Four patriotic shorts of the 1940s were shown
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For the next section of the program, Bossert provided historic background for Disney�s World War II government films. The first for this evening, The New Spirit (1942), was requested just eleven days after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Bossert brought a copy of the transcript of the actual phone call Disney made from Washington D.C. �The Treasury Department wants us to make a film. It�s a big order,� the message began. The New Spirit would present Donald Duck, explaining why it was the patriotic duty of American citizens to pay their income taxes on time�and like it. As Bossert explained, the film had to made on a tight deadline, having been finished in less than two months. It opened in theaters on January 23, 1942.

A crushed German war machine from The New Spirit

Before moving on to the next short subject, Hahn and Bossert mentioned the patriotic finale of The New Spirit, noting that it was story man Joe Grant�s sketch that defined the red white and blue sky, later seen in the stage presentation of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. They also pointed out the reuse of the animation of a swirling whirl pool from Fantasia.

Story board for The Winged Scourge
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The Winged Scourge (1943) was next on the program. This short first offered a grim recounting of the destruction caused by malaria bearing mosquitoes. �It gives me the creeps,� Hahn admitted, but they brought it along anyway. Mitigating the creepy factor was the presence of the Seven Dwarfs, enlisted to illustrate various ways to combat the winged scourge. (Although Hahn and Bossert did caution the crowd not to use some of the methods described in the film, including pouring oil over the surface of ponds, and liberally spraying homes with Paris Green insecticide.)

Among the Dwarfs� safer suggestions: sleep under mosquito netting
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Another public service cartoon was next. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Firing Line (1942) starred Minnie Mouse and Pluto, explaining why it was important for housewives to store and save household fats. At first Pluto is resentful when he is asked to forgo a tasty sauce of bacon grease, but when he realizes properly stored household fats could be turned over to the friendly neighborhood butcher for use in weapons production, he is more than happy to do his part. The short also offered a brief glimpse of Mickey Mouse in uniform, in a portrait hanging on the wall.

Pluto realizes bacon grease is better saved for the war effort
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