Prior to the start of World War Two, the Disney Studio had several films in production including Peter Pan and Cinderella. The Studio was coming off a highpoint in its history. The 1938 release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a box office success, and profits from the film enabled Disney to build his new studio in Burbank.

While the mood at the Disney Studio was upbeat, political relations around the world were strained. In the February 1933 issue of College Humor, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. interviewed Mickey Mouse. Answering one question Mickey replied, “Why do I follow the Hitler movement…simply because…the unrest prevailing in the world threatens my sales. Over 50% of my net income comes from so-called foreign sources. When a…bomb has been thrown into a group of Japanese Generals, I know there will be a terrific drop in the…attendance of my films.”

This was a prophetic statement for a cartoon mouse. Before the war Disney films had been distributed to 55 countries. By 1944, roughly 81% of the Studio’s box office revenue was being generated by only three countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The outbreak of war couldn’t have come at a worse time for Disney. Just as a string of new animated features were about to open in Europe, theatres closed their doors as war consumed the continent. The black side of Disney’s ledger quickly flowed red.

Everyday routine at the Studio changed the dramatically the day following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 8, 1941, Walt Disney received an urgent phone call at home. There had been an invasion of sorts at his Studio. In an interview with his daughter Diane, Walt Disney recalled:

“…I was at home and we got word that they’d bombed Pearl Harbor. Shortly after that I got a call from the Studio Manager. He said, ‘Walt, the Army is moving in on us.’ They came up and said they wanted to move in and [the Studio Manager] said, ‘I’ll have to call Walt.’ [The military officer in charge] said, ‘Call him but we’re moving in anyway.’ Five hundred troops moved in the Studio. They moved into every area. They were repairing all of the optical systems for the anti-aircraft. [The soldiers] were part of the anti-aircraft force that was stationed all around [Burbank]. I had them for eight months before they moved out.”

Military and Federal government officials soon became common sights around the Studio. Armed sentries were posted at all the entrances. Employees were fingerprinted, underwent security clearances and were given identification badges to wear. Walt Disney’s cartoon factory soon became a beehive of war-related activity.

Disney’s stable of characters was used to promote various home front activities. Mickey and the gang performed their patriotic duties by promoting blood drives, victory gardens and volunteer work. Disney's characters were also used by numerous government agencies where they promoted rationing, good nutrition, bond and salvage drives and the payment of income tax.

One of the first home front projects the Disney Studio worked on involved the Canadian government. In the spring of 1941 Walt Disney met with John Grierson, the Commissioner of the National Film Board of Canada. Grierson signed a contract for the production of four bond films and one military training film. Canada had declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939.

A letter of agreement between Disney and the Canadian government was signed on August 4, 1941. A press release from the NFB outlined Disney’s involvement in the Canadian war effort:

“…the [NFB] has secured the cooperation of the Walt Disney Studios to make films for the Government of Canada. Walt Disney has offered his cooperation and that of his Studio staff…the pictures will be short animated cartoons, done in the inimitable Walt Disney style.”

Less than one month after the letter of agreement had been signed, Disney artists had assembled proposals for all five films. In order to meet NFB deadlines and budgets, Disney artists re-used animation from previously released Disney films.

The most impressive of the Canadian bond films was titled Thrifty Pig. Animation from the Academy Award winning film The Three Little Pigs was used. The Big Bad Wolf was redrawn as a Nazi, while the pigs became loyal Canadian citizens. The other bond productions included Seven Wise Dwarfs, Donald’s Decision, and All Together. The Canadian training film was titled Stop That Tank. This film dealt with the operation of the Boys MK1 anti-tank gun and contained the Studio’s first caricature of Hitler. Disney artists further helped the Canadian government by designing a war savings stamp folder in 1941 that featured Mickey, Donald and Pluto on the cover.

After the U.S. Declaration of War, Walt Disney and his staff enthusiastically embraced dozens of American home front programs. The Studio’s biggest endorsement involved the Treasury Department. In 1941 updated revenue laws created seven million new American taxpayers. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau contacted Disney in December 1941. Fearing a mass tax revolt, the Treasury Secretary wanted Disney’s help in convincing new taxpayers it was their patriotic duty to pay.

The Treasury Department film was titled The New Spirit and was completed in less than four weeks. This turnaround from conceptual idea to finished product was an extraordinary achievement, considering most shorts took between six and eight months to produce. The film’s slogan was “Taxes to beat the Axis.” A Gallop poll estimated 37% of those who had seen the film said it had a positive affect on their willingness to pay.

