Saludos Amigos

Welcome back everyone to “Disney Month,” where once again I will be looking at various films that I had hand-picked for this year. I had to change the list around so many times because there was stuff that I wanted to review this year that was postponed to next year. Let’s start this month off with the 1943 film, “Saludos Amigos.”

Part of the beauty of cinema is that it allows worldly looks and cultures to be seen and captured in an easily understandable format for audiences all over. Not only is this apparent to filmmakers, but it also is for the government who can use cinema as a way for different tasks and ideals. Carson Timar said in his review, “Ahead of the U.S. joining World War II, the United States Department of State looked to use Disney to counter Nazi propaganda in Latin America using cinema which led to the birth of Saludos Amigos. A sort of experimental road-trip film, Saludos Amigos follows a group of animators who travel to South America and capture their findings through small animated shorts. The result is a mixed effort that can struggle to find momentum even if the technical backbone of the film is still as strong as ever.”

I think everyone can guess that the visuals of “Saludos Amigos” continue Disney’s record of impressive animated works. Combining wonderful uses of color and creative transitions to bring these locations to life, it is easy to feel the love and passion that was inserted in these scenes by the animators. This added element of seeing the animators and their abilities to turn the real world they experience into animation gives another layer to the film’s identity and magic. “Saludos Amigos” is a love letter to animation and the intelligence behind the medium in a way that is sure to fascinate many. Seeing the way, they draw these characters and locations not only helps educate audiences on what goes into this type of art but also gives humanity to the work that isn’t often experienced.

The portrayals of South American people and culture are also a highlight of the film. A lot of “Saludos Amigos” is dedicated to educating everyone about these people in a time when there was little representation or understanding of how these people lived or the beauty of the place, they lived in. Timar noted, “While there are still the occasional use of stereotypes and problematic outlooks on other cultures, these are rather minimal considering the time the film was produced in and the overall intention does still ring as rather pure. There is a genuine love and respect given to the cultures that these animators come into contact with which helps the film feel authentic and honorable despite its smaller flaws.”

The actual animated shorts range in success. While some are genuinely interesting and entertaining, some are just not. Timar mentioned, “Multiple of the animated segments go on for way too long and the film does begin to drag at times which is somewhat shocking considering its already short 42-minute runtime. Perhaps the most iconic bit of the film comes from the debut of José Carioca (José do Patrocínio Oliveira) but the biggest highlights come in more of the experimental shorts such as the birth of the jungle with streams and trees literally bleeding onto the white canvas. The weakest shorts are often the extended segments spent with established Disney characters like Goofy (Pinto Colvig) and Donald Duck (Clarence Nash) which can feel like generic Disney comedic shorts rather than something of inspiration or purpose.” The shorter runtime is what helps the film still feel worth watching and had the film even added 20 more minutes there would have been serious consequences for the project.

While “Saludos Amigos” may not be the most iconic Disney film and is far from being the best, the film still has a unique magic and identity that makes it worthwhile to see at least once. The passion for animation has never been celebrated this highly by Disney and the cultural celebration is something that deserves recognition even if the political reason behind it demands to be remembered.

You should see this on Disney+ because I think there are some good things in here. I know there are some risky stuff in here and the film does give a forewarning about that. Just check it out and see for yourself, but if you feel like you should see this first before allowing your children to see it, I understand.

Check-in tomorrow when I look at another classic animated feature in “Disney Month 2023.”