Peace on Earth (1939 film)

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For other uses, see Peace on Earth.

Peace on Earth is a 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon short subject directed by Hugh Harman, about a post-apocalyptic world populated by animals.

The animated short was nominated for the 1939 Academy Award for Short Subjects (Cartoons). According to Ben Mankiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies Cartoon Alley, the cartoon was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. It was the only cartoon ever nominated for the peace prize. He also claimed that the cartoon was the first cartoon about a serious subject by a major studio.

The plot revolves around a family of animals on Christmas eve (in this case, squirrels) asking their grandfather what the "men" are in the line "Peace on Earth, good will to men." He then tells them a telescoped history of the human race, focusing on the neverending wars men waged. But ultimately, the wars do end, with the death of the last man on Earth, a soldier.

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera remade the cartoon in CinemaScope in 1955. The new version, entitled Good Will to Men, was also nominated for the Best Short Subjects Oscar.