is well worth renting from your public library (where, with its general lack of kid appeal, it's less likely to be scratched than other Disney discs). Even though there are only two shorts I'd label truly good (and another seven I'd label fair), the collection is definitely greater than the sum of its parts for the way it captures Disney's relation to the war effort and also, by extension, paints an image of the home front through the media the public was consuming at the time.
| | Donald Gets Drafted Jack King, 1942
Not the propaganda film I assumed it to be. Instead it contrasts the exaggerated promises of recruitment posters with the dehumanization (deduckification?) of army intake and the menace of boot camp. Interesting, but not all that funny or entertaining, save for a couple quick bits.
Grade: C
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| | The Army Mascot Clyde Geronimi, 1942
Although it's fascinating from a modern perspective to see Pluto try chewing tobacco, his brief feud with an army mascot goat doesn't have much else to offer. In contrast to Donald Gets Drafted, The Army Mascot implicitly paints a rosier portrait of Army life, with the mascots being well taken care of (steak dinners for the dogs).
Grade: C
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| | The Vanishing Private Jack King, 1942
Donald's application of invisible paint to a cannon is extremely satisfying visually, but when he himself falls into the paint the short becomes a rote cat-and-mouse game with Sergeant Pete, highlighted only by a Colonel's not understanding the context of Pete's throwing rose petals and singing, "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush." I preferred seeing Donald as a meek and subservient private early on; his turning insubordinate felt arbitrary and didn't fully mesh with the setup.
Grade: C
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| | Sky Trooper Jack King, 1942
Donald's personality shines through more enjoyably here. I still don't really like Pete as an antagonist for him, though. The comic setups in Sky Trooper are generally good but lack the equivalent gags to pay them off. Nonetheless, Donald Duck is a prince.
Grade: C+
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| | Private Pluto Clyde Geronimi, 1943
Some good, clever visual gags: Pluto's twisting himself into a pretzel; the cannon acting as a snout; the chipmunks filling Pluto's shadow with acorns as he falls to the ground to crack them. The squeak of the chipmunks' conversation is also enjoyable — and yet, despite all that, I wasn't fully won over until the end.
Grade: B-
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| | Fall Out, Fall In Jack King, 1943
Not much of interest here. Except for a couple gags early on —like the heat of Donald's body drying up a large puddle he trudges through it — this is a pretty lackadaisical effort.
Grade: C
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| | Victory Vehicles Jack Kinney, 1943
I'm not much of a fan of these Goofy gag reel shorts that consist largely of quick variations on the same theme — in this case, inventions to replace the automobile.
Grade: C-
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| | The Old Army Game Jack King, 1943
Whoa, this is some dark shit, totally insensitive to war casualties, amputees, and veterans struggling with PTSD and suicidal thoughts. Not really funny at all but super frickin' fascinating. The centerpiece gag compares unfavorably to Bugs' version.
Grade: C+
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| | Home Defense Jack King, 1943
Nice to see the nephews but otherwise I was pretty damn bored.
Grade: C-
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| | How to Be a Sailor Jack Kinney, 1944
Another Goofy short that failed to engage me at all. This format really just tests my attention span and inevitably ends up boring me.
Grade: C-
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| | Commando Duck Jack King, 1944
Commando Duck is the first short in this collection marred by anti-Japanese ugliness. Luckily, it comprises just a couple of moments, leaving the main focus on Donald and his solo ops mission in enemy territory. Works more as a playful and exciting adventure than as a comedy, but generally entertaining and fun either way; plus, it's just something of a relief to see a half-decent Donald Duck short after a series of underwhelming ones.
Grade: B-
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| | The Thrifty Pig Ford Beebe, 1941
I actually kind of like this repurposing of the Three Little Pigs as wartime propaganda. What it does, it does well. Invest in victory!
Grade: B-
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| | 7 Wise Dwarfs Richard Lyford, 1941
My excitement to see new Dwarfs animation quickly diminished as I realized this film wasn't going to do anything interesting with them other than show them buying war bonds with their diamonds from the mine. Extremely rote.
Grade: C
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| | Food Will Win the War Hamilton Luske, 1942
Neither entertaining nor interesting, especially the with repetitive attempts to make relatable the magnitude of American farming by saying, "Our farmers produce so much _______ that it could cover _________." It's no Powers of Ten.
Grade: C-
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| | Out of the Frying Pan into the Firing Line Ben Sharpsteen, 1942
Shockingly charming for a PSA (about saving kitchen grease so it could be turned into glycerin for the war). The cut to the picture of soldier Mickey on the kitchen wall and Pluto's reaction thereto is effective as heck.
