Walt & El Grupo

The best kind of labor of love. A documentary made with affection and intelligence, it looks at a brief episode in the life of a cultural icon and uses it to illuminate what turns out to be a telling moment in time and in the process shed some light on the man himself.

While Walt and El Grupo is less than a penetrating analysis, it's more than a Mickey Mouse advertisement.

While Walt & El Grupo could use trimming, it also is visually stunning.

The most damning assessment comes from animator-historian John Canemaker, who concludes that Disney's ethnically neutered South American output "gagged it up so that the American influence overwhelmed the cultural" influence of South America.

What’s really missing here is a story of artistic regeneration: by the time we encounter a dazzling excerpt from the studio’s post-trip film, “Aquarela do Brasil,” we are only reminded of what might have been.

This slickly packaged bit of Disneyana would probably work best as an attraction at Epcot.

The production values are first rate. But you will wait in vain to hear a good reason for this movie's existence.