Escamillo

Escamillo
Background information
Short films	El Terrible Toreador
Animators	Jack King
Inspiration	Escamillo from Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen"
Character information
Occupation	Toreador
Home	Spain
Likes	Adoring Carmen
Dislikes	Don José
Status	Active

Escamillo is a character featured in the 1929 Silly Symphony short El Terrible Toreador.

Background

Personality

Escamillo is a toreador who attempts to woo a barmaid named Carmen works at a Spanish cantina. In spite of his duty as a toreador, he ends up being Carmen's love interest, putting Don José as a hated rival making her love Escamillo more than José. In spite of Don José being an obstacle in sprinkling some pepper on Carmen's bouquet, Escamillo ended up impressing her more during his fight against a bull at the Plaza de Toros.

Role in the short

Escamillo arrives at the cantina approaching Carmen and her relationship with Don José, intervening, which Carmen puts José as a hated rival. Escamillo then confronts José, telling him to get away from Carmen, which he confronts him that Carmen is his love interest just before blowing froth from the beer that Carmen gave to him, much to his frustration. Escamillo and Carmen both laugh at José.

Later during a bullfighting match at the Plaza de Toros, Escamillo fights against a bull during a battle where Carmen cheers on her love interest in a seat reserved for her, much to José feeling jealous. Throughout the event, Escamillo interacts with the bull during a comic fight between them, impressing Carmen who holds a bouquet of flowers at him while Don José sprinkles some pepper on the bouquet before Carmen tosses them at Escamillo. This causes the bull to have a sneezing fit, leading to Escamillo's victory in finishing off the bull, impressing Carmen again.

Trivia

• Escamillo's name is not mentioned in the short and was only revealed in production material.
• The way Escamillo and Carmen respectively laugh at Don José who is frustrated about him is actually a snippet of "Yankee Doodle Dandy".
• Escamillo is a caricature of Walt Disney. This wouldn't be the last time this would happen, as a different matador character was caricatured that way again in Ferdinand the Bull, which came out nine years later.