War Propaganda In Walt Disney's War

vehicles. Because he spent time driving American Red Cross trucks in the war, he understood

the importance of high soldier morale and strong support coming from the homeland. The

American government recruited many to produce war propaganda, but it is argued that Disney

was one of the most influential. He and his team were not afraid to depict the enemy in

offensive ways, and it is believed that this gave the military the sense of patriotism, unity, and

strong will that helped them defeat the axis powers. Disney also helped the war efforts through

supplying art to a number of different home front organizations such as salvage and scrap

campaigns, blood donor drives, and Victory Garden competitions (Lesjak). Walt Disney was

not only creating

animations for children to laugh at, he was also supporting the people in

uniform with his talent. As John Baxter put it in his book Disney During World War II: How

the Walt Disney Studios Contributed to Victory in the War (Disney Editions, November 2014):

"Walt Disney helped the government... by effectively transforming his studio from an

entertainment factory that specialized in whimsy into a virtual war plant that churned out high-

quality instructional films for the military nonstop for nearly four years, without profit and

sometimes at a loss." This shows Walt Disney's level of dedication to changing the world for

the better and that his involvement was truly integral to the success of the allied forces in WWII.

Walt Disney avoided any serious or controversial issues on his Sunday

evening television broadcast, and many post-war Americans were given a sense of ease and

comfort because of this (Anderson). His 'world,' was described as "a kind of escapism"

(Anderson) by critics of 'Disneyfication,' or 'Disneyization.' It's true, he provided an alternate

world for not only children, but adults to escape to in the face of hardship. This could either be

taken as a negative or positive effect of Disneyfication, but most chose to look at it positively,

believing that it was important to maintain a sense of normalcy, and to not be focused on the

harsh realities of war at all times. Walt Disney aimed, in every movie or television show he

created, to place important lessons and morals as the theme. His characters all went through