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    Walt & El Grupo



    In 1941, as tensions between the United States and Germany heated up, the government asked Walt Disney to do a good will tour of some countries in South America.  Disney doesn't want to just go, he wants to take a team from his studio and make films about South America that will be financed by the government.  He is dealing with an animators strike and needs a break.  He hand selects a team from the studio, including one animator (Frank Thomas) and a musician (Charles Wolcott), and they set out on a three month trip.

    The trip begins in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where they fall in love with the song "Aquarela do Brasil" by Ary Barroso.  Then they went to Buenos Aires, Argentina where they bond with the Djibantes (Argentinian cartoonists).  Then they took short trips to Montevideo in Uruguay to attend the premiere of Fantasia, Peru to see the Incan civilizations, and finally a few days in Santiago, Chile.  Will their trip garner the U.S. new allies, or will South America side with the Axis Powers during WWII?  And can the Disney studio survive the animator strike?


    My grandparents had an extensive collection of Disney films (animated and live-action).  One of the those in the collection was Three Caballeros, which focuses on Mexico.  It has some beautiful artwood and is a fun film.  Disney made 2 anthology films about the cultures of South America: Saludos Amigos and Three Caballeros.  Both film feature Donald Duck interacting with his feathered friends in South America.  This documentary tells the story behind those films and why they were made.

    This film is clearly a labor of love.  The writer and director of this film, Theodore Thomas, is the son of animator Frank Thomas.  This is his second documentary about Frank Thomas, he also directed the 1995 documentary Ollie and Frank about the last two members of Disney's "Nine Old Men:" Thomas and Ollie Johnston.  The film includes interviews with the family members of the El Grupo (the team that went on the trip).  They share memories, parts of letters, and photographs.  There are home movies and an interview with Walt Disney.

    The camera also travels back to the locations the El Grupo visited.  And they interview the family members of the influential people they met: Ary Barroso's children, the folk dancers from Argentina, their collaborator in Chile, etc.  These perspectives and memories add to the film.

    It is an interesting film and definitely makes me want to watch Saludos Amigos and re-watch Three Caballeros.

    Walt & El Grupo (2008) 106 minutes
    Director: Theodore Thomas
    Starring: Walt Disney
    Lee Blair
    Mary Blair
    Jim Bodrero
    Jack Cutting
    Lillian Disney
    Norm Ferguson
    Larry Lansburgh
    Janet Martin Lansburgh
    Jack Parr Miller
    Herb Ryman
    Ted Sears
    Webb Smith
    Frank Thomas
    Charles Wolcott

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