Disney Classics In Order - No. 7 The Three Caballeros

Oh yeah. I was doing this ages and ages ago, wasn’t I? If you don’t remember, you can find the previous installments here, here, here, here, here and here. Well, seeing as having list-based stuff to focus on as well as something where I’m making notes as I go along is helping me get through These Strange Times®, it’s time to dust this one off and get it going again. The reason it stalled? We’ve hit an odd patch in the run of Disney “classics”. You’ll note the inverted commas there - that’s largely because this film (along with the previous one and the next three) aren’t exactly ones that are fondly remembered classics of anyone’s childhood particularly. Let’s just power through these ones before we start getting back into the ones that everyone's heard of again.

The Three Caballeros (1940)
Dir. Supervising Director: Norm Ferguson / Sequence Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts & Harold Young
Based Upon:- Nothing specific

The One Where
Donald Duck and his friends Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles go on a tour of South America.

General Viewing Notes
- It’s a thematic sequel to Saludos Amigos in that it’s another anthology film once again focussed on Latin America. This largely just makes it a disjointed collection of shorts strung together with a paper thin framing device.
- The shorts are variable in quality. At this point, Disney is still trying to push the envelope with animation a bit so you have a few sequences of animation set to music in much the same vein as Fantasia. They’re pretty to look at but ultimately a little dull.
- This one is also unusual in that it incorporates a fair bit of live action in with the animation too - not always that successfully.

Disney Tropes
- Absolutely none, really. It’s an anthology rather than a feature length story so doesn't really have any of the usual Dead Parents, etc...

Things You Notice As An Adult
- Donald Duck is basically a sex pest in this. He lusts after every single live action woman that turns up in the film. I think it’s supposed to be funny and charming but ultimately starts to come across as desperate and a bit creepy. Also, it raises a lot of questions - why is a duck lusting after humans? What does this mean for his relationship with Daisy?

Classic Songs - Are They?
- Nope, none in this one. There are some catchy Latin-themed songs throughout but none that have entered the popular consciousness like those you would find in their feature length films.

Any Good Then?
Being honest, a bit of chore to get through, this one. One or two appealing sequences but the odd mix of animation and live-action with the pseudo-travelogue feel doesn’t really gel together and this just ends up feeling like a half-assed compilation. Not one that I would classify as a classic.

Next One Of These
We’re still in anthology territory for a little while yet so buckle up...