The Disney movie "Saludos Amigos", which runs for little under 45 minutes, came out in 1942 when World War II was in full force and a certain movie called Casablanca hit theaters as well. Basically, this Disney work is a collection of four cartoons, each under 10 minutes. Between these cartoons, we find out some information about life in South America at that point. I did not like the introduction about cartoonists traveling down south, but the other sequences between the cartoons very informative and certainly worth a watch already for the contemporary historical documents they are.The four cartoons were all created by different directors and also work as stand-alone films. The first is about Donald experiencing South American in his usual slapstick fashion. We see his struggles with a llama and with dizzy heights. The second is about little mail plane who suddenly gets called to action after his parents suffer from high oil pressure. I found the ending a bit too melodramatic, but everything else about this short film is very good, possibly my favorite from the quartet. The third is another how-to short film featuring Goofy about how Argentinians/Gauchos live. I like especially the sports-related Goofy shorts, but this one did not do too much for me. Finally, Donald is back and meets a Brazilian bird. A fruitful collaboration as these two caballeros join two years later for "The Three Caballeros" with another bird not seen yet in this short film. Also, I would like to emphasize one scene, where a bee gets swallowed by a carnivorous plant, then transforms into Donald and spits out the bee again. This example that the bee is not just gone shows how family-friendly these cartoons were and really neglected the presence of death completely unlike animated films these days."Saludos Amigos" scored three Oscar-nominations in the music/sound categories, which is fairly uncommon for a short film looking at today's standards. It did not win an Oscar, but its success was probably one of the main reasons for the sequel. Worth a watch for cartoon enthusiasts or people interested in the history of South America. Lots of Latin music included here as well.

I think the reviews of the other posters has been pretty accurate. It is very nice in the era of pixar to see the lush animation of Disney. The special feature South of the Border is fascinating. I hope these Disney travelogues are preserved and digitally enhanced because it would be a great shame to lose them. The picture quality is poor but it is better than not having any recollection at all. The narration is pure Disney and its all about the research that went into the main feature. Of course its testimony to history that seen through the eyes of middle upper class Americans its not really as accurate as Walt thought it was. Some of the facts are not facts at all. They call one creature a rabbit in the documentary but its certainly not a rabbit. It is a capybara. In the cartoon they even have an ostrich in South America!! Still despite the flaws the documentary is a charming bonus with some nostalgic images. Saludos is a pretty good cartoon although I thought the little aeroplane story was quaint it is anthromorphism gone crazy. Everyone's favourite duck with a speech impediment is fun. I never understood a word Donald said but loved his attitude. Goofy steals the movie. It took me years to realise Goofy was a dog! Its a pleasant Disney movie while not being a great one.

This more than any other film shows the plight of the Disney studio in the years following "Snow White" and "Pinocchio".WWII had broken out, cutting off Disney's European market. In addition, striking cartoonists and their formation of a guild/union meant that the massive about of labor needed to create a "Snow White" or a "Pinocchio" now amounted to a substantially higher production cost then either of those two films (which had not been cheap to begin with).Thus, Disney was trying to explore new ways to both package his product for another market, as well as develop new product.They released this movie and capitalized on the then-popular South American craze. Now, however, it looks dated.You can still it watch it though and see the genesis for several of Disney's later films: "The Three Caballeros" and the whole "How-To" Goofy series are the most obvious.

iHola! Que tal? (sorry, I can't do an upside-down "?" on my keyboard) iMuy bien, gracias!Yeah, I'm doing very well, indeed!Why the Spanish? Because today, we are looking at the other 1942 Disney animated movie, "Saludos Amigos!" This is one of many 1940s Disney short cartoon compilations released into theaters. So, we see a few short cartoons that take us south of the border and in between these shorts, we see a travel agent telling us about the many places of Latin America and such.Come to think of it, I actually remember seeing the last part of this on the Disney Channel back nine years ago from this month of writing this (yes, you DCOM fans, we forefathers had old stuff on this network back in the days of yore), and though I didn't get to see this movie in whole, I still thought that this was good, among many other Mickey and Friends movies."Saludos Amigos" - iSi! Diez estrellas (10 stars).