1 Un tributo a la musica y la cultura latina
This is one of Disney's tributes to Latin music and culture (of course, as seen from a distorted gringo lens). My only disappointment was that I bought it in Australia, zone 4, and the only sound tracks available are English, French, Dutch, and Italian. The songs include: Baia, Os Quindins de Yaya, Las Posadas, Lilongo, Solamente una Vez, and Jesusita.
2 when i was a kid...
I found that a lot of the reviews here say that this movie isn't for children. But as a child I LOVED this movie. I don't know why, but I remember watching this movie at least 5 times a week. And I wasn't an odd child at all, since I loved all the other Disney classics, such as Cindarella, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, etc. But for some reason this one Disney movie was especially appealing to me.
But hey, I was a kid that this movie held the attention span of. And I was probably around 3 or 4 when this was my favorite movie.
3 Disney with a Spanish Flair!
Donald Duck cruising through Latin American swooning over pretty ladies with lots of dancing and birds. This is a confusing video and really not appropriate for children.
This is a full-feature Disney movie in Technicolor running for what seemed an eternity of 71 minutes. While it is rated G for general audiences I fail to see what a child would get out of The Three Caballeros.
The one nice feature in their favor is the absence of previews on the video. The star of this feature is Donald Duck. He receives a package with a note written in Spanish, which translates to Happy Birthday from your friends in Latin America.
One box has a projector in it that then has one person talking to Donald while another voice is the Narrator of a story about a penguin. This voice is the same that does Winnie the Pooh (Sterling Holloway) here called Professor Holloway!
Pablo the Penguin wants to live on a tropical island and tries many ways to leave and makes a boat that takes him to his Island.
Then there are short clips on this projector with a bird that carries bagpipes under its beard, scissors birds known as the Columbian cutter. A strange story about a flying donkey bird that acted like he was loco! Off to Fiesta Y Carrera to gamble pesos away with ladies and men dancing in the plaza.
Here the Narrator is actually the small person riding the flying donkey and they enter a race against other donkeys. This strange story than comes to an end with the book closing and another birthday box for Donald to open. Out of the box comes a Jimmy Cricket type bird that shrinks himself and Donald so they can go back into the book via train to visit Brazil.
Ladies hips are swaying and the men are donning their sombreros dancing all over the streets of these countries. Jose is busy trying to keep Donald out of the way of the activities taking place.
You might be thinking at this point and what is the purpose of this? I could not answer that as this is the theme of the whole movie! If you are one of the few unfortunate ones to actually have this video, it might be best to don a hat and do the cha cha with your kids and hope the music stops soon!
Soon the book closes and Jose and Donald are back to the place they were before, who knows actually but presume it would be Donald's house. The problem is that they are still small and need to get back to their original sizes. These scenes are silly and point less as the magic shows them in and out of clothing with lots of changes that again make no sense.
The color in the live action scenes in the background is of poor quality with the acting fake looking. The Three Caballeros does a poor job in combining Latin America themes with the Disney name. There has never been anything quite like this and Disney must of learned from this mishap.
4 Not for everyone...
I like what is presented, but I don't like how it was done.
TOO MUCH NARRATION!!
My 5 year old cannot follow who is talking... the actual charactor or the INVISIBLE narrator in the movie.
I think it is too confusing and sexy for little kids.
We owned this movie for almost 2 years and watched it only twice.
It is educational about different cultures and the music is very enjoyable...so maybe a little older kids and adults can enjoy it more.
5 should have showed the charaters more
this movie was nothing like i expected, i thought it would be full of action but there was way to much live action. the charaters should have been shown more I was very disappointed when i first saw the movie.
6 Not Classic Disney, but good fun.
After the success of such Storybook tales like Snow White, Pinocchio, and Bambi, the studio took a different turn and presented about nine films that were more like many Fantasias than epic fairytales. This is one of the best and it truely is a standout among the Disney films. Donald Duck hosts the show, and he meets along the way Hose' and Panchito. The film is musical and colorful. It may not be one of the greats but definately good.