Grade: B-
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| | Donald's Decision Larry Sharpsteen, 1942
Less effective propaganda. The angel and devil inside Donald Duck aren't as engaging as Donald himself, so the message was lost on me as I focused more on the voice casting choices and the "action." Pretty bland, except for the subliminal swastikas.
Grade: C
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| | All Together Jack King, 1942
Fascinating to see a parade (in support of war bonds) of all the major Disney characters and realize just how small their number still was in 1942. It's really just the main five characters (with their families) plus Pinocchio and Dumbo. Kind of crazy.
Grade: C
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| | The New Spirit Wilfred Jackson & Ben Sharpsteen, 1942
Wow, Disney really went all out for this propaganda film: good writing, animation, a little song at the beginning, and a convincing message. I'm extremely happy to have seen this; it should be shown on all the tv networks simultaneously just before every Tax Day.
Grade: B
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| | The Spirit of '43 Jack King, 1943
This follow-up to The New Spirit (for the subsequent year) reuses the original film's second half. The first half is similar to Donald's Decision, but with a much more interesting angel (a responsibly thrifty Scrooge McDuck type) and devil (a degenerate, playboy version of Donald Duck). Not bad, really, but overshadowed by its predecessor.
Grade: C+
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| | The Winged Scourge Bill Justice & Bill Roberts, 1943
"That a boy, Dopey! Kill her good and dead!" There's a line I never expected to hear in a Disney film. The 'her' in question here is the mosquito that transmits malaria. This informative animated documentary has a few nice backgrounds but really isn't all that entertaining, even when the Dwarfs show up.
Grade: C+
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| | Defense Against Invasion Jack King, 1943
"V for Vaccination. And Victory." Interesting conceit to explore vaccination in completely militaristic terms. The attack by disease on the unvaccinated body, as animated here in seemingly innocent fashion, is a legitimately scary moment of horror. I was glad to see diversity in the live-action cast of kids, though when the narrator referred to the fat kid as Tubby, I cringed in terror at the prospect of what he might call the black kid (a false alarm). Despite some cool and interesting moments, it's ultimately a bit too simplistic (or something; I can't read my notes).
Grade: C+
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| | The Grain That Built a Hemisphere Bill Justice & Bill Roberts, 1943
This ode to corn is ... weird. And overly long. I'm not even sure what the underlying message is supposed to be, but it makes corn sound like vibranium.
Grade: C
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| | Health for the Americas: Cleanliness Brings Health James Algar, 1945
Fun to see a Disney short dance delicately around the theme of "Don't shit in your corn field." Apparently not all manure is created equally.
Grade: C-
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| | Health for the Americas: The Unseen Enemy Unknown, 1945
You've got to explain things to Central and South American audiences like they're kindergarteners, I guess, if this annoying pedantic film is the gauge.
Grade: C-
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| | Health for the Americas: Planning for Good Eating Unknown, 1946
A more palatable (pun!) entry in the Health for the Americas series, despite its repetitiveness.
Grade: C
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| | Der Fuehrer's Face Jack Kinney, 1942
I love the concept of Donald Duck in Nutzi Land more than the execution, which wasn't as amusing as it sounds on paper. The use of the Statue of Liberty at the end is great, however.
Grade: C+
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| | Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi Clyde Geronimi, 1943
An interesting and grim short, with some nice animation. Again, not as incisive or powerful as I would have thought, with the exception of two moments that really get it right: the scene of Hans' hating the rabbit for being weak; and the last shot. It made me super sad realizing how relevant the film still seems today.
Grade: B-
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| | Reason and Emotion Bill Roberts, 1943
Another annoyingly timely film. The political thematics here are better than the execution, which isn't quite as sharp as it should be. The Inside Out concept is cool, though. I especially enjoyed the throwaway dismissals of Hitler offered by Reason inside the German male.
Grade: B-
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| | Chicken Little Clyde Geronimi, 1943
Good stuff. I love the distillation of the political manipulation of the masses punctuated by a dark ending that catches even the narrator off-guard.
Grade: B
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| | Four Methods of Flush Riveting James Algar, 1942
An industrial instructional film that almost completely devoid of personality — and yet I found it more engaging than those How To Goofy shorts.
Grade: C
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| | Stop That Tank! Ub Iwerks, 1942
Another instructional short, but one that's pretty great for what it is. It's informative, generally well-paced, and makes good use of animation to illustrate technical details that couldn't be captured otherwise. Pretty impressive.
Grade: B-
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, which I'll attempt to review separately.