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5.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. El terrible toreador remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have six minutes to spare and want to see where Disney's brain was at before the world went crazy for a mouse, this is it. It is absolutely worth watching if you like old-school animation or if you just enjoy seeing characters bounce for no reason at all.
People who need a deep plot or high-definition visuals will probably hate this. It’s grainy, it’s noisy, and some of the jokes are just strange by today’s standards.
It feels like a fever dream set in a Spanish bar. Honestly, it’s more about the music than the bullfighting.
The movie starts in a cantina that feels way too crowded for the number of chairs they have. You have this waitress who is basically just a giant fan and a pair of high heels.
She’s dancing, and the way her knees move is kind of hypnotic in a creepy way. The rubber hose style is in full effect here, where bones don’t exist and everyone is made of cooked spaghetti.
Then the military guy shows up. He has this massive mustache that seems to have a life of its own. 🤠
He starts harassing the waitress, and it’s one of those moments that feels a bit long. Like, we get it, he’s the bad guy.
But then the Toreador walks in. He’s got this smug look on his face that I actually really liked. He’s not a hero; he’s a show-off.
The fight between them is mostly just them bumping chests and making faces. It reminded me of some of the stylized movement in The New Babylon, even though that’s a totally different kind of film.
What’s cool is how everything—and I mean everything—is on the beat. The beer mugs hitting the table. The spurs on the boots. The way the waitress slaps the officer.
It’s all synced up to the music from Carmen. You can tell they were having a blast just making stuff move to the rhythm.
There’s a moment where the Toreador is eating a pepper and he turns red. It’s such a basic cartoon trope, but it felt fresh here because the whole frame shakes with him.
I noticed the background art is actually pretty decent for 1929. The arches in the bar have this nice depth to them, even if the floor looks like it was drawn in five seconds.
When we finally get to the bullfight, the movie gets even weirder. The bull doesn’t look like a bull; he looks like a very tired dog in a costume.
The Toreador enters the arena and he’s doing these poses that are so dramatic it’s funny. One reaction shot of the bull looking confused lingers for about three seconds too long, and I loved it. 😂
The way they use the cape is actually pretty clever. It moves like a liquid.
There is a weird bit where the Toreador hides behind a sign. It’s the kind of visual gag that you’d see in a movie like Stocks and Blondes, just very physical and silly.
The ending is a bit abrupt. He wins, he gets the girl, and the screen just kind of stops.
It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s got personality. You can feel the animators trying to figure out how much they can get away with now that they have sound.
Sometimes the characters' faces look a bit melted. Especially the waitress when she’s spinning around. 💃
It lacks the polish of later Disney stuff, but that’s why I like it. It’s raw and a bit ugly in the corners.
If you liked the atmospheric weirdness of The Fall of the House of Usher, you might appreciate the strange shadows here, even if the tone is the complete opposite.
It’s a loud, bouncy, slightly annoying, and very charming piece of history. Just don't expect it to make much sense.
I’m glad I watched it, even if I’ll probably have the music stuck in my head for three days now. 🎺
IMDb —
1920
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