Walt & El Grupo Hollywood Movie
Cast And Crew
Studio Credit
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Studio
Director Credit
Theodore Thomas Director
Production Credits Credit
Kuniko Okubo Producer
Walter Elias Disney Miller Executive Producer
Production Companies Credit
Theodore Thomas Productions Production Company
Distribution Companies Credit
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution Domestic Theatrical Distributor
Writer Credit
Theodore Thomas Screenplay
Film Camera Credit
Shana Hagen Cinematographer
Music Credit
James Wesley Stemple Music
Reviews
Plot Summary
For ten weeks in 1941, Walt Disney, his wife Lilly, and sixteen colleagues from his studio visited nations in Latin America to gather story material for a series of films with South American themes.
Walt & El Grupo” chronicles the amazing ten-week trip that Walt Disney and his hand-picked group of artists and filmmaking talent (later known as “El Grupo”) took to South America in 1941 at the behest of the U.S. Government as part of the Good Neighbor Policy. Within just three short years after the phenomenal success of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the Walt Disney Studios experienced a chain of financial challenges that ultimately led to the infamous animators strike. Also during this time, the Roosevelt administration had growing concerns about Nazi and Fascist influence in Latin America, and the rest of the world was slipping further into war. In stark contrast to these trying times, Disney and his colorful group of artists found themselves on a lively trip full of hope and discovery as they explored various South American cities, spending the majority of their time in the countries of Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The group was saddled with an unusual assignment – while gathering story material, immersing themselves in the culture, befriending local artists, meeting political leaders and attending countless functions, their journey was also a de facto diplomatic mission, and as a result, the studio produced the classic films “Saludos Amigos” and “The Three Caballeros.” Shot on film in five countries, “Walt & El Grupo” is a tale that still resonates on both sides of the equator. The film time travels in Walt Disney’s footsteps through the use of personal letters and stunning artwork from the trip, remembrances by descendants and survivors, and extraordinary never-before-seen footage. “Walt & El Grupo” brings together an intertwined story of art and politics, the poignancy of a bygone age, and a legendary artist during one of his most trying times..
Review
Theodore Thomas, son of the late Walt Disney Studios animator Frank Thomas (1912-2004) and director of the acclaimed 1995 documentary Frank and Ollie, helms this second foray into Disney history, Walt and El Grupo (2007). The subject this time lies somewhat outside the boundaries of Disney animation and rests on an unusual footnote: in 1941, Walt Disney personally led a “goodwill tour” and research expedition of South America, with a team of animators in tow whom he collectively christened “El Grupo.” The voyage transcended passing personal interest on the part of the animators: its residual effects can be seen in several Latin-themed Disney projects - notably, Saludos Amigos (1942) and Three Caballeros (1945) (both of which won Oscars) and other efforts designed to support the Good Neighbor Policy of the United States. With Walt and El Grupo, Theodore Thomas and his wife, Kuniko Okubo, combine rare, unseen 16mm home movie footage of the original trip (held in the Disney vaults for years) with footage from their own trip through South America that retraces the Disney animators’ original journey - contrasting 1941 footage with glimpses of the same locales, shot sixty years later. On the soundtrack, Thomas and Okubo overlay reminiscences by the original travelers, taken from journals and letters and read by family members.
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