List of World War II short films

Below is an incomplete list of short films or animated cartoons that pertain to World War II, or the years leading up to it.

Contents

Restrictions

Films made before the war

1930s

Year Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
1938 USA Ferdinand the Bull Dick Rickard (uncredited) Pacifist Disney cartoon. YouTube
1939 USA Peace on Earth Hugh Harman Anti-war cartoon. YouTube

Films made during the war

Year undetermined

Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
UK Local Boy Makes Good: A Story With a Moral [1] ? Cartoon in which an RAF bomber is able to shoot down German fighters once the pilot and turret gunner put on their respirators. YouTube

1940

Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
Fascist Italy Inghilterra contro Europa Luigi Liberio Pensuti Anti-British cartoon.
 Nazi Germany Der Störenfried Hans Held Cartoon in which a fox threatens a family of hares only to be strafed in turn by wasps of the Luftwaffe. YouTube
 Nazi Germany Vom Bäumlein, das andere Blätter hat gewollt
Das güldene Bäumchen		 Heinz Tischmeyer [2] Anti-Semitic cartoon where a Jew plucks all the leaves from a golden tree, leaving it empty.[3] YouTube

1941

Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
Fascist Italy Il Dottor Churkill Luigi Liberio Pensuti Anti-British propaganda cartoon involving a Jekyll and Hyde story with Churchill as Dr. Jekyll. YouTube (beginning)
 USSR A Journal of Political Satire № 2
Журнал политсатиры № 2		 Zinaida Brumberg, Alexander Ivanov, Valentina Brumberg, Olga Khodatayeva, Ivan Ivanov-Vano Anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon, in 4 parts, exhorting Soviets to resist "Fascist pirates" (Бей фашистских пиратов).[4] YouTube
USA The Mighty Navy Dave Fleischer Cartoon featuring Popeye. YouTube
USA Rookie Revue Friz Freleng Cartoon which shows the different elements of the US Army: infantry, cavalry, armour, USAAF, artillery, and lampoons (accurately) makeshift weaponry. YouTube
Canada
USA		 7 Wise Dwarfs Dick Lyford & Ford Beebe [5] Cartoon, animated for the NFB by Disney, in which the Seven Dwarfs invest their gems in Canadian War Savings Certificates. YouTube
Canada V for Victory Norman McLaren Cartoon in support of a war bond drive. Music by John Philip Sousa.[6] NFB [7]
 USSR The Vultures
Стервятники		 Panteleimon Sazonov [8] (uncredited) Anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon where German vultures become bombers only to be shot out of the skies by Red Air Force fighters. YouTube

1942

Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
USA Air Raid Warden Alex Lovy Cartoon featuring Andy Panda.
USA Andy Panda's Victory Garden [9] aka Springtime for Andy Alex Lovy Cartoon in which Andy Panda's attempts to grow a victory garden are spoiled by a hungry rooster.[10] YouTube
USA Any Bonds Today? Bob Clampett Morale-boosting cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny performing in blackface for the war effort. The title song is by Irving Berlin. YouTube
USA Blitz Wolf Tex Avery Anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon featuring the three little pigs and the big bad wolf. YouTube
USA Blunder Below Dave Fleischer Cartoon featuring Popeye. YouTube
USA Donald Gets Drafted Jack King (uncredited) Disney cartoon in which Donald Fauntleroy Duck volunteers for the US Army. YouTube
USA The Ducktators Norman McCabe Anti-Axis propaganda cartoon which portrays Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito as barnyard fowl. YouTube
USA Eleventh Hour Dan Gordon Cartoon portraying Superman as a saboteur at the Yokohama Navy Yard in Japan. Internet Archive
Canada Empty Rooms Mean Idle Machines Philip Ragan Cartoon which encourages citizens to rent their spare room to a munitions plant labourer.[11] NFB [7]
USA Fleets of Stren'th Dave Fleischer Cartoon featuring Popeye. YouTube
Canada Hen Hop Norman McLaren Low-key cartoon in which a chicken dancing to "Turkey in the Straw" encourages Canadians to "save" for "V" (Victory). YouTube
NFB [7]
USA Japoteurs Seymour Kneitel Anti-Japanese propaganda cartoon featuring Superman and a group of Japanese spies trying to hijack a bomber. YouTube
UK Kill or Be Killed Len Lye Dramatic film of a confrontation between a Tommy and a German sniper.[12] YouTube
USA The New Spirit Walt Disney (producer) Anti-Axis Disney cartoon in which Donald Duck learns to pay his taxes and fight the Axis, using only a "tax blank", pen, ink, and a blotter.[13] YouTube
USA Scrap the Japs Seymour Kneitel Cartoon featuring Popeye. YouTube
USA Sky Trooper Jack King Disney cartoon in which Pvt. Donald Duck becomes a reluctant paratrooper. YouTube
Canada
USA		 Stop That Tank! Walt Disney (producer) Instructional cartoon, animated for the DND and NFB by Disney, showing Canadian Tommies using the Boys ATR against German armour, sending Hitler straight to Hell. YouTube (part 1)
YouTube (part 2)
Canada Unmanned Machines Mean Unarmed Men Philip Ragan Cartoon which stresses the need for defence workers to be always on the job, not idle.[14] NFB [7]
USA The Vanishing Private Jack King Disney cartoon in which Pvt. Donald Duck has trouble with camouflage paint. YouTube
USA You're a Sap, Mr. Jap Dan Gordon Cartoon featuring Popeye. YouTube

