Panchito Pistoles is an anthropomorphic Mexican rooster that first appeared in Disney's 1945 animated feature film The Three Caballeros. He is a bombastic, trigger-happy caballero that becomes instant friends with Donald Duck and José Carioca, with whom Panchito forms the titular group.
Panchito lives in Mexico and rides on a horse called Señor Martinez.
Name[]
Panchito's full name has been given four times over the course of three different series, and a comic, and slightly different in variation each time. In the House of Mouse episode "Not So Goofy", Panchito's full name is given in the song "My Name is Panchito" as Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzalez. Later, in the Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures episode "Mickey's Perfecto Day!", Panchito's full name is the same as in House of Mouse, but with a "III" ("the third") added to the end: Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzalez III. In the Legend of the Three Caballeros premiere episode "Dope-a Cabana", Panchito introduces himself as Panchito Romero Miguel Francisco Quintero Gonzalez III, this time omitting "Junipero" while keeping "III". In the November 1943 comic, Panchito, his full name is given as José Francisco Alisandro de Lima y de la Loma (W WDC 38-03).
Panchito or Pancho, as well as Paco or Paquito, are nicknames for Francisco, which is a part of his name. The unusually large name is a loving nod to how, in many Spanish speaking countries, people use two last names (which, in some cases, are composed of two or more words) and commonly have more than one middle name. In some cases, like Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez-Rulfo Vizcaíno's or María del Rosario Mercedes Laura Jennifer Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza's, such names as these are pretty large. Quintero Gonzalez is Panchito's last names; per Spanish naming, Quintero would be his father's last name and Gonzalez his mother's.
As there is no reference to his surname "Pistoles", some people assume that it is merely a nickname. While the word "Pistoles" does not exist in Spanish, the word "Pistolas" does means "guns", specifically handguns or pistols. Presumably, the -E in "Pistoles" was a phonetic adaptation to ease pronunciation for non-Spanish-speakers in the United States. His surname "Pistoles" is based on the fact that he is armed with two handguns in some scenes of The Three Caballeros.
Personality[]
Panchito is extremely boisterous, fast-talking and fun-loving. He can be described as something of a party animal, with a love for fiestas, dancing, and women. Panchito’s kinetic energy often leads to over-the-top shenanigans for himself and his friends. Even more so than Donald or José, Panchito is highly animated and exhibits cartoonish abilities akin to magic.
Despite his loud and rambunctious demeanor, Panchito has displayed a reverence for his home country, Mexico. He is well-learned in Mexican history and tradition, including those of the religious variety. When sharing these customs with his friends, Panchito’s disposition is solemn and mild-mannered.
Physical appearance[]
Panchito is a rooster covered with auburn feathers, which are white on his hands and upper arms. He normally wears red charro pants, a short bolero jacket, spurs, and a belt with holsters, all topped off with a giant sombrero. He is the tallest of the three Caballeros and is also the most slender of the three. In more recent renditions, his holsters and guns are often absent.
Panchito is first introduced when he bursts out of Donald Duck's final birthday present. Making a dazzling entrance, he presents Donald and José Carioca with sombreros to create the Three Caballeros. After performing a musical number, Panchito explains the origins of the piñata to Donald, referencing its connection to the Mexican traditions of Christmas. He later takes Donald and José on a tour of the country using a magical flying serape, in which they partake in parties and encounter beautiful women with whom Donald attempts to court. Panchito takes the time to teach Donald and José popular Mexican dance moves and other customs. After returning from their tour, Panchito caps off the film with a mock bullfight and a fireworks finale.
Panchito appeared in the House of Mouse episode "The Three Caballeros", where he is asked to perform as part of the Three Caballeros. However, problems arise when Donald realizes that no one remembers that he is part of the group. To this end, Donald takes various measures meant to ensure that he isn't forgotten, such as changing his name and identity to The Duck Formerly Known As Donald. Finally, Mickey calls upon José and Panchito to solve the problem. The duo plays their favorite brand of tricks on Donald, and he soon comes around.
In most later episodes, Panchito can be seen in certain crowd shots with José. He later appears again in the episode "Not So Goofy" to perform another song with José and Donald, titled "My Name is Panchito", which featured the first version of his full long name.
Panchito appears alongside his fellow Caballeros in "Mickey's Perfecto Day!". The group reunites for a performance only for Donald to lose the ability to do so, leading to Daisy taking his place. He also appears in the episode "Super -Charged: Daisy's Grande Goal" alongside José.
Alongside Donald and José, he is one of the Three Caballeros, distant descendants of three knights that defeated Lord Felldrake. Panchito first meets Donald and José when the three inherit the adventurer cabana of Clinton Coot, due to their direct kinship with the original trio. Inside the Cabana, they discover a magical book that when opened releases a goddess named Xandra. The goddess explains that it was their ancestors who long ago traveled to stop the evil sorcerer Lord Felldrake from taking over the world and ultimately sealed him in a magical staff. Meanwhile, the staff containing Felldrake is discovered by his descendant Baron Von Sheldgoose, and as Sheldgoose sets out to revive Felldrake, the new Three Caballeros must learn to become heroes to save the world from disaster.
Compared to his previous appearances, Panchito is more dimwitted here, and makes fourth-wall-breaking observations like Donald's tail being frozen because he does not wear pants and the fact that they can't fly because "they're not birds". Similar to his portrayal in the original film, he is portrayed as a daredevil and enthusiastic thrill seeker. Panchito also has an alter ego named "El Gallo Loco", a famous masked wrestler. In the episode "Mexico à Go-Go", the Mexican natives revere and worship Panchito as a mighty warrior before throwing him into a ritualistic wrestling match against Sheldgoose.
