''South of the Border with Disney'' is a 1942

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

live-action

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

. It was shot on the same occasion as the live-action segments of Disney's ''

Saludos Amigos ''Saludos Amigos'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "Greetings, Friends") is a 1942 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. It is the List of ...

'', when

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

and a group of eighteen artists, musicians and writers traveled to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

looking for inspiration for creative projects. Disney's trip was conducted under the auspices of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (CIAA) in order to promote cooperation between the United States and various South American nations. While ''Saludos Amigos'' includes both animated shorts and live-action sequences, ''South of the Border with Disney'' is a behind-the-scenes documentary featuring only travel footage and the inspiration for animated segments of ''Saludos Amigos'', as well as for the feature-length ''The Three Caballeros'' and other animated shorts. The film also includes pencil test animation and stock music from Disney's 1942 animated feature film '' Bambi''. ''South of the Border with Disney'' was distributed in 16mm through nontheatrical channels by the CIAA rather than receiving a traditional theatrical release through Disney's distribution partner

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

Synopsis

The film begins at a temporary studio Disney improvised for his traveling entourage of artists, musicians, and writers at a

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

hotel. The group tours the city, meeting with Brazilian writers and artists, as well as visiting various points-of-interest. In addition to a military parade celebrating Brazil's independence day, the group visits the summit of Corcovado and Sugarloaf Mountain. At the botanical gardens, artists sketch Brazilian flora, including orchids, water lilies, and various trees. At the zoo, artists sketch local wildlife, such as flamingoes, anteaters, tapirs, armadillos, and parrots. The

armadillo Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along wi ...

inspires a character in the 1943

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

cartoon, ''Pluto and the Armadillo''. The parrots inspire

Jose Carioca Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

, a companion to Donald Duck who debuts in the ''Aquareia do Brasil'' segment of ''Saludos Amigos'' and appears again in ''The Three Caballeros''. The group next flies to

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

where they observe locals fishing on the harbor's waterfront, enjoying beach resorts, and basking in the mild weather. Traveling to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, the group draws inspiration from the city's architecture, street life, and recreational activities like football and polo. The group visits a rural area in the Pampas for a taste of Argentine folk dancing (zamba), as well as an introduction to the gaucho lifestyle (Argentine cowboy). This trip through the Pampas inspired the ''El Gaucho Goofy'' segment of ''Saludos Amigos'', as well as ''The Flying Gauchito'' segment of ''The Three Caballeros''. Flying west across the

Andes Mountains The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, artists created sketches of the high peaks, serving as inspiration for ''Pedro'', the anthropomorphic airplane segment of ''Saludos Amigos''. While traveling through Chile, the group takes inspiration from the folk music, dances, and costume of local communities, as well as the huasos (Chilean horsemen). At one stop, locals attempt to teach Walt how to play the guitar and perform some of their traditional dances. The group next departs Chile for

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. where they take inspiration from the vivid colors of the city's marketplace, traditional music, and indigenous costumes. The ''Lake Titicaca'' segment of ''Saludos Amigos'' is inspired by the group's visit to the lake straddling the Bolivian-Peruvian border. The group continues through

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, with final stops in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Much of these latter stops inspired segments of ''The Three Caballeros''. The film ends with Walt and the group returning to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where they stop at U.S. Customs for their baggage to be examined. The Customs officer is exhausted with the group's number of sketches and souvenirs, ending with the sight gag of a horse emerging from Walt's luggage.

Release

Home media

In 2000, ''South of the Border with Disney'' was included on the Gold Classic Collection DVD release of ''

'' as a bonus feature. The short was featured again as a bonus feature on the 2008 ''

''/'' The Three Caballeros'' Classic Caballeros Collection two-movie DVD release.

Streaming

''South of the Border with Disney'' is not available on streaming services currently.

References

External links