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World War II: American Propaganda Cartoons

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During World War II, American studios who wanted to do their part in the war effort started to make cartoons that directly addressed the war efforts. Other studios were taken over by the US government, including Warner Bros. and Disney, to specifically make cartoons so they can get support for the war, and some were produced specifically to be shown to soldiers overseas. Of the cartoons produced some were educational propaganda cartoons depicting a serious tone, they showed how the enemy operated and how life would be if the enemy took over the US. While others were typical cartoons, similar to cartoons you see today, and they were used in a humorous effect to get a laugh out of the audience. Although instead of the typical antagonists like …show more content…

Throughout the cartoon Bugs Bunny uses harebrained schemes to deal with the Japanese soldiers and ends up killing multiple soldiers. You’re a Sap, Mr. Jap is a Popeye cartoon that shows Popeye enlisted in the US Navy sailing on a warship, when he suddenly encounters Japanese soldiers sailing on a rickety boat ship. This is just a ruse, as the Japanese rickety boat is actually a huge warship and they try to take out Popeye. The rest of the cartoon is a typical Popeye cartoon, with Popeye eating his spinach to power up and take over the Japanese ship. It ends with an attempt by the captain to drink gasoline and fireworks to commit suicide by blowing up the ship. It doesn’t work at first and Popeye is able to escape before the ships blows up. Commando Duck deals with Donald Duck being deployed in an undisclosed area called F8, and is assigned to confront the Japanese soldiers and wipe them out. While flowing down the river, Japanese soldiers spot Donald and start shooting at him. Donald’s raft gets stuck on a rock while going down a waterfall, and the raft fills up with water to a ridiculous degree. Donald tries to run to a safe distance so he can pop the raft. When Donald pierces the raft with a large sharp piece of wood, the water floods the whole area and Donald takes out the whole Japanese army. The cartoon ends with Donald Duck writing a note, “Contacted Enemy, wiped washed out same. Donald

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