You can’t blame the Disney company for wanting to chronicle its own history with documentary portraits of its sparkling past. Founder Walt Disney was an undeniable cultural force in the 20th century and, besides, they can afford it.
“Walt &El Grupo” is one such chronicle. It focuses on a single episode in Disney’s life, an exotic detour in the midst of Disney’s filmmaking career.
In 1941, Disney and a group of animators and colleagues spent 10 weeks traveling through South America. Although Disney was ostensibly gathering ideas for new projects, the whole trip was paid for by the U.S. government.
That’s because there was an ulterior motive for the tour: Disney was being sent as a goodwill ambassador, a representative of all that was good and fun about the United States.
With the war already raging in Europe, it was not at all certain which side South American countries would choose — and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, among others, sensed that a little upbeat public relations couldn’t hurt.
They could hardly have picked a better exemplar of good cheer than the man who gave Mickey Mouse to the world. Disney was greeted by crowds of adoring fans, and spent much time meeting artists, musicians and government officials.
This is an agreeable saga, one that soft-pedals other reasons Disney was happy to accept the government’s request: His revenues were falling (the war took away some key markets) and his employees were staging a bitter strike. Disney, who was both a business tycoon and a childlike dreamer, never quite got over the shock of the latter.
“Walt &El Grupo” isn’t a journalistic exercise; it’s an affectionate flashback from inside the family. It was written and directed by Theodore Thomas, whose father Frank was one of the key Disney animators back in the glory days of “Snow White” and “Bambi” — and who went on the trip to South America.
The younger Thomas’ previous Disney doc, “Frank and Ollie,” was a look back at the inner workings of the Disney studio, framed around his father and another mainstay animator, Oliver Johnston.
These films may not be objective (read Neal Gabler’s Disney bio for an even-handed treatment of an unusual life), but they are valuable peeks at a different world.
For further evidence of Disney’s trip, check out the wacky “Saludos Amigos” and “Three Caballeros,” the films that were inspired by the journey south.
“Walt &El Grupo” ½
An affectionate documentary recounting Walt Disney’s 1941 goodwill trip to South America. Disney and his crew ostensibly went to collect ideas for future movies, but had been sent to generate pro-U.S. feeling at a time when South American countries were choosing sides in WWII. Director Theodore Thomas is the son of a golden-age Disney animator and the film offers no blemishes in its portrait, but it’s an interesting slice of cultural history from the inside.
Rated: PG for subject matter
Showing: SIFF Cinema
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