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".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S8Zx1GfDrM
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".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l14WDZCnz-w
Lastly for today comes, Disneys most forgotten feature length animated film, "Victory Through Air Power". This is far from your average Disney movie, because it is completely World War Two Propaganda. Because of this, RKO Radio Pictures (Who was releasing Disney's films at the time) saw no profit in the movie (which there wasn't much profit for), therefore the film was released by Untied Artists. Based on the book by Alexander de Seversky (and featuring live action interludes with him) this film was an urge for America to focus more on an air force. Story goes that Winston Churchill urged Franklin D. Roosevelt to watch this film and it inspired FDR to put more thought into the air force for winning the war. Even with all the dated political propaganda in this film it features some great animation and manages to keep the film still very entertaining while delivering a serious political message. A must see for Disney, animation, and history buffs here is from 1943 "Victory Through Air Power".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7NjJ59bf0M
-Michael J. Ruhland
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