The Three Caballeros

I am happy to report that The Three Caballeros was much more enjoyable for me than Saludos Amigos.  :)

The Three Caballeros is another compilation/package film that centers around Donald Duck's birthday and his gifts from his friends from Latin America, specifically Jose Carioca (the parrot) and Panchito (the rooster).  The film premiered in Mexico City in 1944 and runs about an hour and 15 minutes.


The first segment of the film is "The Cold-Blooded Penguin."  I had never seen The Three Caballeros, but Pablo the penguin seemed very familiar... and then it hit me.  He starred in one of my favorite books from childhood: The Penguin who Hated the Cold.  :)  Pablo is a penguin who hates the cold and dreams of moving to a warmer clime.  His attempts to get to the equator usually turn out poorly for him, but they're still very fun to watch.  :)



Most of the film is made up of Donald, Jose, and Panchito's travels to several different locations throughout Mexico and Latin America.  The film is a combination of animation and live-action.  Some scenes involve animated scenery and backdrops with live actors while others provide live-action reel time and have the animated figures of the three caballeros drawn into the scenes.  But what almost all of the scenes had in common was... dancing!  So much live music and singing and cultural dancing.  It's not exactly a secret, but I love dancing!  This made The Three Caballeros very fun to watch.  :)

I definitely prefer the full-length feature Disney films to the package films, but The Three Caballeros was still very enjoyable.

This week I'll leave you with a piece of my own wisdom.  A basic but accurate parameter to use when critiquing a movie:

Surprise dancing in a movie = good.  Surprise aliens in a movie = bad.  (Please note: Expected aliens aren't very good either...)

Coming Up Next: Make Mine Music