7 Los Tres Caballeros is a masterpiece!
Wow. What can I say? I just recently viewed this movie and I loved it. Wasn't so fond of the two cartoon shorts as much ("The Cold-Blooded Penguin and the Flying Gauchito" ),but the rest of this movie rocks!
Donald receives gifts from his best friends in Latin America. Thrilled,Donald experiences South American life first hand,taking trips from Brazil to Mexico with his pals Jose Carioca and Panchito.
It's one surreal,psychadelic and funny movie. I really liked it a lot,the live scenes were pretty good,and the music was swinging. Being 21,it's unbelieveable for me to like music this old,but I loved it and I'm sure you will,too. Being a Hispanic-American myself,this movie also made me see the beauty of my culture and made me proud of my roots.
I recommend this for any Disney fan. These 3 amigos will have you loving them the moment you watch it.
8 Outrageous Imagination!
This is by far the best of the Walt Disney anthology films. Appreciators of special effects animation will be dazzled and those who enjoy a rollicking good time (and who doesn't) will be more than sated.
What starts as an above average anthology suddenly turns into an almost psychedelic experience with the blending of live-action and other effects in the last third of the film. As soon as Jose Carioca shows up, the outrageous fun begins with the song "Baia" and a pop up book that opens onto a live-action street. Soon after, Donald begins acting like a mad stalker, chasing after every woman he sees. Before you know it colors, confetti and characters are sprouting from all over the place during the song "You Belong To My Heart". If it sounds like pandemonium, that because it is, but it's delightful.
Sadly the picture quality is not up to par with other Disney releases. This is a film that is in real need for digital restoration, but don't let that small irritation keep you from experiencing Disney's most outrageous film ever.
9 Somehow kitschy, sexy, and surreal--all at once
The Three Caballeros can never be taken at face value today. I remember the "Three Caballeros" song from a Sing-Along video when I was a child, and though I loved that song then, the entire movie could not hold the attention span of young children. But it's still a decent, if experimental, movie with various interpretations.
On one level, it's an artifact from the WWII Pan-American "Good Neighbor" period: Brazil and Mexico are presented as exotic and sensual paradises, the women are sex objects, and the cultures are obviously stereotyped. But that level of interpretation is certainly not an entertaining one. It is also, however, a kind of surreal music video in which samba and bossa-nova music are matched up with fluid animation. For those who remember the "Pink Elephants on Parade" sequence from Dumbo, picture an entire movie based on that clip. Donald Duck and his friends find themselves completely warped by the music: they multiply themselves, grow, shrink, turn into flowers, and much more. It's also a very sexual film, if one chooses to interpret it that way. Connotations and double meanings abound, and if you watch the movie, you will see what I mean.
As far as DVD quality goes, Disney could have restored it better (you can actually see the dust on the screen) which would have made the energetic animation even better. But overall, it's not bad. It's not exactly fun for the kids, but adults may find it interesting in a fun, tacky, misplaced-within-its-own-time kind of way.
10 Educational and Fun
This film was made as a sequel to "Saludos Amigos," which was a hit when it was originally released, but dosen't have very much popularity today. "The Three Caballeros" is definatley the better of the two films. It is basically a collection of more shorts that where inspired by Disney's trip South of the border, but has in between animation and other scenes, such as Donald popping a pinata and going for a ride on a magic carpet to a beach with "pooty girls." I am surprised that Disney didn't do a better job cleaning the picture and sound for this film, because a lot of people love it.
11 The Three Psychedellos
I admit it, this strange brew from down deep in the Disney vault isn't for everyone. But it just might be for you. It's probably my favorite from Walt's studios and it's definitely my youngest daughter's favorite. I'll also admit that it lacks a coherency of tone in that it starts off much like other cobbled-together movies from that time period (connecting shorter projects together to make something "move-length"). But about a third of the way through, true Disney magic starts to happen, and you get tossed through a 40's Latin American vortex that almost has to be the product of some insanely creative young animators/musicians/actors/set designers, etc. given free reign of a studio, along with perhaps some copious quantities of agave plant serum. When an artform is being maxed-out by people at the prime of their powers, one thing you always feel is that you're being bowled over by hundreds and thousands of IDEAS, too many to absorb in 1 or 100 sittings. One gets the same feeling from, say, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. If the idea of being taken on a crazy trip that could delight a 75-year-old and a 5-year-old equally appeals to you, then give this one a look. As far as I'm aware, getting high this way is legal. [There is a segment in Melody Time called The Rhythm of the Samba that feels like it could've been lifted straight out of this movie - and it's another wild-paced masterpiece.]
