A Boy of Mexico: Juan and His Donkey (Rifftrax Shorts)

Rifftrax Year:  2011
Riffers:  Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett

"Come son, stereotypes need reinforcing."

Let's teach children about Mexico.  What does everybody have in Mexico?  Why donkeys, of course!

But A Boy of Mexico:  Juan and His Donkey doesn't have a whole lot of Juan's donkey in it.  This is the story of Juan, a boy who is traveling with his father and donkey to gather wood when they discover a man by the side of the road who has ran out of gas.  Deciding it's best to send a child off on his own to save the day, Juan's father sends him to fetch gas in the nearest down.  Juan's learns to keep his mind on the task at hand and helping others is a good thing that results in money.

There are a few points of stereotype in A Boy of Mexico, though I don't think they overwhelm the short itself.  It feels like the production was done in an attempt to create a link between our culture and Mexico's, showing children that Mexican children aren't so different.  At the same time it provides a moral lesson about compassion and helping others.  There is also a lesson of spending money the moment you earn it.

I'd say the short is harmless, but Mike, Kevin, and Bill set out to lampoon it anyway.  And I'm quite thankful that they did, because their commentary is quite hilarious.  Targets include predictable bits of stereotype, while they add stereotypes of their own, up to and including implying that the broken down man is a member of the drug cartel.  I quite like the riffs on Juan here, which portray him as somewhat clueless with a knack for just wandering around.  Paired with a short about a focused task, these riffs are gold.

The short isn't quite as offensive as it sounds, it's cute and simple.  Rifftrax spices it up into a must-see.  Pick this one up.  It's quite funny.

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