THEODORE THOMAS PRODUCTIONS
It almost sounds like the setup to an elaborate joke: In early 1941, FDR was concerned about growing Nazi influence in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, so he sent Walt Disney down there to foster goodwill toward the US. This little-discussed chapter in the filmmaker's storied history is beautifully illustrated by Theodore Thomas' documentary "Walt & El Grupo," now showing at SIFF Cinema. Thomas follows the route taken by Disney and his "grupo" -- a "minature studio" that included artists, musicians, writers, publicists and Walt's wife Lillian -- and draws fascinating interviews from the people Disney encountered on his South American jaunt, as well as those who stayed behind in Hollywood -- where the Disney Studio was slowly but surely being ripped apart by the worst labor strike in its history.
"Walt & El Grupo" is filled with fascinating details. I had no idea that "Aquarela do Brasil," the beautiful Ary Barroso song that would later become the basis for Terry Gilliam's "Brazil," was popularized by a Disney film. Nor did I know just how close Latin America came to following Hitler. Thomas provides these details in the course of a travelogue that's as beautiful and moving as the long-ago trip that inspired it, and he's wise enough to let the illustrations and words of Disney's artists do most of the talking. The watercolors and illustrations created by Disney's artists almost exceed in beauty the sights they describe, and storyman Ted Sears' thoroughly beguiled, yet achingly lonesome letters home to his wife give the documentary an unexpected emotional backbone. And through it all is footage of Walt -- dressing as a gauchero, trying a few steps of the local dances and thoroughly charming the locals, who greeted him with front-page headlines and Beatles-sized airport crowds.
"Walt & El Grupo" falters a bit in its final third, which is about the same time frame in which the enthusiasm of the original El Grupo waned. In trying to be even-handed and respectful with his coverage, Thomas glosses over some people and events: the death of Walt's father, halfway through the tour; the stunning transformation of Mary Blair, who remade her artistic style on the tour; and he even gives short shrift to his own father, legendary animator Frank Thomas (one of Disney's "Nine Old Men"). But the film's eye is unfailing, its footing is sure, and its heart is full to overflowing. And perhaps needless to say, the music is just plain gorgeous.
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