Product Description: When the United States entered World War II, Disney Studios was put to work by the government to produce these thirty-two training and propaganda films. Genre: Animation Rating: G Release Date: 18-MAY-2004 Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com: World War II transformed the Disney Studio. Although nearly one-third of the artists had been drafted, production quintupled, up to 95% of it for military and government uses. Some of the films included in On the Front Lines have not been seen since their initial release; others were never shown to the general public. Anticipating the importance of animated training films, Disney produced the studio's first educational film, "Four Methods of Flush Riveting" (1941), using limited animation to train riveters at Lockheed. Decades later, "Four Methods" and the excerpts from military training films remain models of how to present information clearly and concisely.
Many of the wartime entertainment shorts are largely propaganda. Donald's nightmare of working on a Nazi assembly line in "Der Fuehrer's Face" is still hilarious slapstick. The grimmer "Education for Death" and "Chicken Little" have aged less gracefully. Disney's oddest wartime project was Victory Through Air Power (1943), a live action/animation feature based on Major Alex de Seversky's controversial book that called for the adoption of long-range bombers. By the time it was finished, air power was a reality.
Front Lines also includes several health films made for the Office of Inter-American Affairs, and bond-buying shorts for Canada that reuse animation from Snow White and "Three Little Pigs." This collection of genuine rarities is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of animation, the Disney Studio, or America during WWII. (Rated G, suitable for ages 10 and older: violence, ethnic stereotypes, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Binding: DVD Brand: Disney EAN: 9780788850707 Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC ISBN: 0788850709 Label: Walt Disney Video Languages:EnglishOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 2.0EnglishSubtitled Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video MPN: 786936199154 Number Of Items: 2 Publisher: Walt Disney Video Region Code: 1 Release Date: May 18, 2004 Running Time: 210 minutes Studio: Walt Disney Video Theatrical Release Date: January 07, 1943
Customer Reviews
Fabulous Gift for Kid at Heart
This video is loved by the history nuts in my family. A great collection of Disney productions that most of us have never seen before. It gave me a glimpse of an era that I didn't live through. Maybe we should be watching videos like this so that we can learn from history. . .