Day 7: The Three Caballeros

The Three Caballeros (1944)

Starring: Clarence "Ducky" Nash, José Oliveira, Joaquin Garay, Aurora Miranda, Dora Luz, Carmen Molina, Sterling Holloway, Frank Graham, Fred Shields, Francisco "Frank" Mayorga, Nestor Amaral, Trío Calaveras, Trío Ascencio del Río, Padua Hills Players, Carlos Ramirez

Songs: "The Three Caballeros," "Baía," "Os Quindins de Yayá," "You Belong to My Heart," "Mexico"

1942's Saludos Amigos, and Walt Disney and co's 1941 trip to South America were so successful, in 1944 another feature followed.  The Three Caballeros is another delightful package feature, this time using Donald Duck's birthday as a frame story around several more fun segments.

• "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" is a really cute story of Pablo the Penguin, who gets so tired of the cold weather at the South Pole and decides to head somewhere warmer.  The animation was really cute and charming, not unlike Pedro's story in Saludos Amigos.  Bonus points for narration by Disney legend Sterling Holloway.  
• "The Flying Gauchito" is the story of a little boy entering a race with his flying donkey.
• "Baía" is a return to form as it take Donald Duck and José Carioca back to Brazil.  The samba music and very Mary Blair looking backgrounds are as beautiful as ever, and the blending of live action and animation is just awesome.  And Donald dancing with Aurora Miranda is just wonderful.
• "Las Posadas" is a really cute little feature about the Mexican Christmas tradition of children reenacting Mary and Joseph going from place to place looking for shelter before Jesus is born.  This also leads to Donald Duck trying to break a piñata, which is as fun as you might expect.
• In "Mexico," Donald and José's new friend Panchito (the third Caballero) takes them on a tour of Mexico that introduces them to traditional Mexican dances... and also introduces Donald to lots of pretty girls.  This segment is really cool because the animation and live action are blended SO well.  Really impressive, especially considering the fact that this is two years before Song of the South would do this... and twenty years before this technique would be at it's best in Mary Poppins.
• "You Belong to My Heart" is a musical number that features Donald falling in love with singer Dora Luz.  The animation and live action are blended well here as well.  The song is beautiful as well.
• "Donald's Surreal Reverie" is a bit where Donald is basically delirious and has colorful hallucinations.  I liked this segment... it's funny and Donald is cute.  I do think it went on a tad bit longer than was maybe necessary though.

I like this movie a lot.  It's very much like Saludos Amigos, though it's longer and probably a bit less educational.  It felt a bit more like the later package films than like The Reluctant Dragon or the Disneyland TV show (which I compared Saludos Amigos to).  They were a bit more experimental with this film.  I've mentioned already that the animation and live action coexist here (put to best use in the Baía segment as Donald dances with Aurora Miranda).  At the time the movie was released, some critics complained that this was all flash and no substance... technology for technology's sake.  I disagree... but I can see why this would have seemed strange to audiences when it was new!  The technology wasn't exactly new, as Disney had been combining live action and animation since the "Alice Comedies" of the early 1920s (the first of which you can see here if you never have, and if you're a Disney fan, it's worth checking out).  Maybe it was the fact that this technology was now involving Donald Duck that made it seem like things had gone a bit too far.

As I mentioned yesterday, I did enjoy this movie quite a bit as a kid.  I probably wouldn't have put it in my top ten, though it probably would have been in my top twenty.  

What I Liked: The music was wonderful.

What I Disliked: Hm... As I mentioned above, the last segment seemed to go on a bit longer than necessary.  Minor complaint though as I didn't hate it.

Favorite Segment: "Baía."  From the moment Donald and José jump into a book about Baía to the end, it's cute and fun.  The wonderful music and beautiful backgrounds help a lot.  

Least Favorite Segment: This is a tough one!  I liked them all, but I suppose I have to say "Donald's Surreal Reverie."

Should You Watch This Movie:  Yes.  It's a lot of fun.