During World War II, all hands were on deck, even in Hollywood. Many of America and Britain’s finest filmmakers, from Hitchcock to Frank Capra, were recruited to create propaganda films to support the war effort. And the same went for Walt Disney, who turned his lovable cartoon characters into good patriots.
In 1942, Disney released “Der Fuehrer’s Face,” an anti-Nazi propaganda movie that bolstered support for the war, and eventually won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Then, a year later, came The Spirit of ’43, which features Donald Duck helping Americans to understand why they need to pay their taxes. Other wartime Disney shorts include Donald Gets Drafted (1942), The Old Army Game (1943), and Commando Duck (1944).
Note: Der Fuehrer’s Face and The Spirit of ’43 appear in the Animation section of our collection of Free Movies Online.
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Hard to believe that there is no mention that the Führer’s Face is by Spike Jones and was the hit that propelled his City Slickers into public consciousness.
As a side note, the Disney animators erred when they showed the German flautist with his left hand on the far side instead of the inside. The flute is always played with the right hand on the outside, there is no such thing as a left handed flautist.
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