12 Better than Saludos Amigos
Donald Duck celebrates his birthday Latino style.
This rather amusing look at Central America, the second of two features commissioned by the Office of Inter-American Affairs, is both far funnier and far stranger than "Saludos Amigos".
The hook of Donald accepting a gift from South America which continues to reveal more and more gifts reminds me of a Pinata. The almost psychedelic trip the gifts send him on are great uses of animation artistry.
Of the cartoons, it's a wonder that "The Cold Blooded Penguin" even made it into this movie. Other than showing the penguin travelling past South America on his journey to warmer climates, it doesn't have much to do with the rest of the movie.
But "The Flying Guachito" more than makes up for this. The story of a little boy who finds a flying burro, it fits very well into the framework created for this movie.
Then it progresses into a wild and crazy look at the South American scene. The music is infectious, and watching Donald chase after every good looking girl that passes his way is rather amusing, but slightly out of Donald's character.
The disconcerting switch from a collection of Disney classic cartoons (most of which were still fairly new at the time) to the live-action travelogue is a bit much to take, but still makes for a fun roller coaster ride that kids might enjoy.
Finally, there's two good Disney cartoon gems, "Don's Fountain of Youth" and "Pueblo Pluto". Both cartoons really round out this look at Latin America, and add to the flavor and tone of the movie.
Far more fun than "Saludos Amigos", but because it is another travelogue, and contains a mixture of live-action and animation, it may only appeal to Disney purists.
13 "A flamingo!" "Yeah(!)"
The Three Caballeros certainly is a curio. Released during the 40s, it's part of several Disney releases that seems to be a collection of stories and vignettes rather than the tradional Disney style. You would NEVER see this type of Disney movie being released today. It claims also to be the first theatrical release to incorporate animation and live movie sequences. It starts off with Donald Duck getting presents in the mail form his friends from South America. One of the presents is a film projector with two cartoons about a penguin longing for warmer weather and then a harsh transition to "little Gauchito" and his flying donkey. Both stories have a Central/South America feel and locales, but very little payoff. There's no real punch at the end of both these stories. Then it starts to get strange. It becomes some sort of a South of the Border travelogue. The animation is good, but the mix of animation and filmed musical performances is a little odd a times. It also has an extremely dated feel to the whole production. Still, it's not to be overlooked. This movie might not be everybody's cup-o-joe, but my 3-year-old daughter seems to enjoy it, so I guess ol' Disney knew what he was doing. The bonus cartoons are a real treat as well. Donald's Fountain of Youth is the better one. More of an experiment than a Disney-must-see.
14 The Three Caballeros
Being a big Disney and Donald Duck fan, I purchased The Three Caballeros. While the music is dated and slow, there is alot to appreciate about this film. The most important part of this film is that it teaches kids about the positives of another culture. The American media does so much to discredit South America as a drug and crime haven, that it creates generalizations and racism. This film however, points out all the good things that are South of the border and will enrich your childrens understanding while entertaining.
Like I said, the music is dated, but the comedy and cartoon/live interaction is far ahead of its time. The animation is classic and impressive and still outperforms many of todays cartoons. This is worth the buy on DVD because kids will love it and its enjoyable and thought provoking for adults.
acting=NA
FX=4.5
atmosphere=3.5 stars
Directing and Editing=3.5 star
storyline=4 stars
meaningfullness=5 stars
replay value=4 stars
OVERALL=solid 4.08333 stars
15 This cartoon marked my childhood - for the better!
I stumbled upon this cartoon by accident, in a video store, when I was 5 years old. At the time, I loved all things Disney (I'm still very fond of it, at age 20), so I made my parents rent it. I think that over the following six years, I must have made them rent it consistently every two or three weeks. I just couldn't get enough of the characters, stories and songs.
