Saludos Amigos

Once again, last night, friends and I gathered on Twitter or in our Friendfeed room to watch another Disney film. This time, it was different in nature, tone and overall feel than Bambi, because we were viewing Saludos Amigos. It’s a very different sort of film, and frankly, a beautiful but flawed final product.

I mentioned yesterday that this film was not intended to be a film at all. In fact, it was meant to be a series of shorts, focusing on different regions of South America. The decision to make it a feature film led to filler material being inserted between the four main shorts, leading to a sort of patchwork quilt of a film, that lasts only 42 minutes.

Cramped-looking plane!
Cliff Wu

They are 42 quality minutes, though. The filler material surrounding the shorts is pure fluff, just recreated shots of Walt and his crew getting on cramped planes, as Cliff noted, or sketching the sights. It’s the shorts themselves that deserve the full recognition. Each of them serves a different purpose, and each has its own distinct personality.



Judged in a vacuum, Lake Titicaca, the first short, would be a fun and entertaining piece. In the context of the film, it works perfectly, casting Donald as a tourist, who experiences the sights and sounds around Lake Titicaca, getting himself into trouble along the way. My favorite piece is Donald riding the llama, because llamas are just cool. The short is really a take off of the Goofy “How To” shorts, with the narrator talking about calm actions as Donald tries to keep safe from falling bridges or angry llamas.



While Lake Titicaca is a typical Donald Duck short, the second short, Pedro, is a piece of pure brilliance. The story is simple – Pedro, the son of a big mail plane, is enlisted to carry the mail through a terrible storm. This was a fantastic short, because it had the best story of all the shorts. The imagery of Pedro struggling against the wind, pushing higher and higher to get away from the storm is amazing, especially when cross cut with the narration.



By contrast, El Gaucho Goofy, the next short, was a little disappointing. Not that I did not enjoy it, but it’s not as impactful as Pedro was. Still, there’s lots of humor in taking a “cowboy” version of Goofy and dropping him into the ways of the Argentinian gaucho. It’s the same familiar formula as we’ve seen in the other Goofy “How To” shorts, but this one is a little less humorous, because of the educational elements.

As a dancer, I really appreciate how Disney animates dance. Even though it's pretty simple, it's really nicely done
Alison Durkee


The clear masterpiece of this film, though, is Aquarela de Brasil, based on a popular song that Walt and his team heard while on their trip. This is the short that introduces Jose Carioca, as well as the device of a paintbrush painting scenes into existence. It is a beautiful, abstract film, that pairs Donald and Jose as they explore the beauty of Brasil, set to the wonderful tune. The dancing animation that Alison referenced is sublime, a beauty of dances done with shadows and line art.



The final effect of Saludos Amigos is just as it appears – a collection of short subjects that was stitched together to make a short film. As such, the animation is not as fully formed or detailed as you’d find in Bambi or Snow White. This film was turned around in less than a year, and it shows. Though still a great example of Disney animation, it’s not fair to compare Saludos Amigos to films that took a long time to develop, like Bambi or Pinocchio. Taken in its context, though, Saludos Amigos is a fantastic film that shows how Disney could mix education, information and entertainment. This would be a hallmark of the company for years to come.

All images copyright Disney. All rights reserved.

Development of Saludos Amigos

Saludos Amigos had quite a different road to the screen than any other Disney film of the 1930s or 1940s. This wasn’t a film that Walt intended to make, nor one that he set his mind to making on his own. It is, however, an interesting story, and shows how dependent the studio was on outside help during the World War II era.



We spoke briefly during the reviews for 1941 films about the turmoil at the studio during that year. Between the war breaking out in Europe drying up the lucrative foreign markets, the disappointing box office of Pinocchio and then Fantasia, and the labor strife at the studio, things were very difficult at Walt Disney Studios.

In that sense, the offer from the US government to use Disney as a goodwill ambassador to South America could not have come at a better time. Worried about the Axis powers gaining a foothold among the populace in South and Central America, the government had come up with a committee to put in place a “Good Neighbor” program, where prominent Americans would visit the South American countries and spread the word of how good the United States was to these countries.



There had been several failed attempts at this, until Walt Disney, that is. Walt’s trip to South America took several weeks, and involved some of his most prominent artists – Norm Ferguson, Mary Blair and many others were along for the ride. Mary Blair’s distinctive style began to come to fruition on the trip, and Walt and his team got loads of ideas for short features to be produced about the various regions they traveled to on the trip.

Notice that? Short features. The idea was for Walt and his team to produce several small features to be shown throughout South America, each focusing on something fun or educational from a different country. Once they began putting the actual shorts, together, however, they discovered that it would make a lot more sense to package them together.

At that point, the film that would be Saludos Amigos became more about the trip that Walt and his artists had made, with the animated segments becoming just a part of the overall tapestry. The funny thing is, despite having shot reel upon reel of footage in the field during the trip, Walt was not satisfied with using that footage for the film.



Instead, Walt had actors as well as members of the traveling group stage the connective footage on Disney soundstages. It was the start of a long tradition of Disney “faking” the truth to build connectivity. This sort of thing continued in the True Life Adventures series, and was even taking place in things like The Reluctant Dragon.

In the end, Saludos Amigos featured four distinct animated segments, and was premiered in South America on August 24, 1942. It became a sensation, and eventually made its way to American audiences as well. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss the film, after tonight’s Tweetwatch!

All images copyright Disney. All rights reserved.