Storyline
A marching band of Germans, Italians, and Japanese march through the streets of swastika-motif Nutziland, serenading "Der Fuehrer's Face." Donald Duck, not living in the region by choice, struggles to make do with disgusting Nazi food rations and then with his day of toil at a Nazi artillery factory. After a nervous breakdown, Donald awakens to find that his experience was in fact a nightmare.
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CinemaSerf
February 15, 2024
7 / 10
Walt Disney uses "Donald Duck" this time, as his parodying vehicle to extol the virtues of American freedoms and liberty in the face of an intricately and engagingly drawn portrait of Adolf Hitler and his militaristic, marching, master race merchants. It's largely set to song ridiculing the Nazi philosophy of superiority and pops at the other two axis leaders too. Then to "Naziland" we head where there are no such things as slaves - just those patriotic citizens employed there, like it or not! Munitions and photographs - maybe more of the latter for saluting. An early example of the cult of personality? It's quite impactful at the start, but the repetitiveness causes it to run out of steam as the conveyor belt routine does send the message, but maybe labours the point at bit as "Donald suffers a nervous breakdown and starts hallucinating, before... It had a job to do, and like so many cartoons made as the US at this time, it became increasingly more involved in raising awareness of the reasons for fighting the Second World War. This was intended to poignantly bolster domestic loathing of their enemies and appreciation of what's worth fighting for - and it does that quite effectively and with some humour too.
