Disney’s first live-action film was “Treasure Island” in 1950. He combined live action and animation in “The Reluctant Dragon” in 1941. So it was impossible for Disney to have created a live-action pro-Nazi film before 1941, and I seriously doubt “The Reluctant Dragon” is what you have in mind.
If you have a cite, let’s hear it. Otherwise, it’s just a nasty rumor.
I’ve seen “Der Fuhrer’s Face”. It’s a very well done anti-Nazi cartoon and some of the images are surreal (there are swastikas everywhere).
The only people shown as buffons are Nazis (IIRC). Why won’t Disney let it be shown? The only people it could “potentially offend” are Nazis. And who cares if they’re offended? Anyone have any insights on who, exactly, DisneyCo is trying to not offend?
Fenris
They’re afraid someone will take the pictures of Donald in a Nazi uniform out of context. Someone might see the image without seeing the cartoon and think the cartoon is in favor of Naziism. So Disney finds it easier to avoid the conflict and bad press, knowing that their answer – that it’s an anti-Nazi film – will get buried.
“Der Fuhrer’s Face” is considered one of the 50 greatest cartoons of all time, BTW.
My WAG? DisneyCo doesn’t want to risk annoying the contemporary German market. They would get relatively little money from releasing it, while even a tiny reduction in German sales could amount to big money.
Maybe Disney really is pro-Nazi, and they’re keeping the film out of release so that they won’t damage their Cause.
(just kidding.)
By current German law, Der Fuhrer’s Face couldn’t even be shown in Germany; displays of swastikas are considered serious constitutional offences. Incident to this, the Star Trek episode Patterns of Force is also verboten.
I have to agree with RealityChuck. As soon as this cartoon is released on video or DVD, the internet will be peppered with stills of a goose-stepping Donald. Who needs the headaches?
There have certainly been persistant rumors that Disney was anti-Semitic. How true they are I don’t know.
“Who in Hell: A Guide to the Whole Damned Bunch,” by Sean Kelly and Rosemary Rogers, a Who’s-Who for the Nether Regions, puts Disney in Hell for “Sowing Discord:”
Took me a while to remember where I saw this, as it’s a non-Disney related book, but Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation spends some time talking about the development of DisneyLand and Aneheim in general during the 40’s and 50’s. (Without getting into too much detail it ties in with Ray Kroc/Carl Karcher and the development of McDonalds/Carl’s Jr.) According to Schloesser, Disney hired many former Nazi party members, including Wernher von Braun, who at the time was
Schlosser goes on to state that at least 20,000 slave laborers died in factories under his command. Another key advisor for Tomorrowland (Heinz Haber)
Both hosted and appeared in Disney films and broadcasts such as “Our Friend the Atom.”
Schlosser cites several books including:
Werner von Braun: The Man Who Sold the Moon - Dennis Piszkiewicz
The Paperclip Conspiricy: The Hunt for Nazi Scientists - Tom Bower
Secret Agenda: The United States Government, Nazi Scientists, and Project Paperclip - Linda Hunt.
While this in no way proves Disney was an anti-Semite or Nazi, it certainly seems to imply that he was willing to turn a blind eye to what they did when it came to getting his empire off the ground. However, since both also worked for the US Army and Air Force, you have to wonder: What the hell? Apparently NOBODY had a problem with these guys at the time.
Interesting this should come up just now, as I recently came across Der Fuhrer’s Face for download. It’s a whopping 70-plug megs, so only fast connections should attempt it. It’s at…
er…well, I can’t link there, the site has stuff on it that doesn’t comply with board policy. They probably wouldn’t even want me naming it here. How about, it rhymes with “Tile Troject”.
“Vunce rockets go up,
Who cares vhere dey come down?
Zat’s not my department!
Says Werner von Braun”
-Tom Lehrer, “Werner von Braun,” 1965
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
My family has been in the film business for most of the 20th century. Friends of the family worked for Disney while Walt was still alive. We’re all jewish. There are plenty of verifiable stories from my elders of Disney management being reluctant to hire jews, or holding back the careers of those who worked there.
Hearsay attributes this directly to Walt himself and something he said to his executives. Alas, I don’t have the story myself, but said quote was relayed to an unimpeachable source by one of these execs during the reign of Walt.
I know that none of what I’ve said counts as any sort of useful evidence, and I’m aware that “I know what I know” isn’t proof either. I’m just adding to the pile of circumstance that makes Walt Disney likely to have been an anti-semite.
However, there’s nothing in any of what I heard that suggests Walt was a Nazi sympathizer. From what I recall, he didn’t like the Nazis at all, and wasn’t the sort of anti-semite who supported extermination. He just didn’t like jews, or trust them in business.
But those stills are out there (grainy and a bit blurry) but do a search and you’ll find tons of pictures from the cartoon. Oh well.
Fenris
Disney was never a Nazi in the sense of being a member of the German National Socialist Party. But on the other hand, Disney was an extreme anti-Communist and conservative who, in the 1950’s, was apparently more comfortable hiring former SS officers than Jews.
Eric Schlosser, in Fast Food Nation, also mentioned another fact. Anaheim, the California city that Disney picked as the site to build his ideal “World of Tomorrow” was best known prior to then as being a stronghold of the California KKK.
Can’t speak to Walt, but Von Buran is easily explainable.
We weren’t fighting the Nazi’s anymore. We were in a Cold War with the Soviets. We’ve got nukes, but the only way to deliver them are bombers, which can be shot down. One of the key battles is making missles to carry these nukes. The Soviets are known to be trying to make them, so you need to make missles to so as not to be at a disadvantage.
Instead of starting from scratch, you go to people who have been working with rockets for decades and already know how to make V2’s. These happen to be former Nazis. (The US and Russia both grabbed as many German Rocket Scientists as they could once the war was over, as well as any V2 plans, parts and intact weapons)
Thus, any war crimes they may have been invovled in are ignored, like a criminal who is given immunity for supplying the police with Testimony and information.
Regardless of how moral it was, this is what happened. (As a positive side effect, This is also how we got to the moon by 1969.)
just finished reading “my father, uncle miltie” by milton berle’s son. this topic was mentioned in the book and milton would never take his son to disney world, because of milton’s belief that walt was anti-Semite.
A man whose allegi-ance
Is one of expedience
…
Some say our attitude
Should be one of gratitude
Like the widows and cripples in old London town
Who owe their large pensions to Werner von Braun
Tom Lehrer, a kickass satirical rhymester, was at his best in that song.
There is also the fact that enough people are horrified at any reference to Nazism, in whatever context, and would likely cause further headaches.
The short should be preserved as a historic document, but releasing it to the general public isn’t really in anyone’s best interests.
Not grainy at all actually 
Max Torque if you’re reading this could I ask you to mail me the link to the cartoon please. I’d be very interested in seeing the whole thing.
