Saludos Amigos

This more than any other film shows the plight of the Disney studio in the years following "Snow White" and "Pinocchio".

WWII had broken out, cutting off Disney's European market. In addition, striking cartoonists and their formation of a guild/union meant that the massive about of labor needed to create a "Snow White" or a "Pinocchio" now amounted to a substantially higher production cost then either of those two films (which had not been cheap to begin with).

Thus, Disney was trying to explore new ways to both package his product for another market, as well as develop new product.

They released this movie and capitalized on the then-popular South American craze. Now, however, it looks dated.

You can still it watch it though and see the genesis for several of Disney's later films: "The Three Caballeros" and the whole "How-To" Goofy series are the most obvious.

This is the fore runner of the many of the Disney TV shows of the 50's, 60's and 70's, mixing live action travel footage with cartoons that tie into the subject.It is also the first of the multi-short film that Disney would release as feature through the 1940's and early 1950's, but its one of the better ones since the pieces are all about on the same level. This, to me, is a better film than the Three Caballeros which followed it and which more people know about than this.

There are really only only four shorts, Donald a tourist, Goofy as a gaucho, Pedro the mail plane, and a piece set to the song Brazil that introduces Joe Carioca.

The real problem with this film is it just stops. Brazil ends and so does the movie. I know they say leave them wanting more but this is ridiculous.

This is a renter. The DVD box says its 75 minutes, but only if you include the short documentary, which is almost as long as the movie itself. If you and your kids like it, then buy it, but its too little to be throwing 20 bucks away on.

A "package film" wherein Walt Disney and his team of animators, artists, and musicians travel across South America experiencing various geographical and cultural points of interest which lead into 4 animated shorts inspired by their visits.

Following the underperformance of Disney's animated films Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi as a result of World War II cutting off needed European and Asian markets, Saludos Amigos came from a State Department arranged "goodwill tour" for Disney and his team as part of the Good Neighbors Policy to improve relations between neighboring South American countries whom had diplomatic and commercial ties to Axis powers such as Nazi Germany. Looking to recoup losses on his overexpanded studio as well as his commercial failures, Disney accepted the deal with the federal grants helping ot finance the film which proved to be a strong success. While the movie is certainly a curiosity with some good animation, it's honestly not all that much of a "movie" with only a 40 minute runtime with a collection of animated shorts that are serviceable but don't exactly stand out much from the usual Silly Symphonies Disney put out saved for the novelty of South American cultural and geographical Iconography that when coupled with the rather dry documentary footage makes the film feel rather anemic.

The animation par for the course for Disney animation is good (though admittedly it's not as ambitious as Disney's other feature films including Dumbo which while intentionally cheap was at least experimental with certain elements). The film features three shorts, two featuring Donald Duck, one featuring Goofy, and another featuring an anthropomorphic plane named Pedro. The Donald Duck short Lake Titicaca, and the Goofy short El Gaucho Goofy are showcases for some entertaining slapstick (with a suspension bridge sequence with Donald Duck being particularly humorous) and while not being anything groundbreaking they are at least enjoyable enough. Pedro is probably the weakest short as it's basically just a cutesy story with a young plane going over mountains to deliver mail over the Andes mountains. It's animated well enough and you can see some of the artistic staples that would be reutilized for later era Disney shorts like Susie, The Little Blue Coupe or The Little House but other than that it's pleasant but forgettable. The final short, Watercolor of Brazil is definitely the most ambitious of the shorts as we start with a bank canvas that is then brough to life through a paint brush giving us the various flora and fauna of Brazil with good usage of misdirection with some memorable moments being a bunch of bananas that turns into Toucans or a tree that turns into a Macaw. This short also marks the first appearance of José Carioca the parrot who along with Donald Duck shows him some of Brazil and the "spirit of the Samba" and with his dapper appearance and energy makes a welcome addition to the Disney canon.

Saludos Amigos is certainly an important piece of Disney history and you can't argue against the role it played in keeping Disney studios afloat during trying times and giving Disney a tangible foot print in South America as well as changing U. S. public perceptions of South America with its travelogue approach. But as a movie its very thin and while its animation is good by the standards of Silly Symphonies nothing except maybe Watercolor of Brazil elevates it beyond the typical short. Worth a watch for curiosity's sake, but one of the weaker parts of the Disney animated films.

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.

A fairly ordinary Disney travelogue cartoon. Ironically, the live action sequences are more interesting than the cartoons, although Goofy's turn is actually quite informative.