Saludos Amigos

Saludos Amigos
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySupervising Director
Sequence Directors
Story by
Produced byWalt Disney
Norm Ferguson
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • August 24, 1942 (1942-08-24) (Rio de Janeiro)
  • February 6, 1943 (1943-02-06) (Boston)
  • February 19, 1943 (1943-02-19) (United States)[1]
Running time
42 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
Box office$1 million (worldwide rentals) [2]

Saludos Amigos (Spanish for "Greetings, Friends") is a 1942 American live-action/animated propaganda[3][4] anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Set in Latin America, it is made up of four different segments; Donald Duck stars in two of them and Goofy stars in one. It also features the first appearance of José Carioca, the malandro Brazilian parrot.[5] Saludos Amigos premiered in Rio de Janeiro on August 24, 1942. It was released in the United States on February 6, 1943.

Commissioned by the United States Department of State as part of the Good Neighbor policy, the film is a notable example of American propaganda promoting goodwill towards Latin America.[6][7] The film was a success, helping launch the international popularity of Donald Duck and leading Disney to produce The Three Caballeros (1944), another government-funded film aimed at Latin American goodwill.

  1. ^ "Saludos Amigos: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  2. ^ "Richard B. Jewell's RKO film grosses, 1929–51: The C. J. Trevlin Ledger: A comment". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Volume 14, Issue 1, 1994.
  3. ^ ”Donald Duck: An American Diplomat?” The National Museum of American History. Published April 12, 2019. Accessed November 5, 2023.
  4. ^ Gilderhus, Mark T. “The Monroe Doctrine: Meanings and Implications.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 1, 2006, pp. 5–16. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27552742.
  5. ^ Walt & El Grupo (documentary film, 2008).
  6. ^ Dale, Adams (2007) "Saludos Amigos: Hollywood and FDR's Good Neighbor Policy", Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 24:3, 289-295, DOI: 10.1080/10509200500486395
  7. ^ Sweeney, Mary. "Donald Duck: An American Diplomat?" National Museum of American History. Published April 12, 2019. Accessed September 27, 2023.