Saludos Amigos (1942)


Today we return to the package films, beginning with Saludos Amigos.

The Movie:

 Saludos Amigos is the 6th film in the Disney Animated Canon and the first of the Package Film Era.  At only 42 minutes, it is the shortest film in the canon, barely qualifying as a feature film (by definition over 40 minutes).  In early 1941, Disney was in financial trouble, with Pinocchio and Fantasia underperforming at the box-office, partially due to the outbreak of WWII in Europe.  The US Government, as part of the Good Neighbor Policy, commissioned Walt Disney and a group of artists to travel to South America to make a movie, hoping to foster better relations with those nations, several of which had close ties to Germany.  The resulting film was Saludos Amigos, which debuted in Rio de Janeiro in 1942 and the US in 1943.  The film did garner three Oscar nominations, one for sound and two for music.

Saludos Amigos, like many of the package films, contains a mix of animation and live-action.  Here the live-action framework is played like a travelogue, showing footage of the Disney team (including Walt himself) visiting different places in South America and the things they observed as an introduction to each segment.  There are four animated shorts:

1. Lake Titicaca - This segment features Donald Duck in the highlands of Peru.  It is narrated in travelogue style though plays out like a classic Donald cartoon.

2. Pedro - The title plane must make the mail route from an airport in Santiago, Chile across the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina.  This segment is narrated, but so as to tell the story.

3. El Gaucho Goofy - Once again we return to travelogue territory, with Goofy featured in this segment contrasting the American cowboy with the Argentinean gaucho.

4. Aquarela do Brasil - Donald Duck explores Rio with the help of a new character, José Carioca (anglicized as Joe by the narrator).

 This is a hard Disney movie to really judge, as it really isn't a movie.  Personally, I found it enjoyable, but then again I'm the sort that enjoys "educational" programming.  The shorts themselves are charming enough, with Pedro seeming the most out of place, being the only segment that is an actual story.

 There is a lot of good music in Saludos Amigos, reflecting the Latin styles of South America.  The standout track is the title track of the last segment, "Aquarela do Brasil," written in 1939 by Ary Borroso and performed here by Aloísio de Oliveira.  This segment also features the samba tune "Tico-Tico no Fubá", written by Zequinha de Abreu.  The movie's Oscar-nominated title track was written by Charles Wolcott and Ned Washington, with Edward H. Plumb and Paul J. Smith adding to the score.

Presence in the Parks:

 Though Saludos Amigos doesn't have direct references in the parks (as far as I can find), it did lead to a follow-up film that does.  (More on that later.)  Also, not a direct reference, but the presentation style of this movie is similar to the "edutainment" nature of the original Epcot center.

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