Today, I realize how strange a cartoon it really is. The plot is bizar, there are psychedelic colours all around, the characters act very oddly. I don't think I was at all confused by any of it, however. I actually think it helped make me open-minded. I think it's very refreshing to see a Disney movie this unconventional and innovative. I still enjoy it today.
16 A curious piece of Disneyana
I would have loved to have been in on the production meeting that resulted in this film.
"Hey, how about a movie where Donald Duck chases after live-action women?"
"Hmm... kind of flimsy premise."
"Okay, we'll disguise it as a Latin American travelogue."
"Brilliant!"
As goofy as it sounds, the result is one of my favorite Disney films. Donald, along with his buddies Jose and Panchito, travel to Brazil and Mexico, take in a couple of cartoons and perform one of the greatest musical numbers in Disney's long history of Disney musical numbers.
This DVD also includes two shorts that I can only assume were selected for their links -- tenuous they may be -- to Latin American culture. In "Don's Fountain of Youth," Donald tricks his nephews into thinking he's fallen victim to the famous fountain sought by Ponce de Leon -- one of my favorite Donald shorts. "Pueblo Pluto" is just okay, but it's still nice to have a sampling of cartoons on the DVD.
17 Watched Rarely
We rank this 30 out of 41 Disney animated movies that we own. It is watched rarely. This old disney classic features some of our favorite characters in a fairly entertaining, fun chartoon musical. But time has pushed this movie down the rankings in popularity by the fact that my family likes 29 other Disney cartoon movie better than this one.
Still, if you come across it at a thrift shop or garage sale, check it out, becuase it is wholesome G rated family entertainment before hollywood started making PG13 and worse movies calling them family entertainment.
18 One of the BEST Disney movies that I grew up with!
I remember when I was about 5 years old when I first saw this. "The Three Caballeros" is a pure classic and the songs/characters are very memorable. I used to watch it over and over and never EVER seemed to get tired of it! Today, I still enjoy it's quality and Donald Duck is hella funny!! The ending gets kind of weird though when Donald gets sucked into some kind of weird parallel dimension. It almost seems as if the artists might have gotten drunk here when the film was nearly finished. Still, the other surprises that are in this film make up for that including: a magical trip into a life-like pop-up book, a giant pinata with many gifts and treats inside, and an adventure on a magic carpet into the culture of Mexico. I highly reccomend this ...! Both are some of Disney's best ever!!!
19 Not Disney's best, but one of my fav's.....
Intro: Okay so I've loved this movie since I was about 6yrs, and when I was 6yrs I didn't know anything about drugs or what-not. Or think much of how much Donald chases girls, not even when I watched it again at 8yrs and then 11yrs. But now that I'm 17yrs I still love this movie I watched it 3x's in two days. Due in part to my nephew who now loves the movie. Anyways it may not be Disney's best, but I think its worth a watch what with its great song and dance scenes or just songs... Its certainly an interesting trip. Part travelogue, part acid trip,and mostly all fun. Kids will love it, I still love it and I'm 17yrs. Certainly not for everyone, but all fun none-the-less. One of my favorite Disney films still of course nothing can beat Cinderella...ahahaha Anyways *enjoy*!!!
20 Colorful musical extravaganza!
This film is a series of loosely strung together musical animated sequences (some combining with live action) set in South America and featuring Donald Duck. The images are lively, often beautiful and sometimes downright psychedelic. There is music virtually throughout and the segments move briskly one into the next, so you never get bored.
There is another film released around the same time and exploring the same basic theme ("Saludos Amigos") but while that is a rather dry travelogue interspersed with rather dry cartoon segments, "Three Amigos" is like a mambo coctail party that never lets up...the two films are light years apart. See "Three Caballeros" and pass on "Saludos Amigos"...
