The Three Caballeros is actually a sequel. I don't know a lot of people who know this. The movie stands on its own so well, and not a lot of people remember any other movie with these characters. Well, the truth is that, in many ways, The Three Caballeros was really it's own thing, but it was also the product of the movie that came before it. And that movie is: Saludos Amigos. (1942)
This has to be one of the stranger movies by Disney. It is very much a movie about itself. It is a movie about the famed Disney Imagineers traveling out to Latin America looking for inspiration for ideas and even new cartoon characters. It is a documentary about the very thing they were doing as it was filmed.
Engineering reminds me of the traveling poet. They would travel the world seeking inspiration for their writings. They would then deliver these in the form of spoken word or song. From that moment the inspiration travels on among the people and perpetuates in quite a remarkable fashion. Nobody really remembers the poet as much as the poem. That isn't a bad thing.
Saludos Amigos is really a straightforward look at what it means to be an imagineer, and the proof of concept comes out in two years with the result of their journey: The Three Caballeros. They even show the moment when Jose Carioca was born, as a artist sketches him out. He comes to life in the next movie, and I think that is wonderful.
Even though The Three Caballaros is a superior film, it is a magical experience seeing the actual imagineering happen in the previous film. It really shows what humans are capable of when they use their imaginations. It creates things. The action of imagining creates reality. Disney got it right with how they went about this, and many wonderful stories came from it.
Unfortunately imagineering is a thing of the past. Disney claims that they still have imagineers, but from what I can tell, they are little more than just a board of idea-men. The good times are over, friends. A once great force of imagination has fallen. But the fruits of the old days are still available for now. I recommend both Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros in order as an example of the process and ultimate result of imagination. Enjoy!
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Its sounds like the first film was not actually a movie as much a documentary: A peek at what it was like to be a Disney "imagineer." As for Disney losing that magic, it died with Disney, though it coasted for decades later. The guy at the top must be a believer. Cynicism with smiles replaced it.
ReplyDeleteThey coupled some cartoons into it that were made just for the movie. But yes... mostly a documentary about imagineering. The thing that is wonderful is that it was really the birth of the next film in action.
DeleteBoth movies were enjoyable, but I particularly like the first one because of its perspective. We got to see ideas become animations, and the story just flowed from there. The exotic locales were a starting point, but it was the characters that gave it meaning.
ReplyDeleteRarely do we actually see the birth of imagination in a movie.
DeleteSounds like a great movie. Every creator must have inspirations to draw upon, I always love hearing about the days of the Disney Imagineers. I remember seeing "The Three Caballeros" as a kid and enjoying what was an exotic atmosphere to me but also having a familiar character in Donald.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad thing to see it disappear. It could have gone on forever.
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