Friends, I have resorted to Google Translate, because there is nowhere on the internet where you can get a translation of the song “Os Quindins de Yaya.” It appears to be about selling cookies. I am sure there is no subtext involved whatsoever, despite this movie’s being approximately 85% Donald Drooling On Women by volume. To the point that my ten-year-old was surprised that it was made by Disney. Only “Well, it was the ‘40s” appeased him much.
It’s Donald’s birthday, back in the days when that was the thirteenth. (March thirteenth, specifically, though that wouldn’t be revealed until later.) He receives an enormous box that turns out to be full of gifts from friends south of the Border, starting with a couple of shorts but moving on to of course José Carioca (José Oliveira). José takes Donald around Brazil, where he drools on girls. Next, they meet with Panchito Pistoles (Joaquin Garay), who takes the pair around Mexico. Where Donald drools on girls.
I’m not going to point to Disney as an icon of equality, goodness knows, especially not in the ‘40s. Still, there’s no denying that, out of the 71 minutes of the short, easily ten or more were designed by a woman. Does it make up for the many swimsuit-clad women on “Acapulco Beach,” in reality the Disney backlot? Of course not. (Apparently Daisy isn’t in this because it would’ve made Donald seem even worse.) However, there’s that psychedelic train sequence and the gorgeous Posada. If you know the name Mary Blair, you know who created it. And she only barely worked for the studio at the time.
This is more of the whole “Good Neighbor” thing; Disney was basically working for the US government. Proving to a Mexican people that had no reason to believe it that the US was on their side and would be their good friends. I know less about US-Brazilian relations in the early ‘40s, but I’m sure no one much south of the US border was a big fan of the US for pretty much the entire history of the US and the lands south of its border. Personally, I wouldn’t send Donald Duck, Aquatic Sociopath, as my goodwill ambassador, but it seems quite a lot of the Disney corporation disagrees with me on the subject.
Actually, while Donald isn’t my cup of tea, it seems the other two caballeros are big with their countries of “origin.” “Zé” Carioca—the Brazilian equivalent of “Joe,” it seems—has a popular comic book. (Disney comics are a much bigger thing in other countries.) Panchito is less popular, but still. It seems they’ve done less with him. They have, on the other hand, properly translated his name in Spanish-language adaptations, as “Pistolas” is the actual Spanish word for “pistols.” That’s the sort of thing they should’ve checked.
This isn’t the best film in the Disney catalog. Heck, it’s not the best package film. I’m not even sure it’s the best of the Good Neighbor package films, though that “Posada” sequence takes a lot of beating. I like this movie, but it may well be bottom-third Disney in quality. It’s short, sexist, and uneven. And I will always love it. It’s where I learned about the history of Mexico City, which is presented the way it appears in legend. So there’s that, if nothing else.
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