War Toons from other Wars

[Cartman]

Besides WWII, what other cartoons have been made that are related to the war that was going on in which they were produced? The only one I can think of right now is the Bugs Bunny short Forward March Hare, referencing the Korean War.

[Pietro]

There were some WWI cartoons.

"A.W.O.L." a WWI Private Snafu starred in one film.

Later there were a small hand-full of WWI-themed cartoons made in the 20s in 30s:

"Great Guns" (1927/Disney)
"Barnyard Battle" (1929/Disney)
"Not So Quiet" (1930/Lantz)
"Bosko the Doughboy" (1931/WB)
"Boom Boom" (1936/WB)
"What Price Porky?" (1938/WB)

-Pietro:cool:

[Crazy Tom]

Originally posted by Cartman
The only one I can think of right now is the Bugs Bunny short Forward March Hare, referencing the Korean War.

What about Ant Pasted (1952) with Elmer Fudd? Wouldn't that have had any Korean War references?

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Originally posted by Pietro
There were some WWI cartoons.

"A.W.O.L." a WWI Private Snafu starred in one film.

Later there were a small hand-full of WWI-themed cartoons made in the 20s in 30s:

"Great Guns" (1927/Disney)
"Barnyard Battle" (1929/Disney)
"Not So Quiet" (1930/Lantz)
"Bosko the Doughboy" (1931/WB)
"Boom Boom" (1936/WB)
"What Price Porky?" (1938/WB)

-Pietro:cool:

Those cartoons were made after WWI, though. I thought the point of this thread was to name cartoons that made references to a war that was currently being waged as the cartoon was in production.

For WWI I would suggest The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918) by Winsor McCay. It was an animated propaganda film about a German atrocity during the war (although America was not involved in the war when the sinking actually occurred; later, when America did join the war "Remember the Lusitania" became a rallying cry.)

Colonel Heeza Liar at Bat (1917), by the Bray studio, was set during the then current war, too.

Although not an animated film, Chaplin's Shoulder Arms (1918) also comes to mind. It showed the hardship of a soldier's life while fighting in the trenches of WWI.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Originally posted by Crazy Tom


What about Ant Pasted (1952) with Elmer Fudd? Wouldn't that have had any Korean War references?

An ant who is a caricature of President Truman makes an appearance in that cartoon. I don't remember his dialog, but he might have made a reference to Korea since the ants were, in essence, waging a war against Elmer.

[Thad Komorowski]

Hmm, this may not count as a "war" reference, but I think Lantz was the only studio to use references to the fear of radiation.

The only cartoon I can think of is "Woodpecker from Mars", in which Woody just came from his favorite space TV show, dressed in a space outfit, and somehow makes the people of the city thinks he's an alien. One of the people in the crowd around Woody in disguise yells, "Don't get too close, folks! It may be radioactive".

There were also a few UPA Mr. Magoo cartoons with Communist spies, two I can currently think of are "When Magoo Flew" and "Magoo Express".


Thad K

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Originally posted by Thad K
Hmm, this may not count as a "war" reference, but I think Lantz was the only studio to use references to the fear of radiation.

There were also a few UPA Mr. Magoo cartoons with Communist spies, two I can currently think of are "When Magoo Flew" and "Magoo Express".


Thad K

I guess the "cold war" would count as a war.

Interesting about the references to Communist spies in the Magoo cartoons, since weren't several of the UPA artists members of the American Communist party? Or were they all gone by the time those two cartoons were made?

[laugh4me]

http://memory.loc.gov/mbrs/animp/4079t.gif

There was a W.S.S. Thriftettes film promoting the sale of war bonds during WWI (and showing the Kaiser being caged).
You can watch it here at the Origins of American Animation site. (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:2:./temp/~ammem_SGEm::)

The AWOL film Pietro mentioned is at that site too. It was really a post-war film because it dealt with soldiers being so anxious to go back home that they get tempted to neglect their remaining soldierly duties.

http://memory.loc.gov/mbrs/animp/4080s1t.gif
AWOL--All wrong old laddiebuck (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:1:./temp/~ammem_SGEm::)
:bosko:

[Greg Method]

This doesn't really count as a "new" cartoon, but someone told me they once saw a public service announcement during the Gulf War that was a redubbed clip from "Any Bonds Today?", once again with Bugs urging folks to buy war bonds (they probably still have a ton leftover from WW2). :)

I personally have never seen this, but I trust them.

Shall we count the three Sloane Foundation-produced Freleng cartoons? They weren't targeted at any specific war, but it was during the Red Scare, right?

[J. J. Hunsecker]

At the end of the Ren and Stimpy episode "In the Army," the duo are air dropped in a war zone that looks suspiciously like the Gulf war. They are also wearing desert camouflage. This episode aired in the early nineties around the same time or just after the Gulf war with Iraq.

Speaking of Spumco cartoons, there was also an episode of The Ripping Friends that featured a thinly disguised caricature of former Yugoslov President Slobodan Milosivic (I forget what the character's name was), who wanted to marry the ripping friends' mother. In the cartoon, the dictator is portrayed as being so cruel that he uses little girls to fight his war.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

The kids from South Park traveled to Afghanistan while the current war was being waged there. In a tribute to and parody of the wartime Looney Tunes, Cartman outwitted Osama bin Laden similar to the way Bugs and Daffy outwitted Hitler. It was also a very funny episode.

Btw, Saddam Hussien has also made appearances on the South Park tv show and feature film.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

This doesn't technically fit this topic, but I'll mention it anyway. Both The Simpsons and South Park feature secondary characters who are Vietnam vets (Seymour Skinner, Jimbo Kern and Ned Gerblanski). Both shows had segments where the characters had flash backs to their war days.