Guest Column - El Dorado and Disney
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El Dorado is not the first animated feature to deal with Hispanic cultures. One of Disney’s first animated movies, Saludos Amigos showcased South America. The film consisted of some documentary footage shot by Walt Disney himself, as well as animated sequences. Saludos Amigos was the first Disney movie released in South America before the United States. The movie did very well with the South American audiences where it played to sold-out crowds at the theaters. In the United States movie critics were somewhat mixed and were cynical of the propaganda displayed in the movie. Regardless of the critics, the movie was successful and inspired Disney’s next south of the border movie, The Three Calballeros. Saludos Amigos is Disney’s shortest animated feature at 47 minutes of length.

The Three Caballeros is a colorful, musical ride through Mexico and South America. The movie is a great collection of sequences that have delighted fans for generations. Donald Duck is celebrating his birthday, so his friends from Latin America sent him a present. The first Donald opens is a projector, which plays a hilarious series of gags connected to some unusual birds. One of the best gags is the Alacuan bird, which is famous for the unusual song it sings. It proved to be so popular that Disney brought the bird back for Melody Time and a Donald Duck short. Consider it Disney’s revenge for Woody Woodpecker. The next scene is Pablo the Penguin, about a penguin who wants to live in a sunnier climate than Antarctica. Narrated by Sterling Holloway, the cartoon has many funny gags and it ends with Pablo, after getting to a warmer climate, wishing he were back at Antarctica.

A story about a flying donkey ends the Strange Birds section. The movie next goes into the Baia section, with Jose Carioca asking Donald "Have you been to Baia?" Once they get to Baia there is a great segment with Donald Duck and Aurora Miranda singing in the streets. Gradually the city becomes increasingly animated until the whole town is moving to the music. This and other parts of the movie represent some of the earliest uses of live-action and animation in color. Finally, there is a Mexican section with Donald Duck, Jose and Panchito singing the theme song The Three Caballeros. Mary Blair’s work on the Feliz Navidad section of the movie inspired the look and style of It’s a Small World. Donald breaks a piñata open and finds a magic sarape that they use to fly around Mexico. While flying around they come across some bathing beauties and Donald jumps down to meet them. The last 15 minutes of the movie are probably the most psychedelic in Disney’s animation history. The Three Caballeros like Saludos Amgios was met with mixed reviews by the critics.

The excitement and colorful nature of the countries south of the border have inspired some great animation and music. Even Disney will soon be releasing another movie, Emperor’s New Groove that has a Mayan setting. From the Disney Channel animated short People’s South American Parade to El Dorado’s lively beginning, animation has give us some exotic and zestful tributes to South America, Mexico and Central America. Here’s looking forward to what new and fun animated movies await us in the future.

Related Links

• The Road to El Dorado Official Site
• Purchase Saludos Amigos - DVD or VHS (from Amazon.com)
• The Three Caballeros - DVD or VHS (from Amazon.com)

-- Daniel Kaplan (April 18, 2000)