Walt Disney Treasures - Disney on the Front Lines

This set covers all the various cartoons that were themed to World War II.

250,000 sets produced.

Disc one

Propaganda and Entertainment
Donald Gets Drafted (1942)
The Army Mascot (1942)
The Vanishing Private (1942)
Sky Trooper (1942)
Private Pluto (1943)
Fall Out - Fall In (1943)
Victory Vehicles (1943)
The Old Army Game (1943)
Home Defense (1943)
How To Be a Sailor (1944)
Commando Duck (1944)
Educational Shorts
Thrifty Pig (1941)
Seven Wise Dwarfs (1941)
Food Will Win the War (1942)
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Firing Line (1942)
Donald's Decision (1942)
All Together (1942)
The New Spirit (1942)
The Spirit of '43 (1943)
The Winged Scourge (1943)
Defense Against Invasion (1943)
The Grain That Built a Hemisphere (1943)
Cleanliness Brings Health (1945)
What Is Disease? (AKA The Unseen Enemy) (1945)
Planning For Good Eating (1946)
From the Vault
Der Fuehrer's Face (1943)
Education For Death (1943)
Reason and Emotion (1943)
Chicken Little (1943)

Disc two

Victory Through Air Power: This World War II film, meant to send a message rather than entertain, is adapted from a book by Russian-born Major Alexander P. de Seversky. It starts out with a brief but interesting history of airplanes, starting with the Wright Brothers' first flight in Kittyhawk. We see aviation being explored by various nations for various purposes and then airplanes put to limited use in World War I, followed by a series of successes in flight, before finally moving on to World War II. The film talks about the history of Major de Seversky, who later explains about how the advent of aircraft spells change in the face of traditional warfare. It then goes on to explain how the Allies chose not to embrace the use of air power and instead, used old-fashioned methods of warfare to battle the Axis powers, who used aircraft to do their dirty work. The point the film makes is that the only way for the Allies to secure victory over the robust Axis is to make heavy use of military aviation, because, as we're told, fighting on the surface puts the advantage in the hands of Adolf Hitler.

Training Shorts

Four Methods of Flush Riveting: This film, produced under the direction of the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, a neighbor of the Disney studios, uses cheap, quick animation diagrams to provide the lowdown on flush riveting.

Stop That Tank: This film, made for Canada, begins with an interesting cartoon showing Hitler (depicted as a ranting madman speaking in phony German) and an armada of tanks trying to invade a peaceful-looking village, only to be fought off by a barrage of gunfire from anti-tank guns, so much so that it sends Hitler to Hell. The rest of this short is a dry and technical explanation and description of the Boys Anti-Tank Rifle. Just like the previous short, animation is limited.

Training Film Montage: Narrated by Maltin, this segment contains various clips from the many training films Disney made for the military, including one film that was restricted, because it contained formulas to mix a glue that could be used to create weather-sealed patches on wooden airplanes. This film contains a wide spectrum of instructional films and Maltin also describes the different animation methods used for these works.

Bonus Features

On the Set of Victory Through Air Power: This film contains rare behind-the-scene footage of the 1943 film.

Victory Through Air Power Trailer: A look at how this film was promoted to audiences.

Galleries

Production Art Gallery: This gallery depicts art from many of the cartoons on the first disc. They are all a blend of black and white sketches, color sketches and background paintings.

Victory Through Air Power Gallery: A lot of images, divided into four sections (Visual Development, Story, Backgrounds and Publicity), are depicted.

The Gremlins Gallery: A few images on an interesting collaboration between Walt Disney and children's author Roald Dahl. Dahl's first book was to be the first adapted into a feature film, too. But the project was scrapped after Dahl was disappointed by the conceptual artwork and Walt Disney couldn't secure copyrights to the term "Gremlins".

Poster Gallery: Various attention-grabbing messages depicted on posters in this gallery.

Dispatches From Disney's: A disregarded publication.

Joe Grant's Sketchbook: Artwork from the Disney character designer and animator.

Insignia Gallery: Various Disney insignias and logos used for the war effort.

A Conversation With John Hench: Maltin meets with the longest-term Disney employee, who discusses how after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Burbank studio was instantly turned into a base for the military.

A Conversation With Joe Grant: Maltin meets with the longtime Disney animator and storyman, who compares the modern American terror situation to World War II. Grant discusses the changes