Perhaps one of the best wartime articles on Walt Disney and his Studio's involvement in the war appeared in the August 1942 edition of Fortune. This issue contained a fantastic seven-page article titled, "Walt Disney: Great Teacher." The article explored some of the films currently in production at the Studio including: der Fuehrer's Face, Emotion vs. Reason (released under the title Reason and Emotion), Defense Against Invasion, Food Will Win the War, Chicken Little, Education For Death and El Gaucho Goofy.
The article also reprinted a rather lengthy transcript from one of the Office of the Co-ordinator of Inter-American Affairs South American films that dealt with malaria. Those in attendance at the meeting included Walt Disney, Ben Sharpsteen, Jim Algar, Webb Smith and Marc Davis. I will post a copy of this transcript at a later date.
As time permits, I will also explore each of the abovementioned films. I will scan and use the art pictured in the Fortune article to illustrate the posts.
This post begins with some of the art from der Fuehrer's Face that made it into the issue of Fortune. There were 53 drawings pinned to one storyboard pictured in the magazine. I have scanned and reproduced some of the images below. The drawings were from the opening sequence of the film.
The accompanying caption read: "DONALD DUCK IN NUTZILAND presents the irascible Donald Duck as a humble worker who lives in a house that looks like Hitler. As shown in these story sketches, he is well trained enough to salute in his sleep when a band goes by, but the old spark is still there. He smashes his heiling alarm clock, picks off his Hitler-headed cuckoo clock with a shoe. A bayonet, however, routs him for his setting-up exercises by radio. In the studio, a coughing, obese physical instructor turns purple with effort, finally collapses.
Donald gets dressed, saws off a slice of ersatz bread, sprays a little aroma of bacon and eggs around, swishes his cofee bean through a cup of hot water and is marched off to his job in a shell factory. There, he is hounded by guards, forced to salute as Hitler's picture appears after every fifth shell. The conveyor belt goes faster and faster. Finally, the duck revolts, tosses around shells that blow factory, guards and Hitler to bits - and then wakes up to find it was all a dream and he is still, quacking happily, 'in the good old U.S.A.'."
It is interesting to note the film was known by various titles, including Donald Duck in: Nutzy Land; Nutzi Land; and Nutziland, before der Fuehrer's Face was settled upon.
Enjoy this post and if you are interested in der Fuehrer's Face, be sure to read the other related posts in my blog by clicking on the label link at the end of this particular post.
The following illustration appeared in the Walt Disney Songs, From Walt Disney Pictures, song folio. The softcover book was published in 1943 by the Southern Music Publishing Company and contained musical arrangements from several war-era films including der Fuehrer's Face, The New Spirit, Victory Vehicles, Saludos Amigos and an arrangement for The Victory March, which was written to aid the U.S. Treasury Department's War Savings Campaign.
The next montage appeared in the January 1943 issue of Theatre Arts magazine.
The following illustration appeared in the November 2nd, 1942 issue of LIFE magazine. This shot shows Donald "on vacation" at the Nazi munitions factory, complete with a canvas Alpine backdrop. Donald was forced to engage in an exercise routine that contorted his body into swastika shapes.
This final piece of art appeared in an undated, unknown war-era newspaper article.
