Warner & Disney Wartime Animated Cartoons

[Roger_Thornhill]

I'm getting ready to start a research paper on the wartime cartoons of Warners and Disney and, thanks to youtube, many of these are now widely available to see. Oddly enough considering how popular characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck I've had a hard time finding anything scholarly written on these oftentimes racist cartoons. Warners released a VHS tape in 1989 with Bugs & Daffy wartime cartoons but have unfortunately not put these shorts on DVD. Anyone know of any good books, docs, or a way of seeing these shorts in a higher quality than youtube?

I found this book over at amazon. Looks like it's worth checking out.

[portnoy]

yeah, bootlegs

[shakes428isdead]

Walt Disney released in May 2004 a selection of its wartime cartoons titled On the Front Lines. As part of its "Treasures" series, Disney released a limited number of this title for a short time --as Disney is wont to do with its DVD lines-- and it is now out of print. While it is possible you may uncover a stray copy collecting dust at Barnes and Noble or one tucked aside behind glass in a Borders, your chances are not favorable. Perhaps an art house video store or your friendly local library will carry the title. As an employee at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, I know ours carries On the Front Lines among many other entries in this out of print series.

I was fortunate enough to snatch a copy of this two-disc collection before Disney furtively plucked from the shelves the remaining few. The set abounds with wartime shorts (albeit ones selected for inclusion by the company itself) which are divided into three basic categories: propaganda and entertainment, educational shorts, and those pieces made primarily to instruct soldiers in hygiene and technique. The first two categories will no doubt serve as your main trove of wartime documents in the collection.

A handful of shorts follow an uncertain Donald Duck as he decides whether to buy war bonds or inebriation. Others comically spotlight the draft process and the routinization of life in the army. The highlight in the collection is Der Fuehrer's Face. In this short, Donald dreams of life in Hitler's Germany, or "Nutziland" as the cartoon presents it; every day is a copy of the one before it and smacks of both toil and unflagging support for the Fuehrer. Apparently, Donald dreams in harmony, as the majority of his nightmare is set to the Spike Jones song of the same name, and we hear Donald shout "Heil Hitler!" no less than two dozen times. The cartoon climaxes in a flurry of surreal imagery and loud chimes before ending with an awakened and relieved Donald swathed in his pajamas and sheets of red, white, and blue.

The collection boasts other, darker shorts (such as the parable of Education for Death) and cheerful introductions by Leonard Maltin, always a little too quick to point out that Disney's racist caricaturing in some of the cartoons was a necessary tool.

I wish you good researching! I'm sure your paper will reflect the interest you have in the subject.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

I love the "On The Front Lines" DVD. I was obssesed with it for a about a month or two, playing it everyday.

Well, what about cartoons not prticularly war themed, but with bits and pieces of it. The banned Coal Black and de Seben Dwafs (that's how it's spelled), has an ending completly WW2 focused, and if the black sterotypes aren't enough, they have one "Jap" gag. Personally, it's one of my favorite cartoons. Hell, there's a Citizen Kane refrence, and that's enough for me.

An other WW2 cartoon that takes place on the home side is Daffy DUck vs. the Egghead. I think that's what it's called, where a little man from the drafting board visits Daffy, and keeps trying to enlist him, while Daffy runs around the place like a lunatic.

Both are by Bob Clampett, who was, with out a doubt, the most nuts out of all the 40's Looney Tunes. Good stuff.

[Dr Amicus]

It's not a short (although I remember parts have been excerpted and used on their own) but Disney's Victory Through Airpower might well prove interesting, being partly animated and part live-action. It's some years since I saw it, but I seem to remember some of the animation sequences are superb.

And it starts with Goofy starring in a history of flight...

Update!!: Just seen that this is part of the above mentioned wartime set. Hmmm... tempting....

[Kinsayder]

Disney Treasures - On the Front Lines is easy enough to pick up on Amazon Marketplace.

The Warner France Tex Avery box includes cartoons like Blitz Wolf that deal specifically with the war, and many others that make direct or passing references. Some of these have been censored for perceived racist content.

There's also this collection:

[Matt]

Also essential is the Private Snafu collection of cartoons made by Warner Bros. animators for the Army.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Also essential is the Private Snafu collection of cartoons made by Warner Bros. animators for the Army.

There's Private Snafu, which is great, and brilliantly written by Dr. Suess, and then there's one more, and I can't remember the name. It was like Snafu but instead of a dumb grunt, it was a dumb sailor this time, and that one was written by the guy who would go on to create Dennis the Menace.

[Quot]

Also essential is the Private Snafu collection of cartoons made by Warner Bros. animators for the Army.

There's Private Snafu, which is great, and brilliantly written by Dr. Suess, and then there's one more, and I can't remember the name. It was like Snafu but instead of a dumb grunt, it was a dumb sailor this time, and that one was written by the guy who would go on to create Dennis the Menace.

That was Half Hitch, whom I had completely forgotten about until you referenced Ketcham. Not aware of any animated versions of this character, tho.

[portnoy]

Also essential is the Private Snafu collection of cartoons made by Warner Bros. animators for the Army.

There's Private Snafu, which is great, and brilliantly written by Dr. Suess, and then there's one more, and I can't remember the name. It was like Snafu but instead of a dumb grunt, it was a dumb sailor this time, and that one was written by the guy who would go on to create Dennis the Menace.

That was Half Hitch, whom I had completely forgotten about until you referenced Ketcham. Not aware of any animated versions of this character, tho.

Actually, the character he's refering to is Mr. Hook. Ketchum wrote all four Mr. Hook cartoons, three of which were produced by Warners (one was directed by Bob McKimson) and one by Walter Lantz.

[Quot]

Actually, the character he's refering to is Mr. Hook. Ketchum wrote all four Mr. Hook cartoons, three of which were produced by Warners (one was directed by Bob McKimson) and one by Walter Lantz.

Thanks for the info. I knew that Ketcham worked with Lantz and the Warners studio, but wasn't aware of the Mr. Hook cartoons. I see a couple are posted on YouTube (including "Take Heed Mr. Tojo"), but does anyone know if these are a part of any DVD compilations?

And of course, there Mr. Hook is, featured bottom-right on the Cartoons for Victory cover.