SALUDOS AMIGOS AND THE THREE CABALLEROS [1942 / 1944 / 2018] [75th Anniversary Edition] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] Magical Memories Straight From The Disney Archive!
Embark on thrilling adventures to South America and Mexico in two full-length movies, with ‘SALUDOS AMIGOS’ and its sequel ‘THE THREE CABALLEROS’ and together for the first time in one Blu-ray collection! Join Goofy, Donald Duck and Walt Disney himself as they experience all the music, beauty and excitement Latin America has to offer. Walt and his team of artists, musicians, writers and animators say "Adios!" to the U.S.A to explore the heart and soul of Latin America. In SALUDOS AMIGOS they travel to fun and exciting places and capture their adventures along the way. Next, it's Donald Duck's turn to take a fantastic journey through these colorful lands with his friends Joe Carioca and Panchito in ‘THE THREE CABALLEROS.’ With light-hearted dance and lively music, it's a celebration the whole family will enjoy!
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations for SALUDOS AMIGOS: 1944 Academy Awards®: Nomination: Best Sound Recording for C.O. Slyfield. Nomination: Best Music for an Original Song for Charles Wolcott (music) and Ned Washington (lyrics) for the song "Saludos Amigos." Nomination: Best Music and Scoring of a Musical Picture for Charles Wolcott, Edward H. Plumb and Paul J. Smith. 1943 National Board of Review, USA: Win: Best Documentary.
FILM FACT No.2: Awards and Nominations for THE THREE CABALLEROS: 1946 Academy Awards: Nomination: Best Sound Recording for C.O. Slyfield. Nomination: Best Music and Scoring of a Musical Picture for Charles Wolcott, Edward H. Plumb and Paul J. Smith. 1949 Venice Film Festival: Nomination: Golden Lion for Walt Disney.
FILM FACT No.3: In ‘SALUDOS AMIGOS,’ the film's original score was composed by Edward H. Plumb, Paul J. Smith, and Charles Wolcott. The title song, "Saludos Amigos", was written for the film by Charles Wolcott and Ned Washington. The film also featured the song "Aquarela do Brasil", written by the popular Brazilian songwriter Ary Barroso and performed by Aloísio de Oliveira, and an instrumental version of "Tico-Tico no Fubá", written by Zequinha de Abreu. "Aquarela do Brasil" was written and first performed in 1939, but did not achieve much initial success. However, after appearing in this film it became an international hit, becoming the first Brazilian song to be played over a million times on American radio. The film's soundtrack was first released by Decca Records in 1944 as a collection of three 78rpm singles.
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SALUDOS AMIGOS Voice Cast: Fred Shields (Narrator), José Oliveira (José Carioca), Lee Blair (Himself) (uncredited), Mary Blair (Herself) (uncredited), Stuart Buchanan (Flight attendant) (uncredited), Pinto Colvig (Goofy) (uncredited), Walt Disney (Himself) (uncredited), Norman Ferguson (Himself), Frank Graham (Himself), Clarence Nash (Donald Duck) (uncredited) and Frank Thomas (Himself) (uncredited)
SALUDOS AMIGOS Directors: Bill Roberts, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney and Wilfred Jackson
SALUDOS AMIGOS Screenplay: Harry Reeves (story), Ted Sears (story research) and Webb Smith (story research) William Cottrell (story research). Dick Huemer (story), Homer Brightman (story), Joe Grant (story), Ralph Wright (story) and Roy Williams (story)
SALUDOS AMIGOS Composers: Edward H. Plumb and Paul J. Smith
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THE THREE CABALLEROS Voice Cast: Frank Graham (Narrator), Aurora Miranda (The Brazilian Girl), Carmen Molina (Mexico Girl), Dora Luz (Mexico Girl), Sterling Holloway (Professor Holloway), Clarence Nash (Donald Duck), Joaquin Garay (Panchito), José Oliveira (José Carioca), Nestor Amaral, Almirante, Trío Calaveras, Trío Ascensio del Rio (Themselves), Padua Hills Players (Themselves), Pinto Colvig (Aracuan Bird) (uncredited), Billy Daniel (Dancer/Brazilian Sequence) (uncredited), Dante DiPaolo (Dancer/Brazilian Sequence) (uncredited), Matt Mattox (Dancer/Brazilian Sequence) (uncredited) and Alex Romero (Dancer/Brazilian Sequence) (uncredited)
THE THREE CABALLEROS Directors: Bill Roberts (sequence director), Clyde Geronimi (sequence director), Harold Young (live action sequences), Jack Kinney (sequence director), Norman Ferguson
THE THREE CABALLEROS Producer: Walt Disney (uncredited)
THE THREE CABALLEROS Screenplay: Bill Peed (story), Del Connell (story), Dick Huemer (story) (uncredited), Elmer Plummer (story), Ernest Terrazas (story), Homer Brightman (story), James Bodrero (story), Joe Grant (story) (uncredited), Ralph Wright (story), Roy Williams (story), Ted Sears (story), Webb Smith (story) (uncredited) and William Cottrell (story)
THE THREE CABALLEROS Composers: Charles Wolcott, Edward H. Plumb and Paul J. Smith
THE THREE CABALLEROS Cinematography: Ray Rennahan (live action sequences)
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Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 42 minutes and 71 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Walt Disney Productions / RKO Radio Pictures
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘SALUDOS AMIGOS’ and ‘THE THREE CABALLEROS’ is a special presentation which has been brought to you from the Disney Movie Archives, and is a treasure trove of magical memories via the Disney Movie Club.
