Review of Walt & El Grupo (2008) by Cory W — 21 Dec 2010

"Walt and El Grupo" is a pleasant little documentary that takes an in-depth look into Walt Disney's government assigned trip across South America. This doc. (produced by the Mouse House itself) may not be anything too exciting or powerful (see "Waking Sleeping Beauty" or "The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story" for powerhouse Disney documentaries), this quaint little feature really does shed light on Disney and the impact he had (and still has) on the world.

The story may go down so many roads, featuring stories on practically everyone involved with the trip on both sides of the ball (some more interesting and relevant than others), but if you can wade through the waters, you can see a close-up look at Disney's struggles with the strike that dampened his view on animation and the South American folk that re-kindled his passion for life.

In a way, this could have been a rousing, moving documentary (or feature film...), but the folks in charge chose to give everyone their dues. That's not a bad thing at all, but don't go into this expecting to be blown away.

Overall, this is a nice little diversion of a documentary that gives a look into Disney's cultural impact on the world through his trip to South America.