The Winged Scourge (1943)

Release Date:

5 November 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Animation | Short

Plot:

The Seven Dwarves learn about the menace of mosquito borne malaria and the necessary precautions to control it.

Plot Keywords:

Mosquito | Seven Dwarves | Malaria | Propaganda | Disease

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Art Baker

...

Narrator

Runtime:

10 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

The first of a series of health-related educational shorts produced by the Disney studios and the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs for showing in Latin America. It was also the only one to use established Disney characters (the Seven Dwarves).

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Conversation with John Hench (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Whistle While You Work

Ew!

For the love of God, don't watch this while eating dinner. I made that fatal mistake. It's not a pleasant cartoon, it's a nasty little public service announcement warning of the dangers of mosquito breeding in your back yard. If you're quite squeamish when it comes to bugs (as I am) it'll make you completely paranoid.

The horrid detail it goes into, especially the cross section close-ups of a mosquito biting some guy, really give you the heebie-jeebies. A good thing the Seven Dwarfs are so obsessed with cleaning up and totally eliminate every possible mosquito breeding ground from their home. According to this short they can breed almost anywhere. Needless to say, I cleaned my kitchen and bathroom right after watching this, while struggling to keep my dinner down.