21 Not to everyone's taste, here's why I liked it
Three Caballeros was made in 1945, and it is very much a product of its time. For one thing, at this time Disney was packaging collections of shorts as movies (i.e., Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time). While this approach provided a good escape for moviegoers and was inexpensive to produce (at a time when Disney's future was still shaky), modern viewers who have come to expect a coherent story are often left disappointed. For another thing, modern notions of political correctness are nowhere to be seen in "Three Caballeros". Donald Duck shamelessly chases women, Joe smokes a cigar and Panchito whoops and fires his pistols in the air like a stereotypical bandito. This was because in 1945 the Pancho Villa image was still very much in the minds of the people of the U.S.
Despite all of that, I enjoyed this movie! The contained shorts are amusing and (somewhat) related to the rest of the movie. Also, although not politically correct, only the most ultra-sensitive viewer would object to how Mexico is protrayed in the movie. Despite his amusing lecherousness, Donald enthusiastically takes part in a Mexican folk dance. Although something of a stereotype, Panchito solemnly tells the story of the origins of the Mexican flag and sings a song about Mexico that is not only beautiful it is positively reverent. In general the music is very good, ranging from romantic melodies like, "You Belong to My Heart," to tributes like, "Baia" and of course, "We're Three Caballeros" a musical celebration of friendship. Overall I would say that while not one of Disney's best, "Three Caballeros" is a worthwhile view for most.
22 Sheer Animated Brilliance! A Fun Fantastic Treat!
Definitely one of Walt Disney's underrated classics from the 40's, The Three Caballeros is a wonderful film that has lots of surprises. Although the film has no strong storyline like Dumbo or Cinderella, the film makes up for this weakness by its' overwhelming entertainment value. The film POPS with over the top visuals, side splitting humor and wonderful songs.
One of my favorite Disney films of all time, Caballeros is full of wonderful cartoony Disney animation that bubbles with enthusiasm. A must have for any true Disney fan!
23 Wild in Latin America
Bizarre and surreal, this love-it-or-hate-it wartime curio from the Disney vault was not by any means the first film to mix live-action and animation. (Disney's early _Alice_ films show that the technique was in use during the silent era.) However, _Three Caballeros_ is probably the strangest film to mix live-action with animation, and as such it has gathered something of a cult following.
The obviously sexual escapades of Donald Duck make this film inappropriate for children -- not that they're likely to pay much attention anyway. Likewise, the absence of a plot (and, as some would add, of a point) turns off most adults who see it. Still, I think this film definitely has some great moments.
Add two stars to my review if you plan to see this film while stoned.
24 "The Three Caballeros" Gold Collection DVD
A lot better than Walt Disney's previous attempt, "Saludos Amigos", "The Three Caballeros" is another film that focuses on Central and Southern America.
It's Donald Duck's birthday, and his friends from Mexico (Joe Carioca & Panchito) send him gifts from their country. A long the way various clips from the foreign countries are show in a documentary style & animated shorts telling stories are intertwined. The best one is "The Cold Blooded Penguin", where a small penguin wants to live life in the sun. This film also landmarked, the first time live action was mixed in with animation in the same scene. The funniest of these segments is when Donald starts chasing the girls on Acapulco beach BUT the best use of this new technology was in the "Donald Loses His Heart To The Cookie Lady" scene, where the boys dance around and with live action dancers.
The film is well paced, has great segments, but the music depends on your tastes. But overall, this movie definatley surpasses "Saludos Amigos", in all ways possible.
This DVD also contains two funny shorts, "Pueblo Pluto" and "Don's Fountain OF Youth". The latter is when Donald fools his nephews into thinking he turned into an egg after falling into the fountain.
25 "The Three Caballeros" Gold Collection DVD
A lot better than Walt Disney's previous attempt, "Saludos Amigos", "The Three Caballeros" is another film that focuses on Central and Southern America.