Because of the success of The New Spirit, work was underway six months later for a sequel. In The Spirit of ’43 Donald’s Scottish alter ego battled with Donald over what he should do with his earnings. The Thrifty Scot wanted Donald to save his money so he could pay his taxes, while the zoot-suited Spendthrift wanted Donald to spend all of his earnings at the Idle Hour Club.

In order to pay for he war and keep a lid on inflation, President Roosevelt launched the War Bond Program. To help promote the sale of “series e” bonds, Disney allowed a certificate to be printed using 22 of his most popular characters. This certificate was used as a promotional tool in the “Bonds For Babies” campaign.

Not only were children targeted in savings campaigns, but youngsters were also pressed into service as scroungers on scrap drives. The rallying cry of groups of neighborhood kids was “salvage.” Bands of children scoured backyards gathering all types of useable salvage. Walt Disney himself became involved in a scrap drive. In August 1942 Disney sent a telegram to the War Production Board in which he wrote, “It seems to me all of us ought to look around our backyards…to find the many useless articles…which could be of such value to Uncle Sam. I have in my front yard two iron deer…I would like Uncle Sam to have this metal.”

A return telegram acknowledged Disney’s contribution. On August 11, 1942, The New York Times reported, “Walt Disney’s two iron deer are leaving his front lawn in Hollywood for the war effort. The motion picture producer offered the two deer for scrap and…the War Production Board’s Conservation Division accepted them.”

In 1942 Americans faced the inconvenience of rationing. A ration stamp booklet was published with Disney characters on the front cover. The Sunoco Petroleum Company used Mickey and Donald in a campaign that featured the slogan “reinforced for rationed driving.” Disney characters were used to illustrate a Victory Garden sign and booklet, and several posters that were produced for the Food Distribution Administration encouraging “good nutrition.”

In May 1941 a bitter strike gripped the Disney Studio. At the invitation of Nelson Rockefeller, head of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Walt Disney left the hostile situation behind and embarked on a tour of South America. Rockefeller told Disney, “Your pictures are popular down there and there’s a Nazi influence you can help offset if you’d go down and meet people.”

The C.I.A.A.’s mandate was to strengthen ties between the U.S. and Latin America. Pro-Nazi sentiments were running high in South America and part of the C.I.A.A.’s strategy was to flood the region with American entertainment and educational films. Nelson Rockefeller felt Disney could provide the product his agency was looking for. Two feature length films were produced as a result of the trip – Saludo Amigos and The Three Caballeros. As further part of their C.I.A.A. contract the Studio produced several educational and health films for the South American market.

The Studio released five anti-Nazi propaganda films in 1943. Disney’s Publicity Department referred to these films as “psychological productions” and they included Reason and Emotion, Chicken Little, Education for Death, der Fuehrer’s Face, and Victory Through Airpower.

Reason and Emotion satired Nazi regimentation, while Chicken Little was a twist on the childhood nursery tale of the same name. Education for Death was based on the 1941 book written by Gregor Ziemer and contained a humorous sequence which pictured Hitler as “Prince Charming” and a rather robust blonde-haired “Sleeping Beauty.”

One of the funniest and least serious of all the Disney propaganda films was der Fuehrer’s Face. The film was originally titled Donald Duck in Nutziland, but the song, which was released in advance of the film, was such a huge hit, that Disney changed the film’s name to that of the song. The film starred Donald Duck and won the Studio an Academy Award for Best Cartoon Short Subject in 1943.

The film’s song sold over 1.5 million records and Southern Music reported they had, “…sold 15,000 copies of the song in a space of time comparative to that in which Deep in the Heart of Texas sold when it was first published, and that song broke existing records.”

In the summer of 1942 Disney acquired the rights to Victory Through Airpower. The book, written by Major Alexander de Seversky, outlined the Russian born ex-patriot’s theory that the short, interior, Axis supply routes had an advantage over the long, exterior, Allied supply routes. Seversky advocated attacking the Axis industrial heartland with long-range, multi-gun bombers. Seversky acted as the film’s technical advisor and appeared in some of the live-action segments.

The Disney Studio produced over 75 military training films. Disney’s first military contract was with the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. On December 8, 1941, the Studio was offered a contract to produce 20 films on aircraft and warship identification. At the war’s conclusion, no fewer than 33 films had been commissioned for the Navy, making this branch of the armed forces the Studio’s largest customer.

Studio artists produced training films for all branches of the military. A wide range of topics was covered including torpedo tactics and precision bombing. As Disney artists were assigned to work on top-secret projects, security at the Studio was tightened and entry to units working on these films was severely restricted.

