Peace on Earth (1939)

Two baby squirrels ask grandpa to explain what "men" are when he comes in singing "peace on earth, goodwill to men". Grandpa tells the story of man's last war.

Director:

Hugh Harman (uncredited)

Stars:

Mel Blanc, Sara Berner, Bernice Hansen

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Sara Berner	...	Baby Squirrel (uncredited)
Mel Blanc	...	Grandpa Squirrel (voice) (uncredited)
Bernice Hansen	...	Baby Squirrel (uncredited)
The Hollywood Choir Boys	...	Vocalists (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

A baby squirrel asks his grandfather to tell him what happened to all the men. The old squirrel reveals that all the humans were killed years ago in a terrible war. The surviving animals started a new society, based on the lessons taught in the Bible.

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Plot Keywords:

squirrel | bible | grandfather | peace | reference to the ten commandments | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both this short and its remake Good Will to Men (1955) were nominated for the Best Short Subjects Oscar.

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Quotes

Grandpa Squirrel: Good will to men, yes, good will to men.
Baby Squirrel 1: What are men, Grandpa?
Baby Squirrel 2: Yeah, Grandpa, what are men?
Grandpa Squirrel: Huh? What's that?... Well there ain't no men in the world no more, sonnys... nope, no more men. But as I remember the critters, well they was like monsters. They wore great big iron pots on their heads. They walked on their hind legs, and they carried terrible-looking shootin' irons with knives on the end of them. And their eyes flashed, and they had these tremendous big snoots, like this, that curled down...
[...]

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Connections

Edited into Tom and Jerry Christmas Special (1987)

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Soundtracks

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
(1856)
Hymn by Charles Wesley (1730)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn (1840)
Sung by studio chorus

User Reviews

When Squirrels Strode the Earth

Back in the 1940's, men fought a cataclysmic war until all were killed, leaving the animals behind to build a peaceful society in the ruins.

This has probably the strongest impact of any cartoon I have ever seen -- taking the era in which it was made into account -- and must have been virtually without precedent in 1939. Powerful post-war rivals might include "Animal Farm", "Watership Down", or "When the Wind Blows". Or Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Maus" in the field of the graphic novel.

There are scenes here of animated warfare which are still a little grim by modern standards. Childlike innocence gets temporarily suspended. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is an immediate comparison.

As was normal in the '30's, the coming war in Europe was viewed as an extension of the Great War, so we see the technology familiar from 20 years previous -- trenches, gas masks, unturreted tanks. When Neville Chamberlain bought peace for all time from Hitler at Munich, the sort of war he had succeeded in averting was the one depicted in this film. The new World War II technology did not enter the general consciousness until the averted war got underway in Sept. 1939.

I first saw this film about a decade ago, and rediscovered it recently on a compilation video entitled "MGM Cartoon Christmas". The other cartoons on the tape, "Alias St. Nick" and "Pups' Christmas", show quite clearly what a break with convention "Peace on Earth" was at the time.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Friede auf Erden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hugh Harman Productions, Loew's, MGM Cartoon Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

9 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1