It's Donald Duck's birthday, and his friends from Mexico (Joe Carioca & Panchito) send him gifts from their country. A long the way various clips from the foreign countries are show in a documentary style & animated shorts telling stories are intertwined. The best one is "The Cold Blooded Penguin", where a small penguin wants to live life in the sun. This film also landmarked, the first time live action was mixed in with animation in the same scene. The funniest of these segments is when Donald starts chasing the girls on Acapulco beach BUT the best use of this new technology was in the "Donald Loses His Heart To The Cookie Lady" scene, where the boys dance around and with live action dancers.
The film is well paced, has great segments, the music depends on your tastes. But overall, this movie definatley surpasses "Saludos Amigos", in all ways possible.
26 A WALT DISNEY CLASSIC!
In this Disney classic,Donald Duck celebrates his birthday with his friends Joe Carioca and Panchito,opening a wondrous collection of gifts that evolve into musical journeys with a Latin-American beat.A magical serape ride and the animated tales of"The Penguin","Baia",and"The Flying Gauchito"add to the celebration in this brilliantly animated film. Captivating music,great animation,and live-action makes this movie a tru Disney Masterpiece.A must see for everyone.
27 Disney South of the Border
Disney's 7th full-length animated feature was created during World War 2. Monies (especially from Europe) were unavailable so, like Saludos Amigos, this release aims South of the Border... The film is basically a 3 section anthology. The first short follows a Pablo, a cute penguin who can't stand the cold and moves to a tropical island(narrated by Sterling "Winnie the Pooh" Holloway). Second, we meet the Flying Gauchito who discovers Burrito, a flying Donkey. Then finally, we return to Donald Duck on his journey to find out more of South America. Basically, Donald uses this time to chase after human women. This section also acts as the string holding the package together. Overall, there is no great accomplishment in THE THREE CABALLEROS. The animation and backgrounds are flat and the stories are no better than any of the 5 minute shorts that would show before a regular feature. And with little to know storyline to follow, it is certainly not for everyone, in fact, not for most. Where this film does shine is in its use of special effects. This is an important film for any "Disney-freaks", "Donald-freaks", or wartime propaganda students. The DVD picture is good but the source must have been pretty scratched up. It also includes 2 other shorts, DON'S FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH and PUEBLO PLUTO.
28 Classically entertaining
My 73 year old mother bought this for our family because she enjoyed the Spanish themed music and dance. Apparently this was one of her favorite movies when it was first released. I have found it to be charming and educational, offering insight into Mexican and South American culture. My 9 year old found it interesting the first 2 times, but the 3 year old is addicted, watching it every day and singing all the songs. His little 3 and 4 year old buddies enjoy it too. It is definitely not the same old, and it beats the Teletubbies any day!
29 Maybe I Missed Something
Ok, maybe I missed something in this movie, but it wasn't that great for me. There were a couple of cute segments and I liked The Three Caballeros song. Otherwise, this was definitely not one of Disney's best. As a whole, the movie was boring and Donald's girl chasing was somewhat irritating. This movie has gotten such great reviews that I'm thinking there was something I missed and I need to watch it again. If you're watching it for the first time, don't expect too much. There wasn't much of a plot line, just badly tied together segments about Latin America. Again, not one of Disney's best.
30 funny wonderful great
ok you caught me one of them is very handsome i like donald cause he joined a spanish crew my favorite song is sauldos amgios cause only donald pache sing it then it gets funny i mean they teach him how to be a caberllo (donald ) then donald turns into a furicous wolf then he finds love in the caberllos and turns back into regular donald then he becomes a caberllo and becomes the greatest one ever
31 The Three Caballeros, Three Cool Caballeros
The Three Caballeros is one of the best movies from one of the best decades of cartooning history. Everything about the movie, from the songs to the animation to the characters and mixture of live action and cartoons, is performed extremely well. It also some of the most memorable moments in Disney history, like the scene in which Donald imitates Josˇ to grow back to his normal size (Josˇ made him small in the first place, but watch the movie to find out more about that). He tries to sing the same song as Josˇ, but it sounds more like muffled quacking (which is what the sountrack sometimes sounds like: stupid mono 40's tracks!). It's so funny you wouldn't believe it.
A lot of people don't like this movie, and I feel sorry for these people. It's obvious that they just don't appreciate original, funny, cool, qulaity Disney movies. Saludos Amigos has the same problem, too....
