On this day in 1945, the United States and Donald Duck became amigos with Brazilian parrot José Carioca and Mexican charro rooster Panchito, when The Three Caballeros was released in theaters. The film features four short films about Latin America and sequences with Donald, Panchito, and José tying it all together. And while it’s been many years since the film’s original release, the three happy chappies with snappy serapes have stuck together and have made appearances in Disney theme park attractions. The trio reunited for a performance in Mexico, as the story goes in Epcot’s Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros attraction which opened in 2007, and they also now appear in Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland’s it’s a small world attractions.
