The Brazillian lover: A history lesson and continuity explaination

Spoilers: If you don't want to be spoiled as to who I am talking about, read chapter 6 first. I'll wait...

... it's not like its that important that you don't know who it is before it's revealed...

...Done? Good.

So, This post is an explanation of José Carioca, and what parts I've picked and chosen regarding Disney canon (lol) regarding our favorite Brazilian.

First off: History lesson. Joe (As he is called in Europe) was created in the 1940s for the charming final segment of the Disney feature "Saludos Amigos," a love letter to Brazil done as an offering of peace between America and Brazil. In it, Donald Duck meets the gregarious Parrot, and then proceeds to get drunk on Cachaça and taken to learn the samba and probably get laid.

Saludos Amigos was successful enough to spawn a sequel a few years later which more people have probably heard of, "The Three Caballeros" where Mexico was thrown into the mix (Which I shall talk about when it comes up... later). In it, Donald recieves several presents, including visits from José and a new friend from Mexico, Panchito. They then appear to do lots of drugs, because shit gets trippy towards the end.

Easy enough to reconcile so far, right? I've chosen to re-imagine both events as two different shore leaves during Donald's time with the navy (Probably during WW2) where he ran into and befriended José, and then Panchito. Three Caballeros, of course, starts in Rio and ends in Mexico City, so I must conclude that some bad decisions were made over the course of the adventure. I always like to think that Donald woke up the next morning next José the lady whose face sang to him during "You belong to my heart," and isn't entirely sure which one of the two he actually put it in, but I digress.

As far as José is concerned, here's where things get confusing. Barring a few token appearances, Joe all but disappeared from the US after his appearance in Three Caballeros. However, Europe and especially Brazil began to publish comics based on the horny parrot. The earlier stories usually involved him making grabs for as much pussy as possible, while also being inexplicably homeless. Eventually, after a period of traced adventures ripping off American and European Micky and Donald stories (During which he picked up two nephews of his own) the Brazilian stories gave him his own supporting cast, including his sidekick Nestor, and, most irritatingly, a steady girlfriend (Although she did dress up as a catwoman pastiche for a good superhero story, so it's not all bad). He was still a horn dog, but he was mostly just lazy and broke. He also wore a T-shirt and jeans, which just does not fit.

As far as this period is concerned (Lets call it the Zé period), sure, I'll count it as canon, and have decided to place it as early as possible in whatever timeline I'm setting up. Lets say it was during the great depression. Brazil was effected quite a bit by that, and it's entirely possible that Zé would have no money for clothes. Eventually, after he buys the suit, things begin to look up. The 40s begin, and he is able to make a name for himself in the nightclub scene (Like his namesake and voice actor José Oliveiria), after which he meets and entertains Donald Duck, and soon after, Panchito.

This brings us to the next bit of concrete canon, which, thankfully, comes from one of the best sources it possibly could: Don Rosa. He wrote two different stories using the Three Caballeros, "The Three Caballeros Ride Again" and "The Magnificent Seven (Minus 4) Caballeros," taking place in Brazil and Mexico, where The nephews even get to meet the latin americans briefely at the end of he one taking place in Mexico. I would put these adventures a few years later, in the late 40s or early 50s (Sometime NOT during the Korean War, since that's where I've put the Donald-less Ducktales years).

During these stories, it is clear that José is working as a touring nightclub performer, but his everlasting hunger for more and more poontang gets in the way of his success, and of course, gets him in trouble. When Don Rosa leaves off on this period, it is on a positive note. José's act is a success, and it is implied that he could go on to greater success later.

So this is where I pick up, 20 years later or so, as you can see below. Since I am unaquainted with all but a few of the Zé period characters, I have decided to eschew most of them, and mostly let the Don Rosa version of the character to speak for Himself. Hopefully It worked out.

tl;dr: Movies were allegorical drug trips; HUAHEHUE Brazilian comics are allowed into canon with a little added historical context (i.e. The Depression); European version is more or less canon; Don Rosa verse is, as usual, unbreakable canon.

If you have any more questions about how the D20YL canon fits together, feel free to ask, but be warned, I've tried not to think in specific years, so I can put in as much wiggle room as I can (Mostly to skew Talespin characters older, and Darkwing Duck character younger). Until next time!