Disney by the Decade: World War II and the Propaganda Era
As the 1940s started, The Walt Disney Company stood as the unquestioned master in the field of animation.
The Disney brothers, Roy and Walt, had conquered Hollywood and created some of the most timeless characters in entertainment pop culture.
Disney started the decade optimistic and riding a freight train of momentum.
Alas, something had happened overseas that cast a pall over all Walt Disney’s plans and dreams.
A World War had already started in Europe, one the United States would enter on December 7th, 1941.
This shocking event in history fundamentally altered Disney’s short-term plans and long-term philosophies.
Let’s examine The Walt Disney Company’s actions during the turbulent 1940s, a time when the entire world was at war.
Disney’s 1940s achievements
Let’s start with a list of the movies Disney created during the 1940s:
- Pinocchio
- Fantasia
- The Reluctant Dragon
- Dumbo
- Bambi
- Saludos Amigos
- The Three Caballeros
- Make Mine Music
- Song of the South
- Fun and Fancy Free
- Melody Time
- So Dear to My Heart
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
That’s a staggering list of cinematic triumphs right there. I would argue that at least four of them have stood the test of time as classics.
Only one, Song of the South, has proven regrettable. Meanwhile, others like Mr. Toad and Saludos Amigos/The Three Caballeros have inspired beloved Disney attractions.
During this decade, Disney also claimed a staggering eight Academy Awards, plus an honorary one and another special award for So Dear to My Heart.
In short, we can describe the 1940s as a glorious era for Disney, which is all the more remarkable given everything happening behind the scenes.
One of Disney’s Oscar winners indicates the reason for it. In 1943, the studio won a trophy for a Donald Duck animated cartoon named…Der Fuerher’s Face.
This anti-Nazi war propaganda film signaled Disney’s final Academy Awards victory for five years. The studio wouldn’t win again until Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah in 1948.
In the interim, Walt Disney and his trusted friends proved remarkably effective in aiding the war effort overseas.
Yes, that statement sounds insane for a studio best known for animated films, but it’s true.
The fiercely patriotic Disney brothers both served overseas, although Walt wasn’t old enough to join the Navy like Roy.
Instead, the younger Disney drove ambulances for the Red Cross during World War I.
Once both men recognized that a second global conflict was inevitable, they used their manufacturing system to support the Allied war effort.
Disney in a Time of War
One defining moment caused the Disneys to get involved. It was the surprise assault on Pearl Harbor.
In the aftermath of this attack, the United States government requisitioned much of Disney’s studio as a military base for anti-aircraft troops.
Walt Disney had no idea, as he was preoccupied at the time. When he returned, he famously asked, “What war?”
Once Walt learned what had transpired, he dedicated his company’s resources to the war effort…and at minimal financial gain.
For his part, Disney had only recently engaged in an odd, combative conflict with members of his own animation team.
A sort of class warfare had broken out at Disney, a place where some of the animators couldn’t afford to eat at the company cafeteria.
Walt had told his unhappy workers, “Put your own house in order.” He later added, “If you’re not progressing as you should, instead of grumbling and growling, do something about it.”
Around this time, some Disney employees voted to unionize. The company also performed layoffs due to the company reportedly hovering close to bankruptcy.
So, Walt faced internal struggles at roughly the same juncture that world war broke out.
Strangely, the international crisis brought together Disney’s staff as they overlooked personal issues to rally the troops and boost morale.
Walt and Roy asked their workers to create propaganda films that would lift the spirits of Disney fans serving abroad.
Disney licensed many of its characters for anything that could raise money for the federal government.
You can still find Disney World War II propaganda collectibles on the market today. These items run the gamut from stamps to magazines to comic books.
If you could slap a picture of Mickey Mouse on it, the government and Disney sold it to fund the war effort.
The Business of War
Here’s a remarkable statistic about Disney during World War II.
The company dedicated “over 90% of (its) wartime output to producing training, propaganda, entertainment, and public-service films, while also designing an extensive collection of insignia and print media.”
Realistically, Disney didn’t have much choice. People weren’t going to watch standard movies with the fate of the free world hovering in the balance.
So, Disney committed its most popular character in entertainment at the time, Donald Duck, to the cause of winning the war.
Your favorite duck is actually the protagonist in Der Fuerher’s Face, wherein he has a nightmare that he works in the German military.
The United States government contracted Disney to create 20 propaganda animated shorts for $90,000. That’s the equivalent of a modest $2 million today.
From Disney’s perspective, $4,500 per short signaled a higher profit margin than many of its animated clips had managed.
The company found a way to balance doing what was right with doing what was (modestly) profitable.
What nobody could have expected was how much Donald Duck resonated with the troops. His cantankerous brand of humor meshed perfectly with the mood at the time.
Titles like Donald Gets Drafted and Fall Out — Fall In demonstrated that even a cartoon duck could help the Allies win.
And if Donald Duck could do it, so could any other potential volunteer!
Perhaps the most impactful short was The New Spirit, wherein Donald persuaded Americans to pay their taxes.
This production demonstrated how the taxes of citizens directly aided America’s efforts against the Axis powers.
These videos proved so invaluable to the war effort that Disney started producing military insignias for the troops.
Soldiers wanted Donald on their side when they went into battle.
The War Effort Saves Disney
Disney faced an odd plight as it entered World War II. Its feature films and animated shorts had earned acclaim and awards.
However, Walt Disney had overspent dramatically on Fantasia’s budget. The film cost approximately four times what the entrepreneur had projected.
That’s why Disney could have faced bankruptcy if not for the war. Notably, Uncle Sam became Disney’s best customer and thereby secured the business.
Throughout the war, Disney could sell and produce all the animated shorts and merchandise it could produce. It manufactured such items for just one client: the government.
The United States military happily purchased anything Disney could produce.
To wit, the Navy requested 90,000 feet of film at the start. Until then, Disney was creating about 27,000 feet of film per year!
Ultimately, Disney produced 300,000 feet of film in a calendar year, a factor of ten higher than before the war.
By vastly increasing its output with a customer who always paid, Disney gained a rare bit of fiscal certainty in Hollywood.
This aspect allowed Disney to right the ship from a financial perspective.
The Propaganda Era Leads to the Theme Park Era
While Disney’s outlook signifies only a fractional part of the Allied victory in World War II, it came with hidden benefits for our favorite company.
Everyone in the United States loved Disney, which had worked as a friendly, comforting voice during the war.
The company’s reputation shined brighter than ever. Also, the popularity of these clips abroad expanded Disney’s audience.
During the second half of the 1940s, movie-goers recommitted to Disney.
Just as importantly, an entire generation of fans viewed Walt’s company as heroic and an aspirational business.
This aspect would pay enormous dividends a few years later when Walt Disney purchased 160 acres of orange groves.
We’ll discuss the creation of the Happiest Place on Earth in the next Disney by the Decade.
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Feature Photo: Disney