Disney artists designed combat insignia for all branches of the U.S. military and that of her Allies. During a five-year period, Studio artists designed an estimated eleven hundred insignia. Despite costing an average $25 each to produce, all of the artwork was donated.

The first request for a Disney-designed insignia came in 1933 when Walt received a request from a Naval Reserve squadron stationed at Floyd Bennett Field in New York. Disney gave his permission and artists created an emblem that featured Mickey Mouse astride a diving bird.

The second request came in June 1939. A Naval Reserve Aviation Cadet wrote Walt Disney requesting an insignia for the “Fighting Seven” Naval Air Squadron, based aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp. The job was assigned to artist Henry “Hank” Porter, who designed an insignia featuring an angry wasp with boxing gloves.

The next request came in March 1940. A Naval Operations Officer asked for an emblem representing the American “Mosquito Fleet” of torpedo boats. The Disney design featured a nasty looking mosquito flying with a torpedo clutched between his legs.

By the spring of 1941, the Studio began receiving requests from all branches of the military and with the U.S. Declaration of War in 1941, these requests increased dramatically. The daily arrival of requests prompted Disney to summon Hank Porter to his office in early 1942. “Mister, you have yourself a job,” Disney declared. “Just settle down to it. Make as many…as you can. If you get overloaded…let me know.” Porter assembled a group of artists whose primary job was to design and create insignia. It didn’t take long for requests to overwhelm the new department and by April 1942, Porter’s group had fallen more than 200 requests behind.

Donald Duck was the most requested character. Many units related to his combative attitude. While other familiar characters were used, most Disney insignia didn’t feature recognizable characters. In late 1941 one of the most famous insignia of all-time had its birth at the Disney Studio. Artists Hank Porter and Roy Williams created the insignia for the legendary American Volunteer Group, Chinese Air Force – more commonly known as the “Flying Tigers.”

Disney artists designed an insignia for another famous unit. In 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave Lord Louis Mountbatten, great-grandson of Queen Victoria, command of the British aircraft carrier H.M.S. Illustrious. En route to Pear Harbor Mountbatten had a stopover in California. During this layover he visited the Disney Studios where he saw Porter designing insignia. “Say,” he declared, “I like that! How about one for the Illustrious?” The resulting insignia featured Donald Duck in admiral’s uniform, astride a toy model of the distinguished carrier.

An insignia whose creation is often attributed to the Disney Studio, was in fact not designed by Disney artists. The Seabee logo represents the Navy’s Construction Battalions. According to an article on the Los Angeles Examiner, the idea for the Seabee’s bee logo came from a member of the first “C.B.” unit while he was training at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. While his Studio may not have designed the original emblem, Disney received insignia requests from Seabees at Camp Hueneme, California, and Seabee Battalions 60 and 78..

With a total cost of approximately $30 thousand, Disney’s insignia contribution was substantial. “Never mind what the job is costing us. That isn’t important, ” was Disney’s attitude. Patriotic words from a man whose Studio spent almost the entire war in debt.

World War Two had a profound effect on Walt Disney’s Studio. With few exceptions, all of Disney’s animated features produced between 1940 and 1945 performed poorly at the box office. The war had a drastic impact on the Studio’s bottom line. Despite the fact that profits from the domestic and overseas release of Snow White had filled Studio coffers, by 1942 the Studio ran a deficit as high as $1.2 million. The war in Europe effectively closed a huge market to Disney’s product and without overseas revenue, the Studio’s bottom line suffered. It took Walt Disney until 1945 to reduce the deficit to zero – that year he posted a small $50 thousand profit.

The war provided Disney with a chance to experiment, at government cost, with new ways of producing live-action and educational films. And although the profit margin on government sponsored films was small, these contracts kept the Studio in business at a time when there was the threat the Studio would have to close due to the economics of closed markets. Walt Disney said it best when he stated, “It’s hard to say good things about a war, but this is a tremendous opportunity to show what our medium can do. Not many people get a chance like this to help both their country and themselves.”

And only a few years after the war had ended, Walt Disney was already dreaming his next dream. In a hastily inscribed note in May 1948, Walt Disney made mention of plans for a “Mickey Mouse Park,” which would eventually become known as Disneyland.

If you have any questions about the Disney Studios involvement in WW II, feel free to contact me at either of the following addresses. Watch for my monthly Disney insignia column in The Military Trader newspaper.

disney_ww2@yahoo.com
David Lesjak
Box 42023 Champlain P.O.
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V5S 4R5