Here we have a Cartoon Fiesta of Fun and Fantasy and here we chart a course for adventure with the 75th Anniversary Edition of the Walt Disney animation cartoons of ‘SALUDOS AMIGOS’ and ‘THE THREE CABALLEROS,’ who are now together on this Blu-ray disc for the first time in a 2 Movie Collection!
Celebrate the vibrant sights and sounds of South America and Mexico, with a stunning blend of live action and classic Disney animation, that is bursting with delightful surprises, spirited dance and lively music that has some hilarious visual feast that is magical fun for the whole family and to find out what each Walt Disney animation cartoon is about, here is a short synopsis of what you will get to view with each film and now read on:
SALUDOS AMIGOS [1942] is the sixth full-length animated feature film in the wonderful Disney Animation that was released in 1942. It is the first of the six Disney "Package films" made during the 1940s, when many members of the production staff were drafted into World War II. Due to this decrease in resources, the company could not afford to make feature-length stories during this time and instead produced films composed of multiple shorter segments. Set in Latin America, it is made up of four different segments; Donald Duck stars in two of them and Goofy stars in one. It also features the first appearance of José Carioca. Here Walt Disney Goes to South America in his Gayest Musical Technicolor Feature ever.
At a running-time of 42 minutes, ‘SALUDOS AMIGOS’ is the shortest Disney animation cartoon feature film and was made partially because several Latin American governments had close ties with Nazi Germany, and the US government wanted to counteract those ties. Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters were popular in Latin America, and Walt Disney acted as an ambassador.
A group of Disney animators make a goodwill trip to South America (this is documented in live-action sequence). An animated segment details which places they visit, which consist of the following:
Lake Titicaca: Donald Duck visits the famous Lake Titicaca, located at the border of Peru and Bolivia. He looks around, learns of the lake's traditions, and makes a failed attempt at sailing a boat before setting off through the mountains atop a llama. He panics when the llama is busy walking across a wooden suspended bridge, eventually resulting in his fall. He lands in a pottery shop, shattering some pots and taking others with him.
Pedro: A small anthropomorphic child-airplane, Pedro, lives in Chile with his mother and father, large airplanes who deliver mail. When both his parents are incapacitated due to technical defects, Pedro is forced to embark on his first journey in their place, picking up post from the city of Mendoza. His flight is perilous and dangerous and is nearly killed in a storm near Mount Aconcagua on his way back, but manages to make it back victorious in the end.
El Gaucho Goofy: Goofy, re-imagined as a Texan cowboy, is put to work as a gaucho in Argentina. He works together with a trickster horse as the narrator explains the life of the gaucho. Life as a gaucho for Goofy is strange, harsh and tiresome – not because of the living conditions, but mainly due to the antics of his horse and Goofy is flown back to Texas in the end, to his gratitude.
Aquarela do Brasil: We see a paintbrush painting a beautifully rendered Brazilian jungle, which Donald Duck emerges from a flower at some point. While standing around, Donald sees the paintbrush creating another figure: José Carioca. José takes Donald out of the jungle and into the city of Rio de Janeiro, where Donald accidentally drinks an incredibly spicy drink (thinking it was soda) before spending the night going out and dancing to the samba in Rio with José.
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THE THREE CABALLEROS [1944] Donald Duck is the bumbling tourist who links this compilation of shorts with a South American theme, featuring a mix of live-action and animation. Catchy musical numbers, chilly penguins and a manic rooster: they are all here in this lively travelogue.
The Disney 71 minutes animation cartoon feature film that consists of several segments, connected by a common theme. In the cartoon feature film, it is Donald Duck's birthday, and he receives three presents from friends in Latin America. The first present Donald Duck receives is a film projector, which shows him a documentary on birds and during the documentary, he learns about the Aracuan Bird.
