenty to thirty minutes of the piece is made up of the cartoon characters superimposed over live action, or live actors doing carefully choreographed moves in front of a screen. The techniques are apparent to the eye, and dated by modern standards, but they were reasonable attempts to fuse the two worlds together. More problematical to this correspondent is the last 10-15 minutes; while having a few interesting sequences, the lack of a plot (becoming a dream of random images in Donald's ever-confused thoughts) makes the section drag down the rest of the film. Less importantly, politically correct types may object to the "Hollywoodization" and "Disneyfication" of Latin culture/music that turns it into a progression of scenes from a folkloric or idealized mariachi show. Of course, shows like "The Three Caballeros were never meant to show the actual grit of much of Latin American life....

If you're looking for that reality, avoid this like the plague. If you're looking for fun, good Hollywood-Latin music, and "poorty girls," head out and rent it.