55
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranThe 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.
- 75USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigWhile Walt & El Grupo could use trimming, it also is visually stunning.
- 75NPRBob MondelloNPRBob MondelloThis was an era when international travel was not yet common, and in 16mm home movies from the trip, you can see the excitement as 1940s cities burst into gaudy state welcomes for the creator of El Raton Mickey.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayHardcore Disney fans will appreciate how serious-minded and intimate this movie is, but for others, Walt & El Grupo might feel like an expensive vacation slide show, assembled by strangers.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceBoth a gargantuan, multi-family home movie and a slight, if entertaining, curio that'll be of most interest to hardcore Disney aficionados.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisWhat’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.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickA disappointingly superficial treatment of a fascinating historical incident.
- 50Washington PostWashington PostThe 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.
- 40Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichThere’s a marked sense of retreat in this tale that’s never explored--everyone goes out of the way to remember the past through rose-colored specs.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThis slickly packaged bit of Disneyana would probably work best as an attraction at Epcot.