Der Fuehrer's Face

Der Fuehrer's Face
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack Kinney
Story byJoe Grant
Dick Huemer
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringClarence Nash
Cliff Edwards
Charles Judels
Music byOliver Wallace
Animation byBob Carlson
Les Clark
Bill Justice
Milt Neil
Charles Nichols
John Sibley
Layouts byDon DaGradi
Andy Engman[1]
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • January 1, 1943 (1943-01-01)
[2]
Running time
8 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Der Fuehrer's Face (originally titled Donald Duck in Nutziland[3] or A Nightmare in Nutziland) is an American animated anti-Nazi propaganda short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, created in 1942 and released on January 1, 1943 by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon, which features Donald Duck in a nightmare setting working at a factory in Nazi Germany, was made in an effort to sell war bonds and is an example of American propaganda during World War II.[4] The film was directed by Jack Kinney and written by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer.[5] Spike Jones released a version of Oliver Wallace's theme for the short before the film was released.

Der Fuehrer's Face won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at the 15th Academy Awards.[6][7] It is the only Donald Duck film to receive the honor, although eight other films have also been nominated.[8] In 1994, it was voted Number 22 of "the 50 Greatest Cartoons" of all time by members of the animation field.[9] However, because of the propagandistic nature of the short and the depiction of Donald Duck as a Nazi (albeit a deeply reluctant one), Disney kept the film out of general circulation after its original release. Its first home release came in 2004 with the release of the third wave of the Walt Disney Treasures DVD sets.

  1. ^ "Der Fuehrer's Face". Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016.
  2. ^ Rowan, Terry (6 January 2016). Motion Pictures from the Fabulous 1940's. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-329-81141-6.
  3. ^ "New U.S. War Songs". LIFE. Vol. 13, no. 18. 2 November 1942. p. 44. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  4. ^ Blitz, Marcia (1979). Donald Duck. New York: Harmony Books. p. 133. ISBN 0-517-52961-0.
  5. ^ "Der Fuehrer's Face". Bcdb.com. 2012-12-16. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
  6. ^ "The 15th Academy Awards | 1943". Oscars.org. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Biographies of 10 Classic Disney Characters". Disney D23. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03.
  8. ^ "Jack Hannah". D23. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  9. ^ Beck, Jerry (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Turner Publishing. ISBN 978-1878685490.