Walt Disney Animation Studios Film Watch – Day 6: Saludos Amigos
This is a live-action/animated anthology film made of four different segments set in various locations in Latin America, made as part of the Good Neighbor policy. It is also Disney Animation’s shortest film at forty-two minutes, just long enough to count as a feature film (films have to be over forty minutes long to be considered feature-length).
I personally enjoyed this film a lot. Not only is there four different shorts to watch, but you also learn about some of the culture of the locations that the shorts take place in like Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world (also the name of the first short), Santiago, Chile (Pedro), the Argentinian pampas (El Gaucho Goofy) and Rio de Janeiro (Aquarela do Brasil (Portuguese for “Watercolor of Brazil”)).
I also liked José Carioca, the malandro Brazilian parrot. Despite only appearing in the final short, he had really good chemistry with “Pato Donald” with his jovial personality, him welcoming Donald to Brazil and showing him around, and Donald, in spite of his usual short temper, also gets along pretty well with José. José himself is also heavily popular in Brazil, rivaling with the likes of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in popularity among Brazilian fans.
I’d recommend this film for anyone who likes Latin America’s different cultures, even if the film might just be a product of its time (it was 1942, after all).