Throughout the Disney animation cartoon feature film, the Aracuan Bird appears at random moments and usually pesters everyone, sometimes stealing José's cigar and his most famous gag is when he re-routes the train by drawing new tracks. The Disney animation cartoon feature film segments include the following:
The Cold-Blooded Penguin: Here we are introduced to a penguin named Pablo, reproducing images of the penguins of Punta Tombo in Argentina along the coast of Patagonia, "Pablo the penguin" is so fed up with the freezing conditions of the South Pole that he decides to leave for warmer climates, so Pablo uses a bathtub as a boat to reach the Galápagos Islands. Satisfied that he finally made it to the Galápagos, Pablo enjoys his new life in the Galápagos Island in paradise, but he starts to think that he might return back to the South Pole someday. The Cold-Blooded Penguin is an animated short that features the voice of Sterling Holloway as the professor who narrates the adventures of Pablo.
The Flying Gauchito: Tells the adventures of a little boy from Uruguay and his winged donkey named Burrito. Attempting to hunt for condors in the mountains, the gaucho then discovers a nearby nest in the tallest mountains. All he found was an unusual winged burro in which he thought it was a condor. Gauchito then prepares to capture the flying burro but it manages to escape. It is believed the donkey is modelled after hefty Latin lover Don Juan De Gama.
Baía: It involves a pop-up book trip through Baía, the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, as Donald Duck and José Carioca meet up with some of the locals who dance a lively samba and Donald Duck starts pining for one of the females, played by singer Aurora Miranda.
Las Posadas: The story of a group of Mexican children who celebrated Christmas by re-enacting the journey of Mary and Saint Joseph, searching for room at an inn. "Posada" means "inn", and they are told "no posada" at each house until they come to one where they are offered shelter in a stable. This leads to festivities including the breaking of the piñata, which in turn leads to Donald Duck trying to break the piñata as well.
Mexico: Pátzcuaro, Veracruz and Acapulco: Panchito gives Donald Duck and José Carioca a tour of Mexico on a flying sarape, which is a long blanket-like shawl, often brightly coloured and fringed at the ends, and worn in Mexico, especially by men. Several Mexican dances and songs are learned here. Donald Duck seems to act like a "wolf" to the ladies again, where he tries to gain their affections, but sadly fails.
You Belong To My Heart (Now and Forever): The cartoon is set in Mexico and results where Donald, José Carioca, and Panchito are exploring Mexico City at night where they encounter Mexican singer Dora Luz singing in front of them as Donald Duck gets attracted by Dora Luz's singing. The song is the name of an English language version of the Mexican Bolero romantic love song "Solamente una vez" which means "Only One Time." The English lyrics were written by Ray Gilbert and sung by Dora Luz.
Donald's Surreal Reverie: A kiss, or several to be exact, leads to Donald Duck going into the phrase "Love is a drug." This scene is similar to "Pink Elephants on Parade," for being a major "trippy" scene. Donald Duck constantly envisions sugar rush colours, flowers, and Panchito and José Carioca popping in at the worst of moments. The scene changes after Donald Duck manages to dance with a girl from the State of Oaxaca, from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The two dance to the song "La Sandunga." The girl begins by singing the song, with Donald Duck "quacking" out the rest of the chorus. The "drunkenness" slows down for a moment, but speeds up again when a Mexican girl uses a conductor's stick to make the cactus do just about anything while dancing "Jesusita en Chihuahua," a Mexican Revolution trademark song. The scene is interrupted when Panchito and José Carioca spice things up, and Donald Duck ends up battling a toy bull with wheels on its legs. The catch is that it's loaded with firecrackers and other explosives.
