Walt Disney's World War II propaganda production
[6] With the extreme loss in profits and revenue, Walt Disney Studios, unable to keep its large number of employees on the payroll, laid off many of its animators.
[11] The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs also requested educational films for aviation branches of the navy and not compact tactics to ground crew aircraft maintenance.
[15] Disney created The New Spirit (1942) after a request from the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau Jr., to make Americans accept the payment of income taxes.
[17] Aerology film production was supervised by naval aviation experts and some members of Disney's team learned how to fly to better understand the problems the Army Air Forces encountered.
The animated film humorously tells about the development of air warfare and then switches to the Major illustrating how his ideas could win the war for the Allies.
A few of the films he produced were Reason and Emotion (1943), Der Fuehrer's Face (1943), Education for Death - The Making of a Nazi (1943), Commando Duck (1944), and Donald Gets Drafted (1942).
The film gave the American public a look into the life of a US soldier, showing Donald getting a medical examination and speaking with his army sergeant (played by Pete).
He wakes up realizing that the experience was a nightmare, embraces a model of the Statue of Liberty and exclaims "Am I glad to be a citizen of the United States of America!"
As the film progresses and Hans is exposed to Hitler youth and the Nazi culture, his ability to value human life decreases.
They reimagined the Big Bad Wolf to represent Nazi Germany, and they redesigned the strongest house material into war bonds.
This reconfiguring of the characters paints a very clear picture to impressionable audiences by grouping the Nazis and Germany with the word "Bad" and a villain in the classic story.
In addition to producing films at the request of the government and military forces, Disney utilized other forms of media and arts to boost morale on the home front.
For the very first time, the settings of these movies moved from the United States to Southern nations, featuring Donald Duck traveling to places such as Mexico and Brazil.
Both of these films chose to highlight Latin American culture in a way that had not been seen before by viewers in the U.S., showcasing vibrant local traditions, music, and landscapes.
[22] With the mounting threats of Communism, the Roosevelt administration saw this policy as an effective way of formulating bonds that would help bring in and maintain these nations within its sphere of influence.
As a result, both films played a crucial role in introducing and celebrating Latin American cultures in a fun and innovative way, fostering a sense of camaraderie and respect between audiences in the U.S. and their neighbors to the south.
