Aquarela do Brasil

from "Saludos Amigos"

Release Date : February 6, 1943

Synopsis

A short impressionistic view of Brazil turns into Donald Duck getting dance lessons from Jose Carioca.

Characters

Donald Duck
Jose Carioca

Credits

Director
Wilfred Jackson

Video

United States
Saludos Amigos
Germany
Saludos Amigos
Donalds Größte Hits
Drei Caballeros im Sambafieber
France
Le Meilleur de Donald
Italy
Saludos Amigos
I Capolavori di Paperino

Laserdiscs

Japan
Donald's Greatest Hits

DVD

United States
Saludos Amigos
Germany
Saludos Amigos

Technical Specification

Color Type: Technicolor
Animation Type: Standard animation
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
Negative Format: 35mm
Print Format: 35mm
Cinematographic Process: Spherical
Original Language: English

Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Comments

  • Released as part of the feature film "Saludos Amigos."
From Jerome Maro : I have seen this short together with the feature "Saludos Amigos" on laserdisc and, to me, it is one of the best animation I know. Look at the magic of the opening scene where flowers magically appear, plants transform into animals, etc. One can actually SEE the impression that the tropics made on the animators when they visited Brazil.
From Jerry Edwards : One of the four shorts that comprise the short film Saludos Amigos. This is introduced with live action footage of the carnival at Rio, then contains art showing the various landscapes of Brazil, and animation introduces a parrot, Jose' Carioca, who teaches Donald to dance the samba.

The music just didn't appeal to me and the short was generally boring to me, in spite of some nice colorful animation.

From Sean Catherall : I first saw this short while in Brazil in the early 1980's and enjoyed it immensely, as did the Brazilian people that saw it with me. This is one of Donald Duck's best shorts and one of the most creative drawn by the Disney animators. The music is fun and contagious. It has the feel of a Fantasia segment or a long DTV video, since the whole short develops around the score. The short needs no voice-overs or subtitles since almost all of the dialog is repeated in both English and Portuguese.

One oddity: Although José Oliviera is credited for the voice of José Carioca in "Saludos Amigos" and "Three Caballeros", I could swear that his accent in "Aquarela" is a Paulista accent (from Sao Paulo), not Carioca (from Rio de Janeiro), which is quite different.

José Carioca is frequently called "Zé Carioca" in Brazil and has become a favorite Disney character there, with a very successful comic book series to his credit. I actually learned quite a bit of Portuguese from Zé Carioca comic books. He has a wonderfully cheerful but saucy attitude, as affable as Mickey Mouse but as unpredictable as Donald Duck. His straw boater, bow tie and cane are meant to represent the Brazilan "old school" gentleman, now mythical.

By the way, Donald Duck has a perfect "gringo pato" accent in "Aquarela", meaning a silly American pronunciation; but literally translated the expression means "silly American duck". I wonder if the Brazilian expression stems from "Saludos" and "Caballeros"?

From Michael Gallagher : I give it a 10. Each animation frame is a very thought out piece of art! The colors and the framing of the characters give me a sense of graphic nostalgia. I have been to the Brazilian carnival in the 70's and that's just the feeling one gets from experiencing such festival.

Joe Cariocas is a very funny character and with the syncopated samba, he comes alive. Brilliant soundtrack and wonderful acting by Donald and Joe.

From Baruch Weiss : This is yet another one of Donald's best performances, I especially enjoyed the part where he drinks a spicy drink!
From Bryan Hensley : The music in this short was used in commercials for Disney/Pixar's WALL-E, well some of it anyway. This colorful short was Jose Carioca's big debut! (Even though he was originally called "Joe Carioca".) The folks in Rio de Janiero seem to speak Portuguese, and so does Jose. (His card says he lives there.) Last year (2008), I bought Disney's Classic Caballeros Collection on DVD, and it has Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros on one disc! It was just $15 at the time I bought it, and it was my first time seeing either movie! In the last short El Gaucho Goofy, his cigarette was edited out. But Jose's cigar in this short, and throughout The Three Caballeros, was left in! What's up with that? Poor Donald had a hard time making out Jose's language, even with all those second-language dictionaries! All that talk seemed to be Jose's way of saying "Let's go see the town." Who would've thunk hiccupping from a spicy alcoholic drink would start off a samba? What a way to wrap up Disney's 6th and shortest (so far and by far) feature-length theatrical movie! Adios, amigos!

Submit Your Comments

(Note: you must be logged in to submit comments)