32 A Classic! One of Disney's Overlooked Masterpieces!
Donald Duck stars in this masterpiece with a combination of animation and live action. This films co-stars Jose (or Joe) Carioca, who also appeared in SALUDOS AMIGOS (1943) and MELODY TIME (1945), and an all new character, Panchito. The film is about Donald getting birthday gifts from his friends in Latin America (his birthday in the film is Friday the 13th, although it's really June 9th!). We see short stories including "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" and "The Flying Gauchito", like most Disney films of the time. I never really like this film as a kid, but now it's one of my favorite animated films (and in general). You won't regret buying this DVD! It also includes complete bonus cartoons: "Donald's Fountain of Youth" (1953), and "Pueblo Pluto" (1949).
33 Three Caballeros
This is the most overlooked of Disney's pure masterpieces. The sights and sounds are extremely impressive from when it was made, though certain shots make Joe and Donald look rather grainy. Some of the best songs in Disney history are within this movie: 'Baia' and, my favorite, 'Mexico'. The movie starts off rather slow, but certainly picks up with a lively beat. I like it much more than 'Saludos Amigos', which is also Joe's first appearence(Ending sequence: 'Watercolors of Brazil'). Joe has much more life in the Three Caballeros.
You might expect Donald to be the best character, but both Joe Caricoa, a Brazilian green parrot, and Panchito, an eccentric gaucho rooster, are equally entertaining. Even at the times where Panchito, my favorite, explains customs and history.
The movie is fairly educational and very entertaining. It is my favorite Disney movie of all time, and if more people gave it a chance it would be a lot more popular.
34 I've always loved this movie
Since I was young I've always enjoyed this Disney movie. The beginning is great with all the different shorts tying into Donald's birthday. Eventually though, once we get into "You Belong to My Heart" the movie loses all sense of direction(if it had any at all) and we take a psychedelic Latin journey with dancing cacti amongst other things. The DVD transfer is better than I always expect for this old animation and is sharp and enjoyable. The sound is adequate mono that was recorded in the 40's. Also includes 2 good Disney shorts as a bonus and the trailer. Don't worry about the ads in the beginning, you can skip through them.
35 Disney's Overlooked Masterpiece
The Three Caballeros is Disney's most overlooked masterpiece. The combination of live action and animation in the "Baia" segment of this film is definitely among Disney's best. The imaginative morphing between the dancers and the fighting cocks rivals if not surpasses any to be found in Fantasia. Best of all, it's a very pleasant film to watch or listen to and suitable for the whole family, missing the obligatory death in the first ten minutes of the film that most Disney movies have.
From a technical standpoint, this is a well-done DVD. They used an extremely well-preserved print to make it from, rather than simply digitizing the VHS tape, which looks terrible on a big screen tv. They also resisted the urge to "improve" the original soundtrack, further adding to the vintage charm of this picture.
All in all, I'm very happy to be able to see this movie in its original form and will be watching it again whenever I need a lift.
36 Now I know why it's not Three "Gay" Caballeros
I've always had a fondness for Disney musicals, particularly the old ones, so this DVD seemed like a perfect choice. Overall, I thought this was a pretty spiffy film, though it seemed patched together in spots.
The video portion was very clean, though this digital transfer really lets you see flaws in the original print. Watch the segments where Donald is "behind" the Cookie Lady in "Baia," and you'll see the woman is dancing in front of a projected image. Most of the time the animated characters are "layered" on top of the live-action reels. I'll grant that given the age of the film, the visuals are fairly impressive, but with the animation technology available, one would think Disney would "clean up" some of the imperfections.
That goes double for sound, which in this release is dead Mono. Even simulated stereo would do a better job of reproducing the dynamics of the great music of this film. Speaking of which, the music selections (and accompanying dances) are the highlight of the movie. I was particularly impressed by the wonderful "You Belong To My Heart," which segues into a mildly hypnotic, almost hallucinogenic segment with "animorphic" images and brilliant colors.
