“This Means War!”: World War II and the Influence of Animation

Following on from the previous post concerning the disappearance of the animated short, it seems logical to now focus on an era in which the animated short served a particular purpose: World War II. Yes, the cartoon was responsible for creating and reinforcing the spirit of patriotism, with the likes of Disney, Warner Bros and MGM creating shorts in which propaganda and commentaries on contemporary issues were embedded. Disney also produced two ‘Good Neighbour’ features, Saludos Amigos (1943) and The Three Caballeros (1945), both of which contain sequences portraying and discovering Latin America, which served to establish and/or reinforce foreign relations.

 

Warner Bros Animation, on the other hand, was far more intense in its social and political commentary, not to mention more daring in its execution. A possible influence of their heavy inclusion of war references and overt pro-American patriotism is that, in the late 1930s, a representative of the WB German distribution office was attacked and killed by a group of Nazis. Evidently, Warner Bros had an agenda to pursue, declaring war in their own manner through the creation and distribution of film, including 1939’s Confessions of a Nazi Spy. Consequently, a great number of war-themed cartoons followed swiftly afterwards. Animation director Bob Clampett, the main director of the era, is quoted as describing Bugs Bunny, who by 1941 was only just barely established, as a “symbol of America’s resistance to Hitler and the fascist powers” (Beck, 2004: 84).

 

Indeed, this ‘symbol of resistance’ is evident in many cartoons of the war era, particularly the likes of Herr Meets Hare, a Friz Freleng cartoon from 1944 in which Bugs disguises himself as Hitler and Stalin to foil Hermann Göring. The Warner Bros shorts were fearless in this respect, often lampooning Hitler and deriving from the topicality of the period. Some of their more daring, outlandish and memorable shorts of this era include Daffy – the Commando (1943), in which Daffy Duck hits Hitler over the head with a mallet, and Russian Rhapsody (1944), in which Hitler’s plane is hijacked by the ‘Gremlins from the Kremlin’, most likely conceptually inspired by 1943’s Falling Hare, replacing Bugs Bunny with Hitler as the victim of the gremlins’ antics.

 

In addition to this array of patriotic and at times subversive attempts to raise spirits, the Warner Bros studio also proved that they had not lost their sense of humour. Certain other cartoons of the era provided escapism from the war, while others derived humour from topics such as rationing, military training camps, and drafting for military service, one of the most memorable being Draftee Daffy (1944), an energetic and bold Bob Clampett cartoon which sees Daffy Duck do all he can to evade the ‘man from the draft board’. Clampett’s edgy, aggressive style coincided with the brash and unrelentingly frenetic atmosphere of the era; cartoons were maturing, and served a much more substantial purpose than as mere, light-hearted entertainment.

 

Some cartoons were more subtle in the messages they conveyed; The Fighting 69 1/2th (1940), for example, showcases a battle between two ant colonies over a picnic, essentially representing a social commentary on the war, world conflict and its oftentimes subtle provocations. Private Snafu, a series of cartoons demonstrating what not to do in the US military, was intended for viewing only by US soldiers. Despite the individually themed episodes conveying their respective messages in a humorous way, the messages nonetheless had serious undertones. Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng and Dr Seuss himself, Theodor Geisel, worked on this series.

 

Naturally, some depictions found in these cartoons are, at times, difficult to absorb without acknowledging the context of these portrayals, and the messages they were conveying. Cartoons of this era are far from child-oriented, and as a result have since been somewhat neglected by the general public. They are, however, significant historically, not only as symbols of the spirit of patriotism, but as examples of the true power and potential of animation. Proving to maintain a tone as bold, hostile and aggressive as the era in which they were conceived and distributed, they proved, in their own way, that the American spirit was not going down without a fight.