His whole vast studio – with Donald Duck and all the rest – are working now for Uncle Sam. He's a propaganda genius for whom the Axis would give a dozen divisions. Let's see how he got that way...
When Walt Disney was a little boy and wanted a toy wagon, he sat down and drew one on a piece of paper. At eight he was earning the money for his haircuts by drawing pictures for the barber. At 16 he tried to go to war. He looked too young for his years – even as he does today – but his mother helped him by fibbing about his age, and he succeeded in getting across to France as a driver of Red Cross ambulances. He drew pictures all over them — mad, fantastic cartoons which convinced the French that Americans were crazy.
Disney may have smuggled himself into the last war, but he walked into this one on a red carpet. The day after Pearl Harbor the Navy had Walt on the phone.
Could he make X number of films for training Navy personnel on airplane and warship identification?
He could.
When could he start?
As soon as he hung up.
Disney has made X films and is making X more. No regular Disney characters are involved in these, but they'll do their part for the US. in other series. For instance, 18 South American short subjects to promote that good-neighbor feeling have been projected. Disney took a trip through South America with his key artists to collect the material. Four of these have been completed, and, while they will not be released to regular theaters until late fall, it can be whispered that Donald Duck is in one of than and Goofy is in another.
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