Cartoons Go to War #1: Disney World War 2 Propaganda

Although many Disney films from the 1940's seem to be better remembered today than many other films from that era are, there are still some Disney films that have unfortunately been forgotten today. This is a shame since many of these are quite great films in there own right. Many of these forgotten ones were propaganda films made during World War Two. Today we are going to look at some of these classic films.

First up come a short Donald Duck cartoon that still ranks among the funniest films Disney has ever made. Originally planned to be named "Donald Duck and Nutzi Land" this cartoon's name had changed to "Der Fuehrer's Face" before being Released. The title was changed so because of the hit song "Der Fuehrer's Face" by Spike Jones and His City Slickers (the song plays a huge role in the finished song. The cartoon was directed by Jack Kinney, who after becoming a Disney director in 1940 brought a new fast paced satirical sense of humor to Disney cartoons that was completely different than what came before. He redefined the humor of Donald Duck, and Goofy cartoons, and many of his short cartoons remain just as funny today, and the following is a prefect example of why. From 1942, here is "Der Fuehrer's Face".

Next up comes something much more serious and terrifying. Based off the very political book by Gregor Ziemer, "Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi" is a horrifying portrait of Germany under control by the Nazi's, that was sadly probably not to far from the truth. The writer of the book had lived in Germany from 1928 to 1939, therefore was well familiar with the horrors of Hitler and the Nazi party, and shockingly Disney did not tone it down much for it's animated adaption. Leaving this one of the most horrifying and powerful films to have ever come out of Disney. From 1943, and directed by Clyde Geromini comes the brilliant short film, Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi.

Next comes a film Disney made for Canada during the war effort. This film is called All Together. This film was released in 1942 and features all of the most popular animated Disney characters of the time, both from shorts and features. It makes use of some reused animation from previous Disney films, most obviously the Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Band Concert.

-Michael J. Ruhland