Der Fuehrer's Face (1942)

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

Directors:

Jack Kinney (uncredited), Ben Sharpsteen (uncredited)

Stars:

Pinto Colvig, Charles Judels, Billy Bletcher

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Pinto Colvig	...	Nazis (voice)
Charles Judels	...	Nazis (voice)

Storyline

A marching band of Germans, Italians, and Japanese march through the streets of swastika-motif Nutziland, serenading "Der Fuehrer's Face." Donald Duck, not living in the region by choice, struggles to make do with disgusting Nazi food rations and then with his day of toil at a Nazi artillery factory. After a nervous breakdown, Donald awakens to find that his experience was in fact a nightmare.

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Plot Keywords:

propaganda | world war two | anti nazism | dream sequence | nazi salute | 

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Taglines:

The picture from which the song sensation was taken!

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Donald salutes a caricature of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, along with the other Axis leaders. Ironically, Emperor Hirohito would visit Disneyland during a state visit to America in 1975. The Emperor even bought a Mickey Mouse watch, which he kept for the rest of his life.

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Quotes

Donald Duck: [sees the shadow of someone saluting] Heil Hit...
[sees the shadow is a miniature Statue of Liberty]
Donald Duck: Oh boy!
[kisses it]
Donald Duck: Am I glad to be a citizen of the United States of America.

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Crazy Credits

A caricature of Hitler is hit by a tomato, which then runs into the words THE END.

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Connections

Referenced in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007)

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Soundtracks

Der Fuehrer's Face
By Oliver Wallace

User Reviews

An interesting and funny propaganda Disney short.

The first time I saw screen caps of this short cartoon, I didn't know what to think. Then I saw it, and realized how clever those guys at Disney are.

I won't really give anything away (it's about Donald Duck working for the Nazis, and in true Disney style, comes to a cute ending), but you should just see it yourself. It's a superb example of how bad the Nazi soldiers were treated and overworked mixed with comedy. About finding it, you can download it off a few internet joke sites (someone of an IMDb thread for this movie posted a link from steak and cheese DOT COM), and it was recently released as part of a Disney box set of War-time shorts commemorating the WWII era. It's also available in a lot of college libraries, in a 16mm print.

My rating: 10/10 (a pretty good cartoon poking fun at the WWII political state).

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

German English

Release Date:

1 January 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Donald Duck in Nutzi Land

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

8 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1