The Three Caballeros Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Three Caballeros Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 25, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Disney's Saludos Amigos / The Three Caballeros exclusive Disney Movie Club release.

One of the interesting archival supplements included with Disney's release of Cinderella 4K got into the somewhat precarious fortunes of the studio in the immediate wake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi, and considering the fact that all of the foregoing films are championed (in varying degrees) to this day may make that "precarious" descriptor somewhat baffling. As this archival supplement points out, while many of the early Disney animated efforts were universally praised for their artistry, that didn't necessarily translate into huge box office, and by the time World War II broke out and many potential foreign markets closed for business, Disney's future was none too assured. It may come as a source of pride or frustration, depending on your point of view, then, that evidently none other than Uncle Sam contributed to Disney's survival by sending a bunch of Disney's "imagineers" (if they were called that then) on a tour of South America as part of the so-called Good Neighbor Policy that was an attempt to keep Nazi influence at bay. The ultimate cinematic result vis a vis Disney was first Saludos Amigos and then a rather quick follow up, The Three Caballeros.

The Three Caballeros continued the "Good Neighbor Policy" approach of Disney, highlighting cultures and music from south of the border, though this kinda sorta follow up to Saludos Amigos may arguably have a bit more of a through line tying everything together, as the "separate" vignettes in this so-called "package film" all spring from a central conceit of Donald Duck opening a bunch of birthday presents from his friends from Mexico, Brasil and other points south (who knew that Donald's birthday was on Friday the 13th?). That said, there's also arguably a bit more of a disjointed quality to this outing, which kind of ping pongs between various ideas while maybe fitfully attempting to introduce some new characters into the Walt Disney animal universe, along with a return of ebullient Joe Carioca from Saludos Amigos. The Three Caballeros may be most notable for its longish sequence combining live action, including a feisty Aurora Miranda (Carmen's sister), with animation.

The Three Caballeros Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Three Caballeros is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. As with Saludos Amigos, it's probably going to be the luscious palette that first attracts attention, and this is another pretty stunning offering in terms of the pure variety of gorgeous hues on tap, especially in the longer Baia sequence which once again features a memorable song by Ary Barroso. There's a bit more of quality variation noticeable here in the live action - animation combo material, where the "dupey" quality of the animated characters is unignorable at times. There's also some very clear matte work in this sequence. As with the Saludos Amigos presentation, while grain is visible, it's pretty fine at times, to the point that it can be hard to see.

The Three Caballeros Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Three Caballeros features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that, again like Saludos Amigos doesn't try to reinvent the wheel (so to speak) in terms of rejiggering an original mono track (though I for one would have preferred at least the option to hear the original mono track, as I suspect other audiophiles might have). As with its disc sibling, the track on this film is pretty resolutely anchored front and center, which is fine for delivering both dialogue and some very enjoyable music. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Three Caballeros Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no on disc supplements. A Disney Movie Insiders code is included.

The Three Caballeros Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Three Caballeros is another grab bag of ideas and approaches, and it may suffer a bit by not being as short and sweet as Saludos Amigos. Still, there are some wonderfully enjoyable vignettes in the film, and the stylistic flourishes the Disney animators offer are typically hugely entertaining. Technical merits are generally solid, and The Three Caballeros comes Recommended.