The Three Caballeros

The video portion was very clean, though this digital transfer really lets you see flaws in the original print. Watch the segments where Donald is "behind" the Cookie Lady in "Baia," and you'll see the woman is dancing in front of a projected image. Most of the time the animated characters are "layered" on top of the live-action reels. I'll grant that given the age of the film, the visuals are fairly impressive, but with the animation technology available, one would think Disney would "clean up" some of the imperfections.

That goes double for sound, which in this release is dead Mono. Even simulated stereo would do a better job of reproducing the dynamics of the great music of this film. Speaking of which, the music selections (and accompanying dances) are the highlight of the movie. I was particularly impressed by the wonderful "You Belong To My Heart," which segues into a mildly hypnotic, almost hallucinogenic segment with "animorphic" images and brilliant colors.

Though there is a plot to all this (Donald's birthday tour), the story is little more than a South American travelogue as envisioned by Disney. That means a lot of American extras playing Brazilians and Mexicans, though not all. I think most kids (and some adults) will appreciate the camaraderie of the three Caballeros, but Donald's randy behavior is a little off-putting. Disney left little doubt that at least one of the 'three gay cabelleros' was perfectly 'straight.'

This film is, of course, a must-own for any collector of Disney animation, but for others the choice is less certain. The music and elaborate dance routines are worth a peek at the very least.

-Mic


Some of Disney's Best Cartoon Work   July 24, 2000
Anthony Damato (Chicago, IL USA)
18 out of 26 found this review helpful

True, THE THREE CABALLEROS isn't a coherent movie; rather it's a collection like FUN AND FANCY FREE and MAKE MINE MUSIC. But it's better than those two because it has a higher percentage of "hits" than they do. Let's start with one no one ever mentions -- Baia. It's just a song, but one of the most beautiful Brazilian songs, and the peaceful cartoon simply supplements the song without interfering with it. A lovely piece of restrained movie making. Then there are Donald Duck and Joe Carioca--their frenzied sequences constitute cartooning at its most clever and funny heights. Visual humor is humor to be prized, and this film has more of it than any Disney film I know. True, some of the "Sports Goofy" cartoons are just as visually funny, but they're an uneven lot, whereas CABALLEROS shows the Disney studio at the height of its funny-cartooning powers. Too bad Uncle Walt isn't around these days. The moguls who have taken over his movies reissue these classics on DVDs that force you to watch a bunch of ads for other movies before you can see the feature. As previous reviewers have commented, there's no way you can fast-forward to get rid of these annoyances. The net result, of course, is going to backfire right in Michael Eisner's face. People are going to resist buying Disney movies on DVD because of this unnecessary intrusive pre-loading of ads and other nonsense before you can see the feature. And that serves the accountants right -- because they're not creative artists, they're accountants. The only torture appropriate to them would be to lock them up in a room for a week and show them nothing but ads for Disney films until they go starkers.


The Best of the "Anthology" Films (with one of Animation's Greatest Sequences Thrown In for Good Measure!)   July 7, 2005
Duane S. Montague (WA United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

THE THREE CABELLEROS was Disney's 2nd foray into the world of Latin America during World War II. Working alongside the State Department to help foster goodwill in the Western hemisphere (and using Disney's iconic characters to help promote American values), the film is a huge improvement over the previous venture, SALUDOS AMIGOS. And while it may not tell a story, per se, the film introduced several songs that have gone on to become classics, contains several rousing moments, features some fun short subjects, all in a nicely diverting package film.

The film itself is supposedly set on Donald's birthday (here we find he was born on Friday 13th). From his many friends in Latin America (Donald was far more popular south of the border than his more even-tempered costars), he has received a box of presents, and the first present he opens is a movie projector and some movies. (Not very original, but it works.) After some trouble with the projector, Donald sits down to watch the show.

Sterling Holloway (a famous Disney voice, having appeared in films from DUMBO all the way to THE JUNGLE BOOK) narrates the story of Pablo the Penguin. Pablo is cold so he decides to float to a warmer climate. The story is no great shakes, but it cute and some of the stylized maps as he floats up the South American coast are quite nice.

A narrator introduces Donald to other birds of South America, including the Aracuan, one of Donald's costars in the "Blame it on the Samba" section of MELODY TIME. After some craziness with the Aracuan, we are told the story of the little Gauchito who went hunting and ended up with a flying burrito. A cute story, with a great narrator, plus several funny sight gags as the narrator reminds himself of the tale he is telling. The characters were popular enough that Disney began working on a (never released) sequel.

Joe Carioca, a Brazillian parrot, sings the beauty of "Baia," just one of the big hits from the movie, and takes Donald to the beautiful, magical country. They journey on a train through a sequence designed by the amazing Mary Blair, one of the few Disney inspirational artists to take the trip to South America with Walt to research the subject. Her highly stylized designs were a favorite with Disney, much to the chagrin of animators who had to bring the thing to life.

Interaction with human costars begins here, as Aurora Miranda and company sing a tune as Donald and Joe fight for her affections. Considering the film was released in 1945, the blend of animation and live action is quite seamless and very impressive.

The highlight of the film is the title number, "The Three Caballeros," which animator Ward Kimball turned into a tour de force of non sequitirs, sight gags, and amazing silliness. Throughout the song, as Panchito the Rooster sings and dances, Donald is constantly frustrated at his own lack of ability, and the gags pile on one after another. Truly a masterpiece of animation, and one of Kimball's most highly regarded works.

The rest of the movie is a travelogue through Mexico, with some great period film (shot by Disney animators on their goodwill tour), more great music ("You Belong to My Heart" was another big hit from the film), and a wonderful expression of Christmas celebrations highlighted by the first appearence (on film) of Mary Blair's distinctive "children" characters. (These would go on to be the stars of one of Disney's most popular and enduring attractions, "It's a Small World," also designed by Blair.)

All in all, a delightful period piece featuring some outstanding animation by the Disney artists, and the wonderful design work of Mary Blair. If you are a fan of Disney's earlier films (SNOW WHITE, PINOCCHIO) or the later output (ALADDIN, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST), you may want to skip this one. It's not story driven, is not a true musical, and feature some highly surreal animation toward the grand finale.

For true Disneyphiles, this is a MUST for your collection.


A favorite from Disney, but too many ads.   May 27, 2000
Marc Williams (Ann Arbor, MI)
10 out of 14 found this review helpful

For many Disney may mean quality family entertainment, but after purchasing The Three Caballeros on "Disney DVD" it also means watching a string of ads. Skipping the ads is a painful process that I shouldn't have to go through. Each ad must be skipped over, there is no way to just put in the disk and start watching the film. Each time the disk is played the ads will play as well. After paying for the disk why should I have to watch ads, I just want to watch the movie. The advertising doesn't seem to lower the price of the product. In my opinion this tarnishes an otherwise good film and I hope Disney tries to be a little more consumer friendly with its future releases.


Maybe not the best movie....   July 8, 2005
Kittyhiss (Ca)
7 out of 11 found this review helpful

It might not be Disney's best movie, but I remember as a child I
watched this movie and I really liked it.And I didn't really get
the "Skirt Chasing" as a sexual thing.For me it was just a fun movie, and I don't think kids will get the wrong impression from
it.