The first couple of segments teach Donald about his close relatives, birds, and one almost begins to think that this film will be an animated documentary about the various birds of our world. But then Jose Carioca returns to teach Donald a bit more about his Brazilian culture, parts of which include them dancing with live action dancers. It's rather odd to see the characters blending in with real people, but hey Who Framed Roger Rabbit made it work a few decades later, so there's that. Then, the gun-wielding (yep) Panchito Pistoles of Mexico joins in on the fun taking the trio on a Mexican excursion, though bender almost seems a more appropriate term. It's here that the wheels come off the track as the latter part of the movie becomes a flashy, nonsensical montage of Donald chasing after (human) women. Finally, the film ends with Donald still wanting of a woman, but angry with his friends who seemingly prevented him from reaching this goal.
In the end, the attempt on the part of the director to make sense of the various segments just feels too forced. The movie isn't really sure if it wants to be a bird documentary, a travelogue, or a strange film about the way Donald Duck exoticizes (I probably made that word up) women. Maybe if he had committed to just one of those ideas the whole thing would have played out better.
It's more than just the story that feels out of sync, though. The animation, likewise, is all over the place. Parts are imagined quite simplistically, while others are vibrant and flashy. The above image is from a segment of the film that is told through still photos that would appear to have been done in pastels. Again, random.
I'd also point to the strange characterization of Jose and Panchito. Jose smokes a cigar (at least he does in earlier releases of the film) for a great portion of the film, which was less controversial, if not all together acceptable back then, but still, he's the only one to do so and one of few non-villainous Disney characters in the canon to do as such. Panchito, on the other hand, carries a gun quite casually. If this film was trying to offer up any sort of good will to Latin America, I'm not sure it made the mark. As usual, portraying other cultures is full of problems and pitfalls.
It's not an especially interesting 72-minute film though the early segments are entertaining enough. The Three Caballeros is just another reminder that when Walt Disney Studios started out, it took it more than a few films to figure out what it did best. The movie hasn't left behind much of a mainstream legacy, but may have more popularity in Latin America. It did, however, produce a dark water ride at Epcot's World Showcase where park goers can take a "tour" of Mexico alongside Donald, Jose, and Panchito and, in my opinion, it's far more enjoyable as a 5-minute trip than it is as a feature length film.
Next week is Make Mine Music. Honestly, who has heard of this one?
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