Donald Duck has snuck out of his barracks at night to have some fun while he is deployed in the army. Pete, the anthropomorphic dog character who usually bullies Goofy, plays an Army sergeant in this Disney cartoon. The slogan of this cartoon was: “Are you going to spend for the Axis, or save for Taxes?” 3 The Old Army Game They go as far as saying that people who fail to pay their taxes are showing support for the Nazis. This cartoon uses fear tactics, reminding the audience that the enemy is working day and night with their own factories to create weapons that can destroy the USA. Similar to the war bond cartoons, this would have been shown during the commercials at movie theaters as a Public Service Announcement. The narrator reminds the audience that paying your income taxes means that the government can afford to support the factories manufacturing weapons, helping the war effort. Spendthrift and Scrooge fight, which sends him flying through the swinging bar doors shaped like a swastika. He leads Donald over to a club, where he tempts him with girls and gambling. Disney introduces a new duck character called The Spendthrift, who is dressed like a cross between a gangster and a pimp. At the end of the cartoon, Donald writes a letter saying that the enemy is “washed out.” He is no longer afraid and sort of shrugs, as if to say, “That was easy.” Obviously, this is a poke at the Japanese, saying that they were not a big threat to the United States, with outdated weapons and an overall culture of peace and politeness.ĭonald Duck picks up his paycheck from work and runs into Scrooge McDuck, who reminds him that he needs to save money so that he can pay his taxes on time. He finally stabs it, releasing the water down to a canyon below, where the Japanese were keeping their airplanes. Donald begins running for his life from the bouncing blob of water. So, in ridiculous cartoon fashion, it keeps growing and growing into a large blob. They finally start shooting at him, but their bullets are so tiny, Donald mistakes them for mosquito bites.ĭonald’s rubber lifeboat begins filling up, with water pouring out of a waterfall. As he is making his way to the military base, Japanese snipers spot Donald, but they are so polite that they get distracted by bowing to one another and apologizing. He is trembling from fear before he jumps. In this 1944 cartoon, Donald Duck is about to parachute into enemy territory in Japan. But the message is clear that young naive men, just like Donald, could be fooled into joining the army without knowing what they are in for. Many people have interpreted this as anti-Army propaganda. From this cartoon, we can guess that Walt Disney was opposed to the draft. This cartoon was made in 1942, when the age for the draft was lowered to 18 years old. At the end of the movie, Donald is forced to peel potatoes for the kitchen and never sees any action in the war effort. He is forced to be obedient, even in extremely uncomfortable situations like standing on fire ants. Donald is disappointed that he cannot fly in the Air Force. Donald undergoes an embarrassing physical exam by multiple doctors, who find issues with both the physical and psychological results, but they pass him through anyway. He explains his qualifications to the recruitment officer, only to be brushed off, because they will not accept just anyone. This short cartoon begins with Donald walking past US Army propaganda signs encouraging men to join the army-along with a song called “The Army’s Not the Army Anymore,” depicting life as a soldier as one of being courted by beautiful women, breakfast in bed, and guaranteed respect from the community.ĭonald rushes into the drafting office and signs up to be part of the US Air Force.
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