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Background Image Credit: D23This year, The Walt Disney Company is celebrating 100 Years of Wonder, a centennial celebration marking 100 years of the House of Mouse. As Walter Elias Disney himself once said, “It was all started with a Mouse,” and fans all over the world continue to celebrate the face of the company and the many more characters that followed by watching movies, visiting theme parks, and buying merchandise.
Yes, Disney characters have a storied history at the company, even becoming mascots for the war effort.
Disney and Politics
Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger recently said that Disney was going to shift focus away from its current culture war. Over the last year, The Walt Disney Company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have been at blows over the installation of a controversial bill in 2022.
House Bill (HB) 1557, the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act (what became colloquially known as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill), dominated United States politics when it was introduced last February. Banning discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity from the classrooms in Florida schools sparked national outrage, including on the homefront in the Sunshine State. HB 1557 passed the Florida House of Representatives in February and the Florida Senate in March, eventually being signed into law by Gov. DeSantis on March 28.
Related: DeSantis Continues Disney Attack After Bob Iger Backs Down
The bill came into effect in July and received backlash from members of the LGBTQIAP+ community, their Allies, and numerous businesses and politicians. After staying silent and aiming to work on opposing the bill behind the scenes, The Walt Disney Company’s then CEO Bob Chapek condemned the act, launching a cultural war right there in Florida.
Over the many months that followed, Florida legislature and Disney partook in court action, with DeSantis eventually taking control of Disney’s special governing district at the Walt Disney World Resort, the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
In short, the Reedy Creek Improvement District allowed Disney to function as its own governing body, similar to a county government and has stood since 1967. Disney’s opposition to DeSantis’ politics saw the Florida leader retaliate by stripping Disney’s authority over Reedy Creek, renaming it the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and installing his own team of conservative board members. In the 11th hour, Disney fired back at the Governor’s actions, citing a King Charles III clause, which essentially removed powers from DeSantis’ new board.
After his immense rise to political stardom, DeSantis — who was once the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential race, has fallen dramatically behind his competitor, the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump.
And while many Disney fans decry any involvement of Disney in politics, whether that’s in real life or in its media, the House of Mouse actually has a storied history in politics and the ever-changing landscape of the world. Perhaps its most direct involvement in politics was its place in World War II.
Propaganda: Disney and World War II
Said to have begun when leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland, the Second World War started in 1939 and lasted through 1945. Many countries were involved in World War II, including the Allied Forces of Soviet Russia, the Republic of China, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom, which fought against the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, and the Kingdom of Italy.
The history and happenings of World War II are taught in schools across the world, and while many may know the main elements of the war and how it came to be, did you know that The Walt Disney Company played a huge part in the war effort?
As Marianne Plasse tells us in The Collector, the day following the attack of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Walt Disney would be commissioned by Lieutenant Cottle of the United States Navy Bureau of Supply and Accounts to create twenty short animated films for the war. But it wouldn’t just be animated films that Disney would create.
“During the War, Donald Duck appeared on over [216] logos for soldier patches and was a fan favorite throughout these uncertain years. Aircraft nose art and pins were, among other memorabilia, also dedicated to this cartoon character,” says Plasse. “Donald Duck’s wartime efforts were also represented on the silver screen in the few following classic animated shorts: Der Fuehrer’s Face, Donald gets Drafted, and Commando Duck.”
Der Fuehrer’s Face is a prime example of how Disney mobilized hatred against Nazi Germany and the other Axis powers, leaning into the propaganda tactic of demonizing the enemy and highlighting the key differences between opponents.
Der Fuehrer’s Face was released in 1943 and found Donald Duck suffering a nightmare in which he becomes a part of the absurd Nutziland, each morning saluting the leaders of the Axis powers (Hitler, Hirohito, and Mussolini) before going to work at the artillery shell factory, where he continues to salute Hitler, or Der Fuehrer, every time his face appears. When Donald groans in frustration during his 48-hour shift, Nazi guards draw bayonets at him and force him to continue.
Eventually, Donald’s life in Nutziland clears, and he finds himself waking up in stars and stripes. After seeing the Statue of Liberty, the famous duck declares, “Am I glad to be a citizen of the United States of America!” This use of showing what’s good about one place and bad about another was a key tactic in war propaganda. Der Fuehrer’s Face went on to win the Best Animated Short Film Oscar at the 15th Academy Awards.
Krista Leigh Richmond tells us (via The Collector) that this tactic was used to boost morale; to show troops and those at home what was being fought for: freedom. This tactic was clear again in The Thrifty Pig in 1941, which itself is based on the classic Three Little Pigs tale. In the short film, the Big Bad Wolf “was paraded in Nazi regalia,” and in associating something Big and Bad with the swastika, gave audiences a villain to root against.
U.S. Army Requisitions the Walt Disney Studios Lot
Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army requisitioned the Walt Disney Studios lot. Marilyn Chase of The Smithsonian Magazine writes that the studios were converted “into a military base almost overnight.”
“A phone call from Washington, D.C. ordered the company to make room for 500 personnel from an anti-aircraft unit. About 700 showed up, with vehicles, communications, camouflage, and three million rounds of ammunition in tow. Disney also signed a $90,000 Navy contract, agreeing to make 20 training films on topics like how to spot enemy planes,” Chase notes.
Eventually, the studio, known for the likes of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and the feature films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), and Dumbo (1941), would have 90% of its work directed towards the war effort, with uniformed soldiers becoming the norm at the lot.
The Collector states that this takeover saw half of the Burbank lot acquired by U.S. Army troops, with Disney himself working “tirelessly to include iconic characters such as Donald Duck in the war effort.” The essay also notes that “The United States Army also requested military training shorts and propaganda films; over one thousand military insignia showcasing Disney characters were created for the troops.”
Related: Remembering Donald Duck’s Service – Should Disney’s WW2 Shorts Be On Disney+?
Disney has, over the decades that followed the end of the Second World War, shifted attention away from its involvement in the war, wanting to be known instead for its catalog of family-friendly entertainment. That was until an exhibition was put on display last year titled “The Walt Disney Studios and World War II.” The traveling exhibition, which opened at the Walt Disney Family Museum, featured a plethora of drawings and photos exemplifying Disney’s work during the war.
What do you know about Disney and World War II? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!