Saludos Amigos (1942)

Directed by Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske and Bill Roberts
Written by Homer Brightman, William Cottrell, Richard Huemer, Joe Grant, Harold Reeves, Ted Sears, Webb Smith, Roy Williams, and Ralph Wright
Premiered August 24, 1942
42 minutes
Rated G

Synopsis
To keep "friendly relations" with South America, Walt Disney & co. go south of the border and collect a myriad of ideas for animated shorts.

Note: With the segmented films, I will be going further into plot points in my mötley müsings.

Before We Begin
Here we finally are at the very first of the package films. (My apologies to any of you following along, but if you've done this as many times as I have, you need to mix up your viewing order.) It's all there in the synopsis; Walt and a group of animators traveled to South America--at the urging of the U.S. government--to make a movie featuring South American culture along with popular Disney characters. This was to keep everyone on a friendly foot and it was successful enough.

Fast forward seventy some years and Saludos Amigos just seems odd among the other DAFs. First off, it barely qualifies as a feature film. (40 minutes is the cut-off). It's also part more documentary than anything else. Granted, its inclusion in the canon would seem all the more odd if The Three Caballeros didn't immediately follow. Saludos Amigos was the second to last DAF to ever be released on home video, a month before Make Mine Music, which makes sense given its outlier status. But thanks to its brisk running time, it's relatively painless.

Mötley Müsings
• "Saludos Amigos" means "Hello Friends".

• This song was nominated for an Academy Award. I shit you not.

• LIVE ACTION. "Adios, Hollywood and Saludos Amigos."

• "Their music is strange and exotic."

• "Is your mama a llama," I asked my friend Dave. "No, she is not," is the answer Dave gave.

• Segment #1 -- "Lake Titicaca". Donald Duck explores Lake Titicaca and struggles with a difficult llama. Donald as an American tourist make sense.

• What's the deal with pith helmets?

• Donald in a boat made of reeds.

• Donald obnoxiously taking pictures.

• That llama has a huge butt.

• Dude using a typewriter while smoking on a plane. #40s

• Segment #2 -- "Pedro". This one takes place in Chile and is about anthropomorphic airplanes. Little Pedro attempts to be a hero and deliver the mail when his parents are unable to do so. He struggles but like every Disney hero ever, he succeeds.

• "The papa plane was a big, powerful male plane. Mama plane was a middle-sized female plane. And the baby plane was a little boy plane named Pedro."

• This is like Cars...with planes. Kind of like Planes, I guess.

• Pedro is the fluffiest of the segments. Also reminiscent of "Little Toot". How could it not be, though?

• Haha, the important mail was just a postcard.

• More live action shots. They didn't edit out of any of the smoking here. American hero Walt Disney is even smoking!!

• Gaucho pants. Never liked that as a fashion statement.

• Segment #3 -- "El Gaucho Goofy". Goofy learns the differences and similarities between American cowboys and Argentinian gauchos.

• Costume change!

• "Then we have the poncho, which just about covers everything."

• "Carumba!"

• Slow motion jokes. Nice.

• "Girl you know it's--Girl you know it's--Girl you know it's--"

• Pantsless Goofy!

• "Hasta la vista!"

• Segment #4 -- "Aquarela do Brasil". Donald and Jose Carioca (here called "Joe") dance around Brazil. This is the most "surreal" of the segments; everything else has been pretty much a straight forward travelogue. The beginnings of The Three Caballeros is here. Ugh.

• It definitely has the best animation and is the least cartoony until Donald and Joe arrive.

• "Donald Duck, Hollywood."

• One wonders, because Donald was already featured in a short, why Mickey Mouse isn't meeting Jose. It's not like he was on another project. What gives?

• If I never hear another samba again, it will be too soon. My over exposure to these package films has killed any interest I might ever have in South American culture.

• Is this segment the longest? Or does it just feel that way?

• "Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl..."

• The End.

Final Thoughts
I truly, truly wish Saludos Amigos was the only South American themed film to come out of Disney in the 1940s. It's just fine. It's just meh. Somewhat interesting, I guess. But it's teaching me things I don't particularly care to learn about. Kind of like a random fact learned on Jeopardy. It seems interesting at the time, but your brain fails to retain the information for the next time the question is asked on Jeopardy.

Saludos Amigos is far more interesting to learn about than to actually watch. The film has an important place in world history and Disney history, but it's getting less and less enjoyable for me each time I make myself watch it.

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I am very tired of these package films.

Favorite Character

Goofy

Favorite Moment -- "El Gaucho Goofy"
Favorite Song -- "Saludos Amigos"