Despite this cartoon being about WWII, it is still a great cartoon here in the 21st century. That's because unlike some American propaganda cartoons of the era, this one is so funny and well-made that it still is a super-impressive film.
The film begins in a surreal world where Spike Jones' song, Der Fuehrer's Face, is being blared everywhere by a group of bumbling Nazis. In the middle of this awful world is poor Donald Duck--who is being forced at gunpoint to heil the Fuehrer and make munitions for the Axis at an alarming rate. The film becomes much sillier and weirder, as Donald goes faster and faster until he becomes mentally unhinged! This is absolutely hilarious. The cartoon ends with Donald awakening to find it's all a bad dream. he's back in the good old USA and life is good.
Inventive, cute and a lot more fun than other Disney shorts, this is the absolute height of Disney's creative talents. Plus, it's a wonderful history lesson!
UPDATE--When I first wrote this review, it was practically impossible to find this cartoon, as "politically correct" types had buried all the cartoons at Disney and Warner Brothers because they might offend--even films that show evil Nazis (after all, children can never see ANYONE as evil or see a swastika). Fortunately, the short WAS re-released with the recent Volume 2 of the Best of Donald from Disney. This multi-disk set is terrific--not just for this cartoon, but for all of them. Buy it now, as it's only scheduled to be on sale for a limited time AND volume one is already sold out everywhere. My only reservation is that Disney is so concerned about political correctness that there's a very long prologue by Leonard Maltin that you are forced to first watch--you cannot skip it. And, if you go back to see other "banned" films, it makes you watch the Maltin segment again! Annoying, but a small price to pay to see these wonderful films.
The film begins in a surreal world where Spike Jones' song, Der Fuehrer's Face, is being blared everywhere by a group of bumbling Nazis. In the middle of this awful world is poor Donald Duck--who is being forced at gunpoint to heil the Fuehrer and make munitions for the Axis at an alarming rate. The film becomes much sillier and weirder, as Donald goes faster and faster until he becomes mentally unhinged! This is absolutely hilarious. The cartoon ends with Donald awakening to find it's all a bad dream. he's back in the good old USA and life is good.
Inventive, cute and a lot more fun than other Disney shorts, this is the absolute height of Disney's creative talents. Plus, it's a wonderful history lesson!
UPDATE--When I first wrote this review, it was practically impossible to find this cartoon, as "politically correct" types had buried all the cartoons at Disney and Warner Brothers because they might offend--even films that show evil Nazis (after all, children can never see ANYONE as evil or see a swastika). Fortunately, the short WAS re-released with the recent Volume 2 of the Best of Donald from Disney. This multi-disk set is terrific--not just for this cartoon, but for all of them. Buy it now, as it's only scheduled to be on sale for a limited time AND volume one is already sold out everywhere. My only reservation is that Disney is so concerned about political correctness that there's a very long prologue by Leonard Maltin that you are forced to first watch--you cannot skip it. And, if you go back to see other "banned" films, it makes you watch the Maltin segment again! Annoying, but a small price to pay to see these wonderful films.