Der Fuehrer's Face (1942)

Director:

Jack Kinney

Writers:

Joe Grant (written by)
Dick Huemer (written by)

Release Date:

1 January 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Short | War | Animation | Comedy

Tagline:

The picture from which the song sensation was taken!

Plot:

Donald Duck has a nightmare that he lives in Germany slaving under the Nazi regime.

Plot Keywords:

Famous Song | Nazi | It Was All A Dream | USA | Donald Duck

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Clarence Nash

...

Donald Duck (voice)

Also Known As:

Donald Duck in Nutzi Land (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

8 min

Country:

USA

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | UK:U

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

The phrase "Heil Hitler" was spoken 33 and a half times, the half being interrupted by Donald realizing he was staring at the shadow of the miniature Statue of Liberty.

Quotes:

Nazi: Ist we not der super men?
Japanese soldier: Aryan pure super men?
Soldier: Ja, we ist der super men!
Singers: [Prissy voice] Super-duper super men!
Nazi: Ist dis Nazi Land so good? Would you leave it if you could?
Singers: Ja, dis Nazi Land ist good!
Italian soldier: We would leave if we could.
Soldier: We bring the world's new order.
[toots flute]
Japanese soldier: [waves small Japanese flag] Heil Hitler's New World Order.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Conversation with Joe Grant (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Der Fuehrer's Face

What a Nightmare!

I once heard that Disney's marketing department was concerned about how Mickey Mouse was depicted in 1995's Runaway Brain, because Mickey's brain was switched with an evil brain, making Mickey a rampaging villain in the cartoon. I wonder what they would think if they had to market Der Fuehrer's Face with Donald Duck wearing a Nazi uniform and, at one point, resembling Hitler. Of course, this isn't the real Donald (as it wasn't the real Mickey in Runaway Brain); it was all a bad dream for Donald. However, the image alone of Donald in `Nutzi Land' is somewhat shocking.

Nevertheless, Der Fuehrer's Face exhibits some of the greatest gags I've seen in any cartoon. In Donald's nightmare, he has to do some odd exercises that contort his body into a swastika-like shape. His cuckoo clock bird looks like Hitler as he comes out of the clock doing a Heil Hitler salute. And poor Donald is forced to work in an ammunition factory where he has to salute Hitler every time he sees his picture, which is about after every other ammunition shell. It's just so surprising to seeing Hitler and the Nazis being made fun of in this way, in a cartoon no less, you can't help but laugh.

Finally Donald wakes up in his red, white, and blue pajamas and is relieved to see his Statue of Liberty souvenir and realizing he's always lived in the `good, old United States of America.' This cartoon is really quite a sight to see. It makes fun of the enemy, gives people a good laugh, and displays some great patriotism. A great cartoon, in my opinion, even if it borders on controversial nowadays. It's a product of its time, and it's just a fine piece of entertainment.

My IMDb Rating: 10/10