The cartoon,”Der Fuehrer’s Face”, depicts the well-known Disney character, Donald Duck, as a worker under slave-like conditions in Nazi Germany. This turns out to be a nightmare when Donald wakes up in the good, old USA.
The cartoon was made in 1942, and originally aired on January 1st, 1943. It was one of many animated films used as propaganda against the Nazi-regime and its allies. In 1994 the cartoon was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Cartoons. It was also one of the first to star Donald Duck, who had previously stood in the shadow of Mickey Mouse, and this was therefore one of the first steps on the beloved duck’s road to stardom.
The cartoon used several methods to bring its message across. The first thing one notice is the opening song, aptly named “Der Fuehrer’s Face”. The song is played in the style of a typical marching tune. The melody is fairly simple and repetitive, with a repeating verse. This leads itself to being easily remembered, an attribute that is useful for any piece of music, especially one that aims to manipulate listeners. One of the themes repeated many times in the song is “Ve Heil! Heil! Right in Der Fuehrer’s Face”, Der Fuehrer sometimes being replaced by Herr Goebbels and Herr Goering. After each “Heil!” a raspberry is blown (meaning a rude, ridiculing noise is made), this gave listeners a sense that the Nazis and their leaders were nothing more than figures of ridicule. The repetitive nature of the “Heil!” and the way it occurs whenever a Nazi leader makes a statement, portrays the Nazis as a group that will blindly follow their leaders’ orders, even when the orders are ridiculous.
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