Films & Events
Walt & El Grupo
Presented in association with 98.1 Classical KING FM
In 1941, war loomed on the horizon but Walt Disney had plenty of other things to worry about as well. Labor disputes threatened the financial future of his company and newly created dream studio. Then, surprisingly, the U.S. government proposed that Walt and his team take a Goodwill tour of South America, culminating in a series of Latin-American-themed Disney films.
Fresh on the heels of the groundbreaking
Fantasia, and little more than three years after the worldwide success of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the Roosevelt administration was betting that Disney’s popularity would thwart the Axis Powers overtures to that region. Disney and “El Grupo,” as they came to name themselves, set out on a two-month tour, which would result in films such as
Saludos Amigos and
The Three Caballeros.
While any documentary using never-before-seen archival footage from the Disney vault would be extraordinary,
Walt & El Grupo goes further. Filmmaker Theodore Thomas–son of Disney animator (and El Grupo member) Frank Thomas—uses his familiarity and extraordinary access to augment this archival footage with excerpts from El Grupo’s personal letters and journals (read by their present-day family members), as well as with interviews with South American eyewitnesses and their descendants. Additionally, Thomas’ crew retraces the path of El Grupo’s trip through South America, contrasting the team’s 1941 footage and drawings with their modern counterparts.
A film of intimacy, charm, and historical acuity,
Walt & El Grupo weaves these details together to reveal a legendary artist during one of his most trying times.
Cast & Crew
Director: Theodore Thomas
Producer: Kuniko Okubo
Editor: Lisa Palatella
Screenwriter: Theodore Thomas
Cinematographer: Shana Hagan
Music: James Stemple
Principal Cast: Featuring: Disney, Cindy Garcia, Jeanette Thomas, Sheila Banani, Diane Miller, Lydia Reed
Filmography: Frank and Ollie (1995); Where the Toys Come From (1984)
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(5 reviews)
user reviews
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Walt & El Grupo, May 18, 2008
By Jeff Cavanaugh
“Hmmm, can't really think of a reason why this film had to be made. Disney's pre-WWII jaunt to South America was an interesting fact, but hardly worth subjecting us to over an hour and a half of interviews with doddering artists and animators (or children thereof) and staged archival footage. And”
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Walt & El Grupo, May 19, 2008
By Jerry Luiten
“This is a perfect documentary. The images of the tile sidewalk on Copacabana have stayed with me ever since I saw the film "Saludos Amigos" many years ago. To learn the background of how Disney was inspired to create those images makes fascinating history. The archieval footage blended with”
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Disney propaganda!, Sep 23, 2009
By Alan Tram
“A relentlessly upbeat vanity project destined for the Disney family archive, produced by them as well. What a propagandist piece of garbage. Almost as bad as the sailing movie Disney released last year. BAD BAD BAD! ”
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Visually Beautiful, Sep 29, 2009
By Sarah Cabatit
“I would recommend this film not only to Disney fans but also to anyone who is interested in stories about the creative process. It explores the idea that art has a context and uses beautiful visual techniques to make the historic photos, art, film and music come alive. Letters to home, read by”
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A bad lesson in documentary-filmmaking., Oct 01, 2009
By Jimmy Bontatibus
“Most of the documentaries I see are good. That's because a doc has to be really good to pick up solid distribution. Walt & El Grupo teaches us what not to do in a documentary. The film has an interesting story which would probably be told a lot better in a book, but it's so poorly made. The”
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