Classic Caballeros Collection: Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros (G, 1943)

In the 1940s, Walt Disney took a plane with 18 artists, musicians, and writers on a tour of South America and Mexico. The result was SALUDOS AMIGOS, a mix of travelogue, animated shorts, and live dance numbers mixed with animation. In the follow-up, THE THREE CABALLEROS, Donald Duck gets a big birthday box from Latin America. Inside he finds travel guides that he literally jumps right into -- and proceeds to meet up with two other caballeros: Jose Caroica the samba-ing parrot and Panchito the Mexican rooster. More traditional dancing, bird watching, and Latin American travel ensue, mixed with more animated shorts featuring both familiar Disney characters and new ones like Pedro the baby mail plane.

These two films offer armchair travel for absolutely everyone. There's 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. And somehow the eclectic mix works -- a bit better in The Three Caballeros, but they're still both enjoyable.

One of the best shorts is Jose Caroica the parrot dancing with live samba dancers. It's a loving tribute to Rio with simultaneous kid appeal. Some dance numbers drag on a little long, but then the Disney artists 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. Don't forget your dancing shoes.

Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Director: Norman Ferguson
Cast: Fred Shields, Jose Oliveira, Walt Disney
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 113 minutes
Theatrical release: February 6, 1943
DVD release: April 28, 2008
MPAA Rating: G