The Three Caballeros (1944)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Norman Ferguson

Writers:

Homer Brightman (story) &
Ernest Terrazas (story) ...

Release Date:

3 February 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Music

Tagline:

UTTERLY FASCINATING! ENTIRELY DIFFERENT! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Donald receives his birthday gifts, which include traditional gifts and information about Brazil (hosted by Zé Carioca) and Mexico (by Panchito, a Mexican Charro Rooster).

Plot Keywords:

Brazil | Birthday | Bird | Mexico | Bahia

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Aurora Miranda	...	The Brazilian Girl (as Aurora Miranda of Brazil)
Carmen Molina	...	Mexico Girl (as Carmen Molina of Mexico)
Dora Luz	...	Mexico Girl (as Dora Luz of Mexico)
Sterling Holloway	...	Narrator for 'The Cold-Blooded Penguin' / Professor Holloway
Clarence Nash	...	Donald Duck (voice)
Joaquin Garay	...	Panchito (voice)
José Oliveira	...	José Carioca / Zé Carioca (voice)
Frank Graham	...	Narrator
Fred Shields	...	Narrator
Nestor Amaral
Almirante
Trío Calaveras		(as Trio Calaveras)
Trío Ascencio del Río		(as Ascencio Del Rio Trio)
Padua Hills Players	...	Actors

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1976) | UK:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Spain:T

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

The Pablo the Penguin segment features a shot of a penguin diving into the water. This animation is taken from the Silly Symphony Peculiar Penguins (1934).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: During the flying zarape ride, Panchito tells Donald and Joe about the town of Patzcuaro and its lake Janitzio. Actually the lake is also named Patzcuaro; Janitzio is the main island in the lake.

Quotes:

José Carioca: You kill my head!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Walt Disney Comedy and Magic Revue (1985) (V)

Soundtrack:

Os Quindins de Yayá

View it for what it is

Funny, people nowadays don't seem to realize that this was a World War II propaganda film -- only one comment below makes that point. Many such features and shorts were turned out during this time, and not just from Disney; Warner Bros., MGM and others did as well. Keep this in mind and it makes a little more sense. Even more of the fractured, surreal nature of this film is explainable when viewed in the context of other Disney animated features of this time. "Fantasia" (of course), "Dumbo," "Pinocchio" and other movies contained what seemed like drug- or alcohol-induced sequences (maybe someone with more intimate knowledge of Disney productions of the time can shed some light on those!). Disney also seemed eager to experiment with blending of animation and live action during this time ("Song of the South"). Anyway, this was aimed primarily at engendering better relations between North Americans and our ostensible allies in Latin America. The animation is very good and some of the music (especially the title song) is memorable. Watch it for what it is and enjoy!