Though there is a plot to all this (Donald's birthday tour), the story is little more than a South American travelogue as envisioned by Disney. That means a lot of American extras playing Brazilians and Mexicans, though not all. I think most kids (and some adults) will appreciate the camaraderie of the three Caballeros, but Donald's randy behavior is a little off-putting. Disney left little doubt that at least one of the 'three gay cabelleros' was perfectly 'straight.'
This film is, of course, a must-own for any collector of Disney animation, but for others the choice is less certain. The music and elaborate dance routines are worth a peek at the very least.
-Mic
37 Some of Disney's Best Cartoon Work
True, THE THREE CABALLEROS isn't a coherent movie; rather it's a collection like FUN AND FANCY FREE and MAKE MINE MUSIC. But it's better than those two because it has a higher percentage of "hits" than they do. Let's start with one no one ever mentions -- Baia. It's just a song, but one of the most beautiful Brazilian songs, and the peaceful cartoon simply supplements the song without interfering with it. A lovely piece of restrained movie making. Then there are Donald Duck and Joe Carioca--their frenzied sequences constitute cartooning at its most clever and funny heights. Visual humor is humor to be prized, and this film has more of it than any Disney film I know. True, some of the "Sports Goofy" cartoons are just as visually funny, but they're an uneven lot, whereas CABALLEROS shows the Disney studio at the height of its funny-cartooning powers. Too bad Uncle Walt isn't around these days. The moguls who have taken over his movies reissue these classics on DVDs that force you to watch a bunch of ads for other movies before you can see the feature. As previous reviewers have commented, there's no way you can fast-forward to get rid of these annoyances. The net result, of course, is going to backfire right in Michael Eisner's face. People are going to resist buying Disney movies on DVD because of this unnecessary intrusive pre-loading of ads and other nonsense before you can see the feature. And that serves the accountants right -- because they're not creative artists, they're accountants. The only torture appropriate to them would be to lock them up in a room for a week and show them nothing but ads for Disney films until they go starkers.
38 A new and improved version
Unlike most of the Disney catalogue, which tends to go in and out of print fairly quickly, this has been availible on video consistently for years. The old video, which is probably still kicking around (look for the diamond Disney Classics logo) preserved the original theatrical cut. This new video version deletes about ten or twenty minutes of entirely pointless travelogue type footage that didn't add anything to the film anyways (left in all the good stuff, like the girls in bathing suits and some interesting footage of capaiero (sp.?) a Brazilian fighting dance which is now illegal). This new cut flows better and will probably be more accessible to modern audiences. This is a good pick for fans of psychedelia--rumors of Disney artists taking peyote or yaje while in South America have been circulating for years.
39 A favorite from Disney, but too many ads.
For many Disney may mean quality family entertainment, but after purchasing The Three Caballeros on "Disney DVD" it also means watching a string of ads. Skipping the ads is a painful process that I shouldn't have to go through. Each ad must be skipped over, there is no way to just put in the disk and start watching the film. Each time the disk is played the ads will play as well. After paying for the disk why should I have to watch ads, I just want to watch the movie. The advertising doesn't seem to lower the price of the product. In my opinion this tarnishes an otherwise good film and I hope Disney tries to be a little more consumer friendly with its future releases.
40 Disney's learning to make better DVDs
I was pleasantly surprised that they included a couple short animated features with this DVD and that they also cleaned them up digitally. The picture quality was amazingly good for something made in the 1940s.
41 not one of the better Disney animated features
sexist, stereotypical nonsense involving three cartoon birds has some interesting animation but not much to raise it above the boring levels it maintains for most of the film.
42 Spanish teacher's friend
Any elementary Spanish teacher who has ever had to teach children shortly before a vacation begins will love this video. Lesson plans can be structured to use this video to teach geography, social studies, music, and some Spanish vocabulary, and it will keep the kids attention on a difficult day, as no serious travelogue will do! Kids love it, and can learn from it.
43 A Very Strange Movie
This movie plays out like some sort of acid trip. The animation is not up to par with some of Disney's earlier movies but it is still worth checking out. Lots of beautiful Latin women too.
