WW2 Cartoons

I'm a fan of Hollywood's Golden Age which includes movies of course but I also love the cartoons of the period especially World War 2 themed ones. Film studios were at the peak of their power in the 1940's and I think it shows through in the quality of their work. Here's a few of my favorites.



Walt Disney made a lot of cartoons supporting the war effort. "Der Fuehrer's Face" and "Education For Death" are famous examples but I also like "The Spirit Of '43" starring Donald Duck which subtly reminds Americans to pay their income tax.



"Draftee Daffy" may be my all-time favorite Warner Bros cartoon. Besides the manic off-the-charts energy, it also shows Daffy's transformation from lovable psychotic to the cravenly coward he'd become in later Bugs Bunny shorts.



What's funnier than Hitler as a duck? How about Mussolini as a goose? Yeah, ducks were the default animated characters in that era. Back then nobody had the idea yet to create an animated character out of a sponge or a wad of hamburger meat.

The Axis powers had their own propaganda cartoons too. They didn't exactly have that Hollywood polish but the message comes through. Actually, I'm not sure if the message came through either. Watch these and decide for yourself.



This first one was made by the Nazi-supporting Vichy government of France. Mickey Mouse, Popeye and other American cartoon stars bomb the hell out of French civilians.



And this cartoon from Japan is a complete mystery. Who are the rats and snakes supposed to represent? Chinese? Americans? Imperialists in general? Your guess is as good as mine.