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Storyline
Live-action segments show members of the Disney staff touring South America and recording their impressions in sketches. These segue into four animated sections: "Lake Titicaca" depicts tourist Donald Duck's troubles with a stubborn llama; "Pedro" tells of a little mail plane's adventures flying over the treacherous Andes; "El Gaucho Goofy" transplants an American cowboy into the Argentine pampas; and in "Aquarela do Brasil," Jose Carioca shows Donald the sights and sounds of Rio de Janiero.
Written by
Paul Penna <tterrace@wco.com>
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Did You Know?
Trivia
While the film's animated sequences were well-received at the time and still have a decent reputation, film historians have suggested that it was the film's live-action documentary sequences which had the most impact on American culture. They featuring footage of modern Latin American cities with skyscrapers and fashionably dressed residents. This went against the then-current perception of the American audience that Latin America was a culturally backwards area, predominately rural, and mostly inhabited by poorly-dressed peasants. The film is credited with helping change the American perception of Latin America and its inhabitants.
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Quotes
[
first lines]
Narrator:
Here's an unusual expedition: artists, musicians and writers setting out for a trip through Latin America to find new personalities, music and dances for their cartoon films. So, adios, Hollywood, and saludos, amigos.
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Crazy Credits
The end title on current Buena Vista prints has the "The End - A Walt Disney Production" text seen on Disney's animated shorts.
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Alternate Versions
The initial DVD release removes a scene where Goofy is seen smoking a cigarette and blowing smoke rings. It was finally released completely uncensored for historical purposes on the Blu-ray release and as a bonus on the DVD release of
Walt & El Grupo. (Uncensored, but not the original version: on the Grupo DVD the RKO distribution card which dissolves into the Disney card has been replaced with the later Buena Vista distribution card, which fades to black and then the Disney card a little later than the dissolve. It's also in 5.1 sound instead of mono. On the Blu-ray release, neither the RKO distribution card nor the later Buena Vista distribution card wasn't used at all and just began with the Disney card.) The collector's edition laserdisc is uncensored with the original logos and mono sound.
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Soundtracks
Aquarela do Brasil
Music and Portuguese Lyrics by
Ary Barroso
Sung by
Aloysio de Oliveira (as Aloysio Oliveira)
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When I first heard that Disney was going to release a number of films from the early years which had been "almost forgotten," I was very intrigued. Would there be another Sleeping Beauty or Fantasia hiding out there?
Sadly, Saludos Amigos falls very short of "Disney classic" status. It is basically forgettable.
There are a few smile-inducing moments, but overall the piece really does feel like a "keep the Sudamericanos on our side against the Nazis" period piece from the WW2 era. It's strange to watch a movie made in 1943 with live action sequences of South America looking so peaceful and unaffected by the world's events. Sure, the region was less involved in WW2 than many other regions... but, it is still strange to watch.
Anyway, I'd sum it up thusly: 1. Worth buying if you are a Disney collector and 2. Worthy of note simply to see live shots of Buenos Aires, Lago Titicaca, and Rio de Janeiro, filmed almost 60 years ago.
Other than that, you can skip this one.