Below is a list of short films or animated cartoons that pertain to World War II, or the years leading up to it.
Restrictions
The film must be concerned with Hitler's rise, the Spanish Civil War, the Sino-Japanese War, or World War II itself. Feature-length live-action films are excluded. For documentaries, see: List of World War II documentary films.
Films made before the war
1930s Year Country Title Director Events depicted Viewonline1938United StatesFerdinand the BullDick Rickard (uncredited)Pacifist Disney cartoon.YouTube1938United StatesPorky the GobBen Hardaway, Cal DaltonPro-preparedness cartoon where Porky Pig's battleship engages a "pirate submarine".YouTube1938United StatesWhat Price PorkyRobert ClampettPro-preparedness cartoon where farmer Porky Pig must mobilize his chickens against a heavily armed "ducktator" (Daffy Duck).The combat scenes in What Price Porky are unusually extended.YouTube1939United StatesPeaceful NeighborsSid MarcusPacifist cartoon.YouTube
Year undetermined Country Title Director Events depicted ViewonlineUnited KingdomLocal Boy Makes Good: A Story With a MoralThis film is currently (as of March 2010) not listed at the IMDb.?Cartoon in which an RAF bomber is able to shoot down German fighters once the pilot and turret gunner put on their respirators.YouTube
Films made during the war 1939 CountryTitleDirector Events depictedIMDbBCDB ViewonlineUnited KingdomHitler Dances to Stalin's TuneITN Source. This film is labelled War Cartoon № 4 and was released 23 October 1939. Retrieved 16 June 2012.Anson DyerCartoon mocking the Soviet–Nazi pact, the friendship between Stalin and Hitler.ITNYouTubeUnited StatesPeace on EarthHugh HarmanAnti-war cartoon.YouTube
1940 CountryTitleDirector Events depictedIMDbBCDB ViewonlineUnited StatesBoobs in ArmsJules WhiteComedy with the Three Stooges in an unspecified army.YouTubeIAUnited KingdomChannel IncidentAnthony AsquithDramatic film about a yachtsman at Dunkirk.Nazi GermanyDer StörenfriedHans HeldCartoon in which a fox threatens a family of hares only to be strafed in turn by wasps of the Luftwaffe.YouTubeFascist ItalyInghilterra contro EuropaLuigi Liberio PensutiAnti-British cartoon.Archivio LuceFascist ItalyIl principio della fineLuigi Liberio PensutiAnti-British cartoon.Archivio LuceNazi GermanyVom Bäumlein, das andere Blätter hat gewolltDas güldene BäumchenHeinz TischmeyerThe IMDb currently (as of November 2010) credits Tischmeyer only as the animator.Anti-Semitic cartoon where a Jew plucks all the leaves from a golden tree, leaving it empty.The narrator makes a point of mentioning that fact.YouTube United StatesYou Nazty Spy!Jules WhiteComedy with the Three Stooges.YouTubeIA
1941 CountryTitleDirector Events depictedIMDbBCDB ViewonlineSoviet UnionFascist Boots Shall Not Trample Our Motherland(Не тoптать фашистскому сапогу Нашей Родины)The film is also known as Fascist Jackboots Shall Not Trample Our Motherland.A. Ivanov, I. VanoAnti-Nazi cartoon with German pig soldier vs. Soviet cavalry and tanks.Music by Prokofiev from Alexander Nevsky (1938).YouTubeUnited StatesI'll Never Heil AgainJules WhiteComedy with the Three Stooges; sequel to You Nazty Spy! (1940).YouTubeIASoviet UnionA Journal of Political Satire № 2(Журнал политсатиры № 2)Zinaida Brumberg, Alexander Ivanov, Valentina Brumberg, Olga Khodatayeva, Ivan Ivanov-VanoAnti-Nazi cartoon, in 4 parts, exhorting Soviets to resist "Fascist pirates" (Бей фашистских пиратов).Source: Russian Animation in Letters and Figures in . This film is currently (as of March 2010) not listed at the IMDb.YouTubeUnited StatesMeet John DoughboyRobert ClampettCartoon feature with Porky Pig, announced as "Draftee 158 3⁄4", presenting a war-themed "spot gag" newsreel titled "America's Defense Effort".IAUnited StatesThe Mighty NavyDave FleischerCartoon about Popeye joining the Navy to fight against 'The Enemy'.YouTubeUnited StatesThe Rookie BearRudolf IsingCartoon feature Barney Bear drafted into the Army during his hibernation.IAUnited StatesRookie RevueFriz FrelengCartoon which shows the different elements of the US Army: infantry, cavalry, armour, USAAF, artillery, and lampoons (accurately) makeshift weaponry.YouTubeUnited KingdomRush HourAnthony AsquithComedy film asking casual travellers to leave transport to workers.CanadaUnited States7 Wise DwarfsDick Lyford & Ford BeebeSource: Wikipedia article on the film. Neither the IMDb nor the BCDB lists a director for this film.Lyford, presumably, is the Oscar-winning documentarian, Richard Lyford. Beebe was working at Disney at this time.Cartoon, animated for the NFB by Disney, in which the Seven Dwarfs invest their gems in Canadian War Savings Certificates.YouTubeCanadaUnited StatesThe Thrifty PigWalt Disney (producer)Cartoon, animated for the NFB by Disney, in which the Big Bad Nazi Wolf is defeated by a house flying Canada's national flag and built of Canadian War Savings Certificates.IACanadaV for VictoryNorman McLarenCartoon in support of a war bond drive. Music by John Philip Sousa.Source: National Film Board of Canada catalogue page. The IMDb does not provide a plot summary for this film.United StatesThe Flying BearRudolf IsingBob AllenMGM Cartoon featured Barney Bear as an Air Force mechanic during WWII.IASoviet UnionThe Vultures(Стервятники)Panteleimon SazonovSource: Russian Animation in Letters and Figures in . (uncredited)Anti-Nazi cartoon where German vultures become bombers only to be shot out of the skies by Red Air Force fighters.YouTube
1942 Country Title Director Events depicted ViewonlineUnited StatesAce in the HoleAlex LovyA Woody Woodpecker cartoon that centers around Woody's shenanigans at a military air force.YouTubeIAUnited StatesAll Out for "V"Mannie DavisA Terrytoons cartoon in which Forest animals give their all for war defense.YouTubeCanadaUnited StatesAll TogetherWalt Disney (producer)Cartoon, animated for the NFB by Disney, in which Pinocchio, Donald Duck, Pluto, Mickey Mouse, Goofy and the Seven Dwarfs parade at Centre Block for Canadian War Savings Certificates.Marching in the parade on Parliament Hill in Ottawa are, in order, Pinocchio with Geppetto and Figaro (but not Jiminy Cricket), all from the previous year's hit Pinocchio (1940); Donald Duck with Huey, Dewey, and Louie; Pluto; Mickey Mouse leading a band featuring Clarabelle and Goofy; and finally the Seven Dwarfs, with Dopey being the last character to appear.IAUnited StatesAir Raid WardenAlex LovyCartoon featuring Andy Panda.United StatesAndy Panda's Victory GardenSource: The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia .The film's release date was 7 September 1942.The IMDb incorrectly gives the release data as 7 September 1943 (as of March 2010). aka Springtime for AndyAlex LovyCartoon in which Andy Panda's attempts to grow a victory garden are spoiled by a hungry rooster.Source: BCDB. The IMDb does not provide a plot summary for this film.YouTubeUnited StatesAny Bonds Today?Bob ClampettWar bond drive advertisement featuring Bugs Bunny performing in blackface for the war effort. The title song is by Irving Berlin.YouTubeUnited StatesBarney Bear's Victory GardenRudolf IsingMGM Cartoon featured Barney Bear planning his own victory garden during the days of World War II.IAUnited StatesBlitz WolfTex AveryAnti-Nazi cartoon featuring the three little pigs and the big bad wolf.YouTubeIAUnited StatesBlunder BelowDave FleischerCartoon featuring Popeye, depicting him defeating a Japanese submarine.IASoviet UnionCinema Circus(Кино-цирк)Olga Khodatayeva & Leonid AmalrikAnti-Nazi cartoon featuring Hitler with his trained dogs, Mussolini, Horthy and Antonescu, and his mentor Napoleon, at a circus hosted by clown Karandash.YouTubeFascist ItalyIl Dottor ChurkillLuigi Liberio PensutiAnti-British cartoon involving a Jekyll and Hyde story where Mr. Hyde becomes Dr. Jekyll (Winston Churchill).German Nazi and Italian Fascist policemen are unable to apprehend Churchill as he steals loot from around the world, so bombers must chase Churchill back to London.The opening credits read, Una produzione S.A. Incom Industrie Corti Metraggi, Roma. Direzione generale Sandro Pallavicini. The cartoon was made by Incom Short Films in Rome.YouTubeUnited StatesThe Devil with HitlerGordon DouglasComedy film where the Devil's job in Hell is threatened by Hitler.YouTubeUnited StatesDonald Gets DraftedJack King (uncredited)Disney cartoon in which Donald Fauntleroy Duck volunteers for the US Army.YouTubeCanadaUnited StatesDonald's DecisionWalt Disney (producer)Cartoon, animated for the NFB by Disney, in which Donald Duck's conscience makes him invest in Canadian War Savings Certificates.IAUnited StatesThe Draft HorseChuck JonesCartoon in which a farm horse wants to enlist to help the war effort.IA United StatesThe DucktatorsNorman McCabeAnti-Axis cartoon which portrays Hitler, Mussolini and Tōjō as barnyard fowl.IAUnited States Eleventh HourDan GordonAnti-Japanese cartoon portraying Superman as a saboteur at the Yokohama Navy Yard in Japan.IACanadaEmpty Rooms Mean Idle MachinesPhilip RaganCartoon which encourages citizens to rent their spare room to a munitions plant labourer.Source: National Film Board of Canada catalogue page. This film is currently (as of March 2010) not listed at the IMDb.NFBUnited StatesFleets of Stren'thDave FleischerCartoon featuring Popeye, fighting against a fleet of enemy planes.IAUnited StatesFood Will Win the WarWalt Disney (producer)Morale-boosting cartoon to educate about the importance of American agriculture in the war effort and also to offset fears and panic of Americans who thought too many supplies were being sent overseas.IACanadaHen HopNorman McLarenLow-key cartoon in which a chicken dancing to "Turkey in the Straw" encourages Canadians to "save" for "V" (Victory).YouTube Readers are encouraged to check the Internet to find replacements for any dead links.NFBUnited StatesJapoteursSeymour KneitelAnti-Japanese cartoon featuring Superman and a group of Japanese spies trying to hijack a bomber.IAYouTubeUnited KingdomKill or Be KilledLen LyeDramatic film of a confrontation between a Tommy and a German sniper."Kill or Be Killed [...] was considered by some critics to be one of the best of all wartime films. It was a fictional enactment of the deadly contest between a British soldier and a German sniper hiding in a tree."Horrocks, Roger. Len Lye: a biography, pp. 198–199.YouTubeUnited StatesThe New SpiritWalt Disney (producer)Anti-Axis Disney cartoon in which Donald Duck learns to pay his taxes and fight the Axis, using only a "tax blank", pen, ink, and a blotter.Donald Duck's income tax for the calendar year 1941, on a gross income of $2501.00, is $13.00, which he remits by cheque.IAYouTubeUnited StatesOld Blackout JoePaul Sommer