Blame It on the Samba (1948)

Donald Duck and Jose Carioca, both literally blue, stumble across the Cafe do Samba, whose proprietor is determined to cheer them up with samba music. After they get their color back, they ... See full summary »

Director:

Clyde Geronimi

Writers:

Bob Moore, Art Scott

Stars:

Ethel Smith, The Dinning Sisters, Ginger Dinning

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ethel Smith	...	Herself
The Dinning Sisters	...	(voice)

Storyline

Donald Duck and Jose Carioca, both literally blue, stumble across the Cafe do Samba, whose proprietor is determined to cheer them up with samba music. After they get their color back, they land in a giant brandy snifter, where a live-action woman is playing the tune on an organ. She also drums and dances a bit. The only dialogue is the lyrics of the song, sung by women.

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Plot Keywords:

samba | jose carioca | cartoon parrot | cartoon bird | aracuan bird | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Short | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Culpa é do Samba

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

6 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color: Music for Everybody (1966)

User Reviews

A product inspired by Disney's good will trip to South America.

This is a short that was used to make up the full-length film from Disney, "Melody Time". Following WWII, Disney Studio was a mess--a terrible strike and the war (where many of the workers were drafted and many more were assigned to wartime animation work) decimated the studio and many of the old animators were gone. As a result, Disney did not get back to making traditional animated feature films for several years. In the meantime, their 'full-length' films were really odd compilations of shorts--and of a rather lackluster quality compared to earlier and later work.

Unlike the other shorts from "Melody Time", this one actually was created as a response to Walt Disney's good will tour of South America in 1941 (while the strike was raging at the studio). Several of these shorts that resulted from this visit were crammed together in the rather bland "Saludos Amigos" but for some odd reason, this tribute to Brazil and the Samba was stuck in "Melody Time". Why, I don't know.

It consists of an insane-looking bird who sees two depressed birds (José Carioca and Donald Duck) come to his café. To cheer them up, he introduces him to the Samba--and it IS impossible to be depressed and not want to tap your feet. During this time, you see Smith singing and playing the organ. It's very colorful and lively...but also not all that great. Kids, in particular, would probably hate it, but it is interesting from a historical perspective. Plus, for more information on it, see the documentary "Walt & El Groupo", as it explains this good will trip and talks about some of the things that led to this short being made.

Ethel Smith and the Dinning Sisters.