A "package film" wherein Walt Disney and his team of animators, artists, and musicians travel across South America experiencing various geographical and cultural points of interest which lead into 4 animated shorts inspired by their visits.
Following the underperformance of Disney's animated films Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi as a result of World War II cutting off needed European and Asian markets, Saludos Amigos came from a State Department arranged "goodwill tour" for Disney and his team as part of the Good Neighbors Policy to improve relations between neighboring South American countries whom had diplomatic and commercial ties to Axis powers such as Nazi Germany. Looking to recoup losses on his overexpanded studio as well as his commercial failures, Disney accepted the deal with the federal grants helping ot finance the film which proved to be a strong success. While the movie is certainly a curiosity with some good animation, it's honestly not all that much of a "movie" with only a 40 minute runtime with a collection of animated shorts that are serviceable but don't exactly stand out much from the usual Silly Symphonies Disney put out saved for the novelty of South American cultural and geographical Iconography that when coupled with the rather dry documentary footage makes the film feel rather anemic.
The animation par for the course for Disney animation is good (though admittedly it's not as ambitious as Disney's other feature films including Dumbo which while intentionally cheap was at least experimental with certain elements). The film features three shorts, two featuring Donald Duck, one featuring Goofy, and another featuring an anthropomorphic plane named Pedro. The Donald Duck short Lake Titicaca, and the Goofy short El Gaucho Goofy are showcases for some entertaining slapstick (with a suspension bridge sequence with Donald Duck being particularly humorous) and while not being anything groundbreaking they are at least enjoyable enough. Pedro is probably the weakest short as it's basically just a cutesy story with a young plane going over mountains to deliver mail over the Andes mountains. It's animated well enough and you can see some of the artistic staples that would be reutilized for later era Disney shorts like Susie, The Little Blue Coupe or The Little House but other than that it's pleasant but forgettable. The final short, Watercolor of Brazil is definitely the most ambitious of the shorts as we start with a bank canvas that is then brough to life through a paint brush giving us the various flora and fauna of Brazil with good usage of misdirection with some memorable moments being a bunch of bananas that turns into Toucans or a tree that turns into a Macaw. This short also marks the first appearance of José Carioca the parrot who along with Donald Duck shows him some of Brazil and the "spirit of the Samba" and with his dapper appearance and energy makes a welcome addition to the Disney canon.
Saludos Amigos is certainly an important piece of Disney history and you can't argue against the role it played in keeping Disney studios afloat during trying times and giving Disney a tangible foot print in South America as well as changing U. S. public perceptions of South America with its travelogue approach. But as a movie its very thin and while its animation is good by the standards of Silly Symphonies nothing except maybe Watercolor of Brazil elevates it beyond the typical short. Worth a watch for curiosity's sake, but one of the weaker parts of the Disney animated films.
