Last year Walt Disney made more cartoons than in any previous year, and ninety-four per cent were Army and Navy training films. Disney sees more than entertainment value in the animated cartoon. Here he discusses the great educational value of this medium.
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Fifteen years ago we brought to life, in sound and sight, a little character which was to become an international symbol of fun and understanding. Mickey Mouse.
Mickey actually was to become much more than a symbol. He was to signalise the opening of an entirely new medium for the motion picture. Already the medium has proved itself as an instrument of enlightenment. It has been doing a highly efficient job in speeding up the education and training of men in the United Nations' Services, in carrying messages of health and hygiene to all quarters or the globe.
The possibilities of the animated cartoon as a medium of education are virtually limitless. Its field is bounded only by the capability of men to use it for its full possibilities.
Educational pictures have been neglected through the years, but the pressure of war has forced their use. The basic subjects of learning will continue to be taught, but their advancement by means of the motion-picture screen will give more people an opportunity to learn.
Pictures can make both teaching and learning a pleasure; and educators agree that when a student has begun to learn, and likes it, half the problem is solved.
In the development of the educational programme for the Army and Navy we have discovered many new techniques.
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