Saludos Amigos
Year: 1942
Director: Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske & Bill Roberts
Starring: Fred Shields
Runtime: 40 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 28/01/21
Director: Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske & Bill Roberts
Starring: Fred Shields
Runtime: 40 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 28/01/21
With World War II at its peak and the whole world feeling the financial restraints it has caused, Disney Animation Studios solution to continuing to create their hit animated films but also keep costs down was to create a series of shorts and package them together into theatrical releases. This era of Disney animation is referred to as either the Wartime, or Package Film era. It’s usually the most commonly forgotten era too as almost none of the films had any lasting cultural impact the same way that films from the other Dinsey era’s did. I’ve never seen any of these films before, so dipping my toe into them was an entirely new experience.
Saludos Amigos is the first film of this era, and I’ll be totally honest with you, I feel like I’ve been lied to. Saludos Amigos is neither an animated film, nor even a film at that! The forty-minute documentary features Disney animators travelling to various regions of South America and presenting their cultural findings through animated sketches. At least half of the footage is live action shots of South American city streets, or of the Dinsey animators on a plane travelling to their destination. The other half of the footage is indeed animated, but it’s generally very crude and simply only exists to add visuals to the narration that is taking place.
Saludos Amigos is the first film of this era, and I’ll be totally honest with you, I feel like I’ve been lied to. Saludos Amigos is neither an animated film, nor even a film at that! The forty-minute documentary features Disney animators travelling to various regions of South America and presenting their cultural findings through animated sketches. At least half of the footage is live action shots of South American city streets, or of the Dinsey animators on a plane travelling to their destination. The other half of the footage is indeed animated, but it’s generally very crude and simply only exists to add visuals to the narration that is taking place.
I don’t really know who this film is for. I believe the intention was to teach children about South American culture, however the problem with this lies in that only four aspects of the culture are covered (each one from a different country) and these elements are not exactly presented in any great depth. So, it fails as both a documentary, and an animated film.
The whole thing is narrated by Fred Shields’ monotone voice that’s enough to put you to sleep within minutes of it starting. It had me over the moon that I didn’t have to endure it for long as I honestly don’t think I could have done it for a feature length picture.
The only redeeming aspect to this farce is the final section 'Aquarela de Brasil'. The animation to this section is actually quite beautiful at times as the background is painted and coloured in as the section progresses. It's also the only section not to be animated by one of Disney's own animators!
I don’t have any more to say about Saludos Amigos. I’ve said all I can really. It’s a film that I personally don’t see appealing to anyone, and it’s a shame as Disney could have produced a very educational and informative animated documentary about South America, but instead it’s just boring, hardly covers the basics of the topics they are even covering, and is so crudely animated that it appears to have been rushed out in a matter of weeks. Avoid at all costs!
The whole thing is narrated by Fred Shields’ monotone voice that’s enough to put you to sleep within minutes of it starting. It had me over the moon that I didn’t have to endure it for long as I honestly don’t think I could have done it for a feature length picture.
The only redeeming aspect to this farce is the final section 'Aquarela de Brasil'. The animation to this section is actually quite beautiful at times as the background is painted and coloured in as the section progresses. It's also the only section not to be animated by one of Disney's own animators!
I don’t have any more to say about Saludos Amigos. I’ve said all I can really. It’s a film that I personally don’t see appealing to anyone, and it’s a shame as Disney could have produced a very educational and informative animated documentary about South America, but instead it’s just boring, hardly covers the basics of the topics they are even covering, and is so crudely animated that it appears to have been rushed out in a matter of weeks. Avoid at all costs!