Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #7: The Three Caballeros (1945)

By Munir Abedrabbo.

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #6: Saludos Amigos (1943)

Continuing "The Good Neighbor Policy”, Disney’s next Latin American based film was The Three Caballeros. More of a companion piece than a sequel to Saludos Amigos, Caballeros features two characters from the previous film: Donald Duck from the U.S. and José Carioca from Brazil and pairs them up with a new friend: Panchito from Mexico. More cohesive than Saludos but following the same pattern and style, (also featuring live-action footage) Caballeros is a more satisfying endeavour than Saludos. It’s less didactic and showcases bolder, funner segments; it also feels more like a unified film, rather than just shorts patched together. But, even if is better than Saludos, it still lacks a fully satisfying story and the last nonsensical act - at first promising, but later tiresome - fails to elevate Caballeros to a higher status. Rating: 3.5/5

Next Week: Animated Classic #8 Review: Make Mine Music (1946)