The story follows Donald Duck who is down on his luck. When he becomes single, unemployed and homeless, he must go live in a small shack that he shares with a parrot, José Carioca and a rooster, Panchito Pistoles. The three find a book and when they open it, they meet Xandra, a goddess. Together, they go on adventures and trials to learn how to work together so they can defeat the evil Lord Felldrake Sheldgoose.
I'm very surprised that I just learned about this show and that it didn't come to America until it came on Disney+. It has Donald Duck as the main star and he has his two buddies from a classic movie. It even has Grey Delisle, now Grey Griffin, take on a major role. Whatever the reason for why this show stayed under the radar for so long, I'm glad it is out now because it is surprisingly great.
The characters are just a delight to watch and they play off each other perfectly. Donald Duck is captured perfectly in this show. He makes for a great flawed protagonist here. He is still the Donald Duck we know and love, but he is a lot stronger, as he goes to battle with many monsters throughout the show. José is just adorable and sweet. He is so likable here and he makes the most of every moment he is on screen. Panchito is a funny rooster who is surprising strong when he needs to be. The three have wonderful chemistry and they play off each other perfectly. Their interactions are hilarious and as the series progresses, you can see that they get closer with each other and they work more like a team.
Xandra is a pretty cool character too. Her best moments are when she is trying to act like a human without showing her strength. They make for some really funny scenes. I feel they could do a little bit more with her because she is mostly there to guide the trio and reinforce the lessons they learn. She can also save them on a dime. If this were to get a sequel, I hope they develop Xandra's character a little more because I do like her a lot. The nieces, April, May and June, are very cute and they do a lot to help the heroes out when they can and their shenanigans are quite funny. Ari is just hilarious. He never fails to crack me up when he is on screen. We could have the season just be about him and it would be good. The villains, Baron and Felldrake have there funny moments, but their main gag is repetitive. It's just Baron talking about how great he is and Felldrake calling him an idiot or fool. It was funny at first, but that gets old quickly. However, they had some pretty awesome powers and they felt threatening, especially in later episodes.
The one character I truly disliked though was Daisy. She is just downright mean to Donald on this show and she refuses to give him a chance to explain himself. I get that Donald isn't perfect, but not everything will go your way, but Daisy got mad at him for having to help his friends or go to work. She just rubbed me the wrong way the entire time.
The voice acting is terrific. Tony Anselmo kills it as Donald Duck as he always does. Seriously, thirty years later and this man still plays this character perfectly. Grey Griffin kills it as Xandra. She has so much fun in this role and it shows. She brings so much energy to the role. The voice actors for the villains do a fantastic job as well by knowing when to act funny and when to be intimidating. Everyone else does a really good job with their roles and they all bring energy to their roles.
The visuals are nothing short of gorgeous. The character designs look great and Donald Duck's design is perfect. The creatures they come across have some great designs as well that can prove to be intimidating. The animation is slick and smooth. It flows so well and the action scenes look amazing. Each episode, the visuals get better and I was genuinely excited to see what they what they would do with the story just on a visual level. This is another reason why I am surprised it never got released in the United States until recently. It is worth a look for the animation alone.
The stories for the episodes start out simple enough, but as they continue, they do a good job building up to the last few episodes and having each episode end leaving room for more. The characters learn important lessons and as the series progresses, Donald, José and Panchito become a much better team. Each episode is filled with funny moments and there are even some touching moments that work well. The humor is mostly good, but there are a few cringeworthy jokes. Overall, the show made me laugh quite a bit.
Legend of the Three Caballeros is a great show. It is a shame that it was so unknown for about a year and a half because it has so much potential to get even better. I really hope it gets a second season because it truly deserves it. If you have Disney+ and you are a fan of Donald Duck, this is a must watch. It is really fun!
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