1943

Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
USA Air Raid Wardens Edward Sedgwick Laurel and Hardy film. YouTube (trailer)
USA Bury the Axis Lou Bunin YouTube
USA Canine Commandos Alex Lovy Cartoon featuring Andy Panda.
USA Chicken Little Clyde Geronimi (uncredited) Disney cartoon in which the fox employs modern propaganda techniques to seize control of the farmyard. YouTube
USA Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs Bob Clampett Patriotic cartoon featuring an all-Negro jazz retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where the dwarfs are US soldiers. YouTube
USA Confusions of a Nutzy Spy Norm McCabe Cartoon featuring policeman Porky Pig searching for a Nazi spy.
The title parodies Confessions of a Nazi Spy.		 YouTube
USA Daffy – The Commando Friz Freleng Anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon featuring Daffy Duck on a mission to Berlin against Hitler. YouTube
USA Der Fuehrer's Face Jack Kinney Anti-Axis Disney propaganda cartoon in which Donald Duck imagines life working in a German munitions plant. YouTube
USA Donald's Tire Trouble Dick Lundy Disney cartoon featuring Donald Duck. YouTube
USA Education for Death:
The Making of the Nazi		 Clyde Geronimi Anti-Nazi Disney propaganda cartoon illustrating the indoctrination of a young boy into Nazism. YouTube
USA Falling Hare Robert Clampett Cartoon in which Bugs Bunny is tormented by a gremlin. YouTube
USA The Fifth-Column Mouse Friz Freleng Cartoon in which mice resist feline threats and prepare for war. YouTube
 Nazi Germany Hochzeit im Korallenmeer Horst von Möllendorff (credited) Cartoon where the wedding of two fish can only occur once a Russian pirate octopus is defeated. YouTube
Imperial Japan Momotarō's Sea Eagles
桃太郎の海鷲		 Mitsuyo Seo Anti-Allied propaganda cartoon.
USA The Old Army Game Jack King Disney cartoon in which Pvt. Donald Duck goes AWOL. YouTube
USA Scrap Happy Daffy Frank Tashlin Cartoon where Daffy Duck's efforts to salvage scrap are spoiled by Hitler's metal-eating goat. YouTube
USA Seein' Red, White 'n' Blue Dan Gordon Cartoon featuring Popeye. YouTube
UK The Silent Village Humphrey Jennings Dramatic film in which the Nazi massacre at Lidice in Czechoslovakia is recreated in a Welsh village. YouTube
USA Spinach Fer Britain Izzy Sparber Cartoon featuring Popeye. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHo91px5YTs YouTube
USA The Spirit of '43 Jack King Disney cartoon. YouTube
USA Tokio Jokio Cpl. Norman McCabe Anti-Japanese propaganda cartoon. YouTube
USA Victory Vehicles Jack Kinney Disney cartoon where Goofy develops solutions to the home front transportation crisis.[15] YouTube
USA War Dogs William Hanna & Joseph Barbera YouTube
USA The Yankee Doodle Mouse William Hanna & Joseph Barbera Cartoon of Tom and Jerry's cellar battle where Jerry deploys a brassiere parachute when his egg carton plane is shot down. YouTube

1944

Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
UK Aventure malgache Alfred Hitchcock Anti-Vichy propaganda film (in French) about resistance to the Vichy takeover in Madagascar. Oldcinemovies
YouTube
(part 1)
USA Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips Friz Freleng Anti-Japanese propaganda cartoon in which Bugs Bunny targets Japanese soldiers with explosive ice cream. YouTube
USA Commando Duck Jack King Anti-Japanese Disney propaganda cartoon. YouTube
USA Hell-Bent for Election Charles M. Jones Cartoon, commissioned by the UAW, promoting the 1944 re-election of President Roosevelt. YouTube
USA How to Be a Sailor Jack Kinney Anti-Japanese Disney cartoon where Goofy, the torpedo, sinks IJN warships. YouTube
Canada Keep Your Mouth Shut Norman McLaren Animated film in which a death's head thanks Canadians for revealing military secrets. NFB [7]
Vichy France [16] Nimbus libéré Raymond Jeannin Pro-Nazi propaganda cartoon in which bombers flown by Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Popeye, Goofy and Felix the Cat kill Frenchmen. YouTube
USA Plane Daffy Frank Tashlin Cartoon featuring Daffy Duck. YouTube
Canada Proudest Girl in the World Julian Roffman [17] Morale-boosting film in which a chorus of CWACs sing the title song. Music by Louis Applebaum and Wayne and Shuster. NFB [7]
USA Russian Rhapsody Robert Clampett Anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon where Hitler in his bomber takes on the "Gremlins from the Kremlin". YouTube
USA Swooner Crooner Frank Tashlin Cartoon featuring Porky Pig. YouTube
USA The Weakly Reporter Charles M. Jones Warner Bros. cartoon lampooning sacrifices made on the homefront. YouTube