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SALUDOS AMIGOS MUSIC TRACK LIST
SALUDOS AMIGOS (Lyrics by Ned Washington) (Music by Charles Wolcott) [Sung during the opening credits]
ESCRAVOS DE JÓ (Traditional) (uncredited) [Sung during carnival sequence]
AQUARELA DO BRASIL (Music and Portuguese Lyrics by Ary Barroso) [Sung by Aloysio de Oliveira]
TICO TICO NO FUBÁ (uncredited) (Written by Zequinha de Abreu) [Performed by José Oliveira]
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THE THREE CABALLEROS MUSIC TRACK LIST
THE THREE CABALLEROS (Ay, Jalisco, no te rajes!) (Music by Manuel Esperón) (Spanish lyrics by Ernesto Cortázar) (uncredited) (English lyrics by Ray Gilbert (1944) (uncredited) [Played and Sung during the opening credits]
BAÍA (No baixa do sapateiro) (Music and Portuguese Lyrics by Ary Barroso) (English lyrics by Ray Gilbert (1944) (uncredited)
OS QUINDINS DE YAYÁ (Music and Spanish Lyrics by Ary Barroso) [Sung by Aurora Miranda (uncredited)
MEXICO (Music by Charles Wolcott) (Spanish Lyrics by Edmundo Santos) (uncredited) (English Lyrics by Ray Gilbert) (1944) (uncredited) [Sung by Carlos Ramírez]
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO BAÍA (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Dorival Caymmi)
PREGOES CARIOCA (uncredited) (Music by João de Barro) (Portuguese Lyrics by João de Barro as Carlos Braga)
LILONGO (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Felipe Gil)
PANDEIRO & FLUTE (uncredited) (Music by Benedito Lacerda)
JESUSITA EN CHIHUAHUA (The Cactus Polka) (uncredited) (Written by Manuel Esperón and Ernesto Cortázar) (Adapted by Edward H. Plumb)
ZANDUNGA (uncredited) (Traditional) (Arranged by Charles Wolcott)
SOBRE LAS OLAS (Over the Waves) (1887) (uncredited) (Music by Juventino Rosas) [In the score when the boat is launched]
JINGLE BELLS (1857) (uncredited) (Written by James Pierpont) [Sung a bit by Clarence Nash]
SALUDOS AMIGOS (Lyrics by Ned Washington) (Music by Charles Wolcott) [Played when Donald Duck opened his presents in the beginning]
Blu-ray Image Quality – Walt Disney Home Entertainment presents us with a totally awesome 1080p Technicolor image presentation and of course is shown in the standard 1.37:1 aspect ratio to great effect. For its age, both feature cartoons looks in surprisingly good condition. The live 16mm action sequences exhibit a wonderful colourful vibrancy not often seen from Disney cartoon films of the 1940s era and the animated sequences are really well-preserved, as well. It's hard to believe that both ‘SALUDOS AMIGOS’ and ‘THE THREE CABALLEROS’ Disney cartoon films were made 75 years ago and a welcome release after all these years, where we had to put up for a long time with a very standard inferior Disney Gold DVD release. What impressed me the most were the Technicolor colours are vastly improved with the animated sequences, and they appear pretty bright and nice and bold. Black levels seem deep and dark, and shadow details continue to look really nice and a joy to view, but overall we get a really nice image presentation, which of course is helped with this exclusive Blu-ray release.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Walt Disney Home Entertainment brings you just one superb and stunning 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience, which is helped with when you hear the wonderful musical interludes, with the lovely South American music and songs coming over really nice for the Disney cartoons released in the 1940s, which of course is a massive upgrade over the previous mono audio Disney Gold DVD release. Dialogue appears totally excellent clarity and very natural. The musical sections of the cartoons are wonderful and very vibrant. Overall, this is a really excellent and amazing audio presentation.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: The one unforgivable sin with this Disney “exclusive” Blu-ray disc release is the absence of any “extra special features,” which instead you will of course have to view them via the NTSC DVD release of these two classic Disney cartoons.
Finally, Walt Disney presents us with the amazing animation cartoons of ‘SALUDOS AMIGOS’ and its sequel ‘THE THREE CABALLEROS’ in a totally new form of cinematic entertainment where Walt Disney blends live action with animation in a brilliant and sensational feature production values we can always expect from the Disney organisation. It is a gay, colourful, resplendent Technicolor animation cartoons. These two animation cartoon films offer delightful armchair travel for absolutely everyone. There is dancing, singing, bird watching, fine arts, native dress, rodeos, mountains, beaches, the pampas, big cities, and even wilder sights like flying donkeys in horse races and baby planes that deliver the mail. One of the best shorts is José Carioca the parrot dancing with live samba dancers and is a loving tribute to Rio that will appeal to very young children. Some modern viewers might find the dance numbers a little too long, but with amazing Disney artists they come up with new animated inspiration, working llamas, gauchos, penguins, and the treacherous mountains of Chile into their stories. These love letters to Latin America are classics worth revisiting with the next generation and don't forget your dancing shoes. ‘SALUDOS AMIGOS’ and its sequel ‘THE THREE CABALLEROS’ let the animators run amok with their imaginations, plunging into delirious abstraction, kaleidoscopic compositions, and charmingly integrating wonderful animation and live-action together and makes you feel you are holidaying in South America, but at the same time we have a great deal of animated sense of fun and frivolity that is blissfully universal. Seldom has the Disney organisation unofficial status as America's foremost goodwill ambassador felt more official or justified. The best thing about these two Disney Technicolor animation cartoons is that it gives us the brilliant Disney animators showcasing their professional talents to great effect. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
