| Saludos Amigos | |
|---|---|
 Original theatrical release poster | |
| Film information | |
| Directed by: | Norman Ferguson Wilfred Jackson Jack Kinney Hamilton Luske Bill Roberts |
| Produced by: | Walt Disney |
| Written by: | Homer Brightman William Cottrell Dick Huemer Joe Grant Harry Reeves Ted Sears Webb Smith Roy Williams Ralph Wright |
| Music by: | Edward H. Plumb Paul J. Smith |
| Studio: | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributed by: | RKO Radio Pictures Buena Vista Distribution |
| Release Date(s): | August 24th, 1942 (Rio de Janeiro) February 6th, 1943 (United States) |
| Running time: | 42 minutes |
| Language: | English Portuguese |
| Preceded by: | Bambi |
| Followed by: | The Three Caballeros |
Saludos Amigos is the sixth full-length animated feature film in the Disney animated features canon, 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.
Saludos Amigos was popular enough that Walt Disney decided to make a sequel, The Three Caballeros, to be produced two years later. The film 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 ambassador.
Plot[]
A group of Disney animators make a goodwill trip to South America (this is documented in live-action). An animated segment details which places they visit.
Segments[]
- Lake Titicaca: Donald Duck visits the famous real-life lake of Lake Titicaca, located at the border of Peru and Bolivia. He looks around, learns about the lake's traditions and makes a failed attempt at sailing a boat before setting off on a journey through the mountains atop a llama. He panicks 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 he is nearly killed in a storm on his way back, but manages to make it to Chile unscathed in the end.
- El Gaucho Goofy: Goofy, re-imagined here 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. He is flown back to Texas in the end, to his gratitude.
- Aquarela de Brasil: Disney animators begin drawing a beautifully rendered Brazilian jungle, where Donald Duck emerges from a flower at some point. While standing around, Donald sees the animator's pen drawing another figure: José Carioca. Joe 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 pop) before spending the night going out and dancing to the samba in Rio with Joe.
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