1945

Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
USA Herr Meets Hare Friz Freleng YouTube

Films made after the war

1940s

Year Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
1946  Czechoslovakia Pérák a SS Jiří Brdečka & Jiří Trnka

1950s

Year Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
1955 USA Good Will to Men William Hanna & Joseph Barbera Anti-war cartoon.
Remake of Peace on Earth.		 YouTube

1970s

Year Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
1970 Spain Estado de sitio Jaime Chávarri
Jaime Chávarri		 Spanish Civil War.

1980s

Year Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
1983 USA What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? Bill Meléndez Animated TV programme in which the Peanuts characters visit war memorials. YouTube
YouTube
YouTube
1985 USA An Officer and a Duck Jack King Disney compilation cartoon detailing the adventures of Pvt. Donald Duck.

1990s

Year Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
1991 USA Ein Neuer Anfang [18]
from The Rocketeer		 Mark Dindal Fake pro-Nazi propaganda film. YouTube
1994 USA Of Course, You Know This Means Warners from Animaniacs Lenord Robinson & Dave Marshall Retrospective film showing how everyone, including Hollywood stars (Warner Bros.), helped fight on the home front.
1994  Spain Alsasua 1936 Helena Taberna Spanish Civil War.
1995 USA Carrotblanca Douglas McCarthy Cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny.
The film parodies Casablanca.		 YouTube

2000s

Year Country Title Director Events depicted View
online
2003  France The Release Sebastien Laban Animated film. YouTube
2003 USA
 Japan		 Urda: The Third Reich Romanov Higa Anime in which the Nazi Party discovers a marooned spaceship capable of time travel when the war is going badly for them. YouTube (episodes 1–5)
2005  Romania
 France		 Tertium non datur Lucian Pintilie YouTube (end credits)
2005  Germany
 France		 The Colonial Friend [19]
L'ami y'a bon		 Rachid Bouchareb Animated film. YouTube
2007 USA End of a Rope Daniel Lahr YouTube
2008 UK Red Letter Edilberto Restino YouTube (trailer)
2008 USA The Bridge Sheldon Schwartz Film where a Japanese-American soldier in Italy embarks on a dangerous mission. YouTube
2009  Spain Campás Jairo Iglesias Spanish Civil War. YouTube (trailer)
2010 USA The Bridge Marlon Torres Film in which a deceased US Army medic meets soldiers from his past. Vimeo
(trailer)

See also

References

Unless otherwise stated, the source for film information is the IMDb.

  1. ^ This film is currently (as of March 2010) not listed at the IMDb.
  2. ^ The IMDb currently (as of November 2010) credits Tischmeyer only as the animator.
  3. ^ The narrator makes a point of mentioning that fact.
  4. ^ Source: Russian Animation in Letters and Figures in (Russian) and (English). This film is currently (as of March 2010) not listed at the IMDb.
  5. ^ Source: Wikipedia article on the film. Neither the IMDb nor the BCDB lists a director for this film.
    Lyford, presumably, is the Oscar-winning documentarian, Richard Lyford. Beebe was working at Disney at this time.
  6. ^ Source: National Film Board of Canada catalogue page. The IMDb does not provide a plot summary for this film.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Available for public viewing at the NFB offices in Montreal and Toronto.
  8. ^ Source: Russian Animation in Letters and Figures in (Russian) and (English).
  9. ^ Source: The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.
    The film's release date was 7 September 1942.
    The IMDb incorrectly gives the release data as 7 September 1943 (as of March 2010).
  10. ^ Source: BCDB. The IMDb does not provide a plot summary for this film.
  11. ^ Source: National Film Board of Canada catalogue page. This film is currently (as of March 2010) not listed at the IMDb.
  12. ^ "Kill or Be Killed [...] was considered by some critics to be one of the best of all wartime films. It was a fictional enactment of the deadly contest between a British soldier and a German sniper hiding in a tree."
    Horrocks, Roger. Len Lye: a biography, pp. 198–199.
  13. ^ Donald Duck's income tax for the calendar year 1941, on a gross income of $2501.00, is $13.00, which he remits by cheque.
  14. ^ Source: National Film Board of Canada catalogue page. This film is currently (as of March 2010) not listed at the IMDb.
  15. ^ Goofy appears in many guises, including air raid warden. He even wears a zoot suit.
  16. ^ Vichy France, or Occupied France.
  17. ^ Source: National Film Board of Canada catalogue page. The IMDb does not list a director for this film.
  18. ^ In German, ein neuer Anfang means "a new beginning".
  19. ^ This film is included as a bonus on the DVD of the director's feature film Days of Glory.

External links