The Three Caballeros (1944)
Belgian postcard, no. 2. Publicity postcard by The Three Caballeros (Norman Ferguson, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, 1944). Caption: Panchito recounts his exploits to Joe Carioca and Donald Duck.
The Three Caballeros (Norman Ferguson, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, 1944) is an American animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the seventh animated feature in the Disney Animated Canon, as well as the first animated Disney film to be a sequel (to Saludos Amigos). The film also marked Donald Duck's 10th anniversary and is the first Walt Disney feature to combine animation with live-action footage.
The Three Caballeros plots an adventure through parts of Latin America, combining live-action and animation. It is the second of the Disney package films of the 1940s. The film is a series of self-contained segments, strung together by the device of Donald Duck opening birthday gifts from his Latin American friends. Several Latin American stars of the period appear, including singers Aurora Miranda (sister of Carmen Miranda) and Dora Luz, and dancer Carmen Molina. Throughout the film, the Aracuan Bird appears at random moments. He usually pesters everyone, sometimes stealing José's cigar. His most famous gag is when he re-routes the train by drawing new tracks. He later returns in Melody Time.
The Three Caballeros was produced as part of the studio's goodwill message for South America but is less obviously propagandistic than many of its wartime productions. The film again stars Donald Duck, who in the course of the film is joined by an old friend, José Carioca, the cigar-smoking parrot from Saludos Amigos, representing Brazil, and later makes a new friend in the persona of a pistol-packing rooster Panchito Pistoles, representing Mexico. The Three Caballeros received mixed reviews upon its original release. Most critics were relatively perplexed by the "technological razzle-dazzle" of the film, thinking that, in contrast to the previous feature films up to this time, "it displayed more flash than substance, more technique than artistry." Bosley Crowther wrote in The New York Times, "Dizzy Disney and his playmates have let their technical talents run wild." Today critics are more positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMovie: "Filled with achingly funny jokes, good music, and stunning, ground-breaking animation, The Three Caballeros remains extremely entertaining decades after its release. It is one of Disney's unacknowledged classics." Calstanhope at IMDb: "The animation is very good and some of the music (especially the title song) is memorable. Watch it for what it is and enjoy!"
Sources: Stephen Thomas Erlewine (AllMovie), Disney Wiki, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
The Three Caballeros (1944)
Belgian postcard, no. 2. Publicity postcard by The Three Caballeros (Norman Ferguson, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, 1944). Caption: Panchito recounts his exploits to Joe Carioca and Donald Duck.
The Three Caballeros (Norman Ferguson, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, 1944) is an American animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the seventh animated feature in the Disney Animated Canon, as well as the first animated Disney film to be a sequel (to Saludos Amigos). The film also marked Donald Duck's 10th anniversary and is the first Walt Disney feature to combine animation with live-action footage.
The Three Caballeros plots an adventure through parts of Latin America, combining live-action and animation. It is the second of the Disney package films of the 1940s. The film is a series of self-contained segments, strung together by the device of Donald Duck opening birthday gifts from his Latin American friends. Several Latin American stars of the period appear, including singers Aurora Miranda (sister of Carmen Miranda) and Dora Luz, and dancer Carmen Molina. Throughout the film, the Aracuan Bird appears at random moments. He usually pesters everyone, sometimes stealing José's cigar. His most famous gag is when he re-routes the train by drawing new tracks. He later returns in Melody Time.
The Three Caballeros was produced as part of the studio's goodwill message for South America but is less obviously propagandistic than many of its wartime productions. The film again stars Donald Duck, who in the course of the film is joined by an old friend, José Carioca, the cigar-smoking parrot from Saludos Amigos, representing Brazil, and later makes a new friend in the persona of a pistol-packing rooster Panchito Pistoles, representing Mexico. The Three Caballeros received mixed reviews upon its original release. Most critics were relatively perplexed by the "technological razzle-dazzle" of the film, thinking that, in contrast to the previous feature films up to this time, "it displayed more flash than substance, more technique than artistry." Bosley Crowther wrote in The New York Times, "Dizzy Disney and his playmates have let their technical talents run wild." Today critics are more positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMovie: "Filled with achingly funny jokes, good music, and stunning, ground-breaking animation, The Three Caballeros remains extremely entertaining decades after its release. It is one of Disney's unacknowledged classics." Calstanhope at IMDb: "The animation is very good and some of the music (especially the title song) is memorable. Watch it for what it is and enjoy!"
Sources: Stephen Thomas Erlewine (AllMovie), Disney Wiki, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.