Holigay Gift Guide: Walt & El Grupo

Walt & El Grupo rounds out a Disney docu collection that includes The Boys (about iconic songwriters The Sherman Brothers) and Waking Sleeping Beauty (about Disney Feature Animation's return to glory in the 1990s).

Basic story for Walt & El Grupo is that in 1941 Nelson Rockefeller asked Walt Disney to make a goodwill tour of South America. World War II was about to bust out and the U.S. government hoped the Disney characters popularity could counter pro-Axis sentiment there. In debt and needing serious help, Disney accepted and visited Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile with 16 artists—a team he dubbed "El Grupo."

The docu uses letters, photographs, rare footage and interviews with South Americans who were there (and their descendants) to paint the story. Theodore Thomas directed—his father was Frank Thomas, one of Disney's "Nine Old Men" who helped shape the company's animation department. It shows Disney in a rare light that's more human than anything you'll recall from old TV shows. The movie also offers rare footage of Mary Blair, one of the company's greatest concept artists who worked on such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Cinderella and numerous other projects like It's a Small World. Blair was quite a pioneer because women were not allowed to work in major creative positions at that time, but Disney loved her work. Her section in Walt & El Grupo is short, but her son shows how this South American trip influenced her artistry, as seen in this image here.

While the film doesn't necessarily hold the universal interest that The Boys or Waking Sleeping Beauty do, it's still a fascinating look at politics, the entertainment industry, and the Disney company's role in shaping the face of America.

Buy the DVD.

Walt & El Grupo rounds out a Disney docu collection that includes The Boys (about iconic songwriters The Sherman Brothers) and Waking Sleeping Beauty (about Disney Feature Animation's return to glory in the 1990s).

Basic story for Walt & El Grupo is that in 1941 Nelson Rockefeller asked Walt Disney to make a goodwill tour of South America. World War II was about to bust out and the U.S. government hoped the Disney characters popularity could counter pro-Axis sentiment there. In debt and needing serious help, Disney accepted and visited Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile with 16 artists—a team he dubbed "El Grupo."

The docu uses letters, photographs, rare footage and interviews with South Americans who were there (and their descendants) to paint the story. Theodore Thomas directed—his father was Frank Thomas, one of Disney's "Nine Old Men" who helped shape the company's animation department. It shows Disney in a rare light that's more human than anything you'll recall from old TV shows. The movie also offers rare footage of Mary Blair, one of the company's greatest concept artists who worked on such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Cinderella and numerous other projects like It's a Small World. Blair was quite a pioneer because women were not allowed to work in major creative positions at that time, but Disney loved her work. Her section in Walt & El Grupo is short, but her son shows how this South American trip influenced her artistry, as seen in this image here.

While the film doesn't necessarily hold the universal interest that The Boys or Waking Sleeping Beauty do, it's still a fascinating look at politics, the entertainment industry, and the Disney company's role in shaping the face of America.

Buy the DVD.