Panchito, along with José, made his debut in this show's second season episode "The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!". Here, he is a member of the DuckTales incarnation of the Three Caballeros, which was a band that Donald was part of in college. Like his initial incarnation, Panchito has holsters but carries smartphones in them instead of pistols, albeit twirling them around in a similar fashion. He at first claims to be a famous superstar who is constantly getting called by his agent before revealing that he only performs at birthday parties for children. He renews his friendship with Donald and José to defeat the Drosera occidendum.
Panchito later returned in the Season 3 episode, "Louie's Eleven!", along with José. Throughout the episode, he, José, Donald, and the nephews plan to crash Glamour's party in order for them to perform in the museum. During the plan, Panchito, José, Donald, and the nephews perform a scheme. However, when Glamour is shown to have been working for Falcon Graves, Donald and Daisy arrive and stop Glamour for her true identity revealed. With the problem solved, Panchito, José, and Donald perform on stage.
Panchito appears in the episode Día de los Muertos. He invites Donald and his friends to come down to Mexico to celebrate the Day of the Dead with himself and José. Panchito introduces the group to the holiday, then helps Daisy as she struggles with the loss of her Grandduck Dolores. Panchito reveals that his own grandmother has passed away, and that she is the one who gave him his love for music. At the end of the episode, Panchito and Daisy place their grandmothers' pictures on the ofrenda.
Other appearances[]
In Minnie's Bow-Toons, Panchito made a special appearance in the episode "Fiesta Follies", where he was the host of a fiesta in Mexico, which happened to be visited by Minnie, Daisy, and Clarabelle.
In Mickey Mouse, Panchito appears alongside José and Donald in "¡Feliz Cumpleaños!", as part of the band hosting Mickey's birthday party.
In the video game Disney Speedstorm, José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles both are an Epic Crew Member exclusive to Donald Duck. When equipped, José & Panchito boosts all of Donald Duck's stats, increases the power of his Unique skill, and gives him a Bomb skill for use at the start of the race. José & Panchito can be unlocked and upgraded by collecting his shards through the game's various boxes and events.
Printed media[]
Comics[]
Panchito appeared in many comic book stories, most notably his own series of newspaper comics drawn by Paul Murry. His comic debut, as well as one of his very first printed adventures, was a self-titled 1943 story in which he met and fell for Clara Cluck. A few months earlier he appeared in a text story titled La Piñata. More recently, Panchito appeared in Don Rosa's The Three Caballeros Ride Again and The Magnificent Seven (Minus 4) Caballeros.
Panchito appears as an extremely rare meet-and-greet character in the United States, but he can be found regularly at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. In recent years, Panchito tends to appear semi-regularly throughout the year at various parks around the world, always alongside José.
Panchito also appears daily in Mickey's Soundsational Parade at Disneyland. He and José join Donald as they dance along the parade with female dancers. Panchito carries a long stick for breaking pinatas.
In World of Color: Season of Light, Panchito leads a performance of "Feliz Navidad", accompanied by Donald and José.
In the former attraction, Mickey Mouse Revue, Panchito joined Donald and José in the former animatronic show as a part of the Caballeros.
Panchito appears in Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros at Epcot, along with Donald and José. In the ride, The Three Caballeros plan to perform a concert in Mexico City. When Donald goes missing, Panchito and José go on a search for their missing friend. After a wild tour through the sites of Mexico, the Caballeros are reunited just in time for their big show.
In 2018, Panchito and José were amongst Max Goof's invited musical guests as the Three Caballeros (minus Donald) in the Disney FanDaze Inaugural Party show, Max Live!.
As mentioned above, variations of Panchito's full name from the House of Mouse song "My Name is Panchito" have carried over into both Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures and Legend of the Three Caballeros[3] over a decade later. In both cases, a "III" ("the third") is added to the end of his name. This is due to a misconception that Panchito spoke this part at the end of his name as the song's final lyric, when in actuality the final line of the song is "That's me!", sung immediately after the last time Panchito sings his full name. Because "That's me!" was commonly misheard as "The third!",[6] this misunderstanding carried over into the other two series. And more strangely, Legend of the Three Caballeros omits the "Junipero" part of his name entirely, creating three different variations of the name in total.
In "Panchito", a 1943 comic book story (see W WDC 38-03 on I.N.D.U.C.K.S.), Panchito's full name is El Gayo (or Gallo) José Francisco Alisandro de Lima y de la Loma Pancho Alegre, with "Panchito" being the diminutive of his middle name, Francisco.
Due to the sensitive nature of weapons in animation, Panchito's pistols are often omitted from his depictions in his subsequent appearances. This extends to his surname "Pistoles", which is either left out or swapped for another last name, such as "Panchito Gonzales" in Legend of the Three Caballeros.
His pistols do not at all appear in Legend of the Three Caballeros.
Although Panchito's pistols are revolvers, which typically carry only six rounds of ammunition, Panchito is typically shown to fire many shots in excitement far past the capacity of any possible revolver.
In Legends of the Three Caballeros episode “Mexico à Go-Go”, his height is revealed as 3'8.
Panchito's alter ego "El Gallo Loco" in Legend of the Three Caballeros, is actually Spanish for "The Crazy Rooster."
