1940s

"This short film by Canadian animators Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren offers an interpretation of jazz music by the Oscar Peterson Trio by a unique style of painting colours, shapes, and transformations directly onto filmstrip. It reflects the cont..."

Crowing Pains

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Technicolor, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1947

Producer(s): Edward Selzer

Release Date: 12/07/1947

"Foghorn Leghorn fools a young determined chicken hawk into going after Sylvester instead of himself. But when Sylvester gets wise to him, confusion ensues!"

Daffy the Commando

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Daffy Duck, Leon Schlesinger Studios, Looney Tunes, Propaganda, U.S.A., Warner Bros., World War 2 ( WW2 ), 1943

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 20/11/1943

"Daffy Duck parachutes onto a German base in WW2 and torments some Nazis. As he is shot by a cannon, he flies over (whilst holding two American flags, none the less) to a Nazi rally, and smacks Hitler with a hammer. Elements of propaganda abound, but ..."

Disney’s Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Technicolor, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, World War 2 ( WW2 ), 1943

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 15/01/1943

"“Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi” (1943) is one of 32 animated short propaganda film that the United States government commissioned Disney to produce. Nearing bankruptcy after the financial failure of Fantasia (1940), Disney entered a c..."

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Tom and Jerry, Tom and Jerry, U.S.A., 1947

Producer(s): William Hanna Fred Quimby

Release Date: 14/06/1947

"A Tom and Jerry cartoon, riffing off of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which Tom concocts a deadly potion but finds that it only makes Jerry stronger."

Health for the Americas: Cleanliness Brings Health

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, James Algar, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, 1945

Producer(s): The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs

Release Date: 30/06/1945

""The comparison of two rural families to demonstrate the need for proper hygiene and the consequences of its neglect.""

Hell-Bent for Election

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, Cultural Industries, Propaganda, U.S.A., United Productions of America (UPA), World War 2 ( WW2 ), 1944

Producer(s): Stephen Bosustow

Release Date: 1944

"It's just a normal day for Joe, a railway worker, until he realizes that two trains - the Win the War Special and the Defeatist Limited - are on their way to the same tracks. While Joe is stuck deciding which one to let pass first, a wealthy-looking ..."

Hollywood Steps Out

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Cultural Industries, Merrie Melodies, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1941

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 24/05/1941

""A tour of Ciro's Nightclub packed with caricatures of many top stars.""

Little Tora: The Abandoned Cat

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Anime, Japan, 1947

Producer(s): Nihon Doga Toho Kyoiku Eiga

Release Date: 25/09/1947

""A family of cats find a homeless kitten and take him in to their home. But one of the siblings becomes jealous about the attention the new cat gets from her mother and runs away from home. The new member of the family goes looking for her.""

Novogodnyaya noch

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, Russia, 1948

Producer(s): N. Tsofnas

Release Date: 1948

"With a few days left before the New Year, Father Forest ventures into the forest in search of a Christmas tree. There he meets Wood Goblin, with whom they have an argument over what is better: a carpet-plane or a real plane. Wood Goblin loses the arg..."

Swing Shift Cinderella

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Jazz, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Musical, U.S.A., World War 2 ( WW2 ), 1945

Producer(s): William Hanna Fred Quimby

Release Date: 25/08/1945

"Bored with chasing Red Riding Hood, the Wolf decides to go after Cinderella, but her fairy godmother takes a shine to him instead - and has an arsenal of magical powers to help achieve her ends."

Swooner Crooner

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Jazz, Merrie Melodies, Porky Pig, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1944

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 06/05/1944

"Porky Pig's egg farm faces production problems when a crooning rooster distracts the hens from their jobs."

Tarantella

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, U.S.A., 1940

Release Date: 31/12/1940

"Tarantella is an avant-garde, abstract, animated short film with piano accompaniment by Edwin Gerschefski. Mary Ellen Bute, the director and animator of Tarantella, kept some of Norman McLaren’s original paintings from their previous collaboration ..."