WALT DISNEY’S THE THREE CABALLEROS (1944) Music book

New York: Melody Lane Publications, Inc., Peer International Corp., 1944. Vintage original 9 x 12 1/4″ (23 x 30 cm.) music book, 36 pp. Minor soil to edges of cover, about fine.

Rare book published during World War II of Disney’s full-length animated and live-action propaganda feature made to celebrate the relationship between North and South America as they formed an alliance. The film stars Donald Duck joined by new star Panchito Pistoles and José Carioca, with whom he worked in 1942’s Saludos Amigos.

With a colorful cover, the book was a limited addition and is rarely found. Wonderful border art on all of the pages of music celebrating all things South American. Illustrations throughout show scenes from the film, the main animated characters and the live-action musical stars including Dora Luz who is heard singing “You Belong to My Heart”. Other songs include “Baia”, “Hey! Mr. Sunshine” and “The Three Caballeros”. The songs were written by several teams of musicians and lyricists.