Donald Duck goes south: Walt Disney and the Inter-American relations
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Date
45475
Authors
Lénárt, András
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Film and Screen Media, University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
In the 1930s, with the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed that the United States would soon need the sympathy and cooperation of Latin America. His Good Neighbor policy sought to improve relations between the countries of the Americas. Walt Disney was commissioned by Nelson D. Rockefeller, who was in charge of inter-American relations, to make a goodwill tour of Latin America in search of inspiration for films about the region. He and his group met with politicians and artists, researched local cultures, and personally experienced the region’s society, geography and wildlife. As a result of these experiences, Latin America became the setting for two Disney films in the 1940s, Saludos Amigos (Norman Ferguson, 1942) and The Three Caballeros (Norman Ferguson, 1944). The aim of this article is to describe the key role played by Walt Disney and his cartoon characters (especially Donald Duck) in the transformation of inter-American relations, especially from the aspect of culture.
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Keywords
Walt Disney , Inter-American relations , Latin America , Saludos Amigos , The Three Caballeros
Citation
Lénárt, A. (2024) 'Donald Duck goes South: Walt Disney and the Inter-American relations', Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, 27, pp. 24–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.27.03