Toon Talk: Walt Disney: On the Front Lines DVD - May 10, 2004

Toon Talk: Walt Disney: On the Front Lines DVD
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Donald's Decision
(c) Disney

DISC TWO:

Front and center on Disc Two is the full-length Victory Through Air Power. Based on the best-selling book by Major Alexander P. de Seversky, this feature combined the use of animation and live action to help further illustrate Seversky’s theories on how the use of long-range bomber planes could help the Allies defeat the Axis.

Certainly not the most obvious subject matter for a Disney film, right? But Walt, as did many other American readers, firmly believed in Seversky’s compelling thesis as presented in his book (“No battle can be won on the surface of the Earth without first gaining complete control of the sky above.�?), and he poured a lot of effort into bringing it to the screen (even going so far as to taking the film to United Artists when the Studios’ usual distributor RKO shied away from its limited box office appeal). And that effort certainly shows. While it may not have been much of a feature in its day (RKO was right: it bombed), viewing it today one can see how prescient Seversky’s ideas really were, for variations of his military tactics are still in use today.

Beginning with a comical “History of Aviation�? animated segment, that ranges from the Wright Brothers to Charles Lindbergh, one comes to the realization that it was just forty short years between Kitty Hawk and the then current conflict … quite amazing the amount of evolution during that time, spurned on by immediate necessities of improvement due to the two World Wars. Seversky himself appears in the live action segments to present his case, aided by the use of more realistic animation to depict the thrilling aerial combat. Most effective of all of the imagery are moments of ironic counterpoints juxtaposing earlier flying attempts with the then modern accomplishments, as when the Wrights’ first flight is illustrated as being shorter then the wingspan of the current bombers.

The film ends with a symbolic bald eagle (representing America) attacking a giant squid (representing Japan), its tentacles spread out over the ocean, grasping daggers plunged into the surrounding islands, the film’s Oscar-nominated score crescendoing. It’s no wonder that, after viewing this film, President Roosevelt whole-heartedly committed to the use of long-range aircraft. And with that, although VTAP may not have been a hit, it certainly accomplished what Walt set out for it to do, which was quite a feat: not a lot of film producers could claim that one of their films changed governmental policies and may have helped lead to the end of a war.

Training Shorts:

The Studios produced over 200 separate training films for the military on a variety of topics, most of them so top secret that the animators had to have special clearance to work on them. Most of these shorts were, per Maltin, “pretty dry�?, so we are only given two to watch in their entirety (Four Methods of Flush Riveting and Stop That Tank, which will have you riveting and rifling like a pro in no time, respectively), along with a Training Film Montage that collects highlight clips on various subjects (including a brief excerpt from Frank Capra’s acclaimed Why We Fight series). What is presented here is surely enough to get an idea of what these films were: simplicity and clarity reigned, and they got the job done.

Bonus Features:

Rounding out the set is a batch of extras that are just as enlightening as the main events, most notably with a series of galleries that, through Maltin’s commentary on select images, actually add even more information to the subject instead of just enhancing the previous material.

  • Representing VTAP is the film’s original Trailer as well as rare, silent footage from On the Set (showing a vary haggard-looking Walt) and four Galleries featuring Visual Development (including some from Seversky himself), Story (showing an alternate view of the film with cartoony airplanes), Backgrounds and Publicity.
  • The Production Art Gallery includes backgrounds, storyboards and/or concept art for virtually all of the shorts to some extent, with extensive sections for the ‘big ones’: The New Spirit, Der Feuhrer’s Face and Education for Death.
  • Incentive posters (produced after Pearl Harbor to promote vigilance) not movie posters appear in the Poster Gallery. Here, along with the insignias, is where you’ll find most of Mickey’s involvement from the time period.
  • Dispatches from Disney’s was a one of a kind newsletter published for the Disney staff that were currently serving in the military overseas as a way to report on the happenings back home at the Studios. This very rare document is presented here in its own gallery.
  • The first children’s book by author Roald Dahl (James and the Giant Peach) was The Gremlins, a fanciful story of little creatures who sabotage airplanes, was planned as a short, but eventually shelved. Included in this gallery is early production work as well as images from the rare picture book that was published.
  • Take a peek into famed Disney artist Joe Grant’s Sketchbook Gallery for samples of his artwork from the period.
  • Disney artists designed over 1,200 insignias for military units during this time, using existing characters as well as creating new ones. In the Insignia Gallery, you can view images of some of these, featuring such characters as Donald (who was in over 200 insignia designs alone), Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, Jiminy Cricket, Thumper, Ben Alligator, Hiawatha, Jim Crow, the Grasshopper, and Max Hare. Well worth a perusal (for even more, check out the book Disney Dons Dog Tags) to see such iconic characters wielding weapons and dropping bombs.
  • Completing the set are three A Conversation with … segments featuring Maltin interviewing a trio of Disney Legends who were all present during the period in question: John Hench, Joe Grant and Roy Disney. They each offer their own insights and recollections to what is was like to live during such times.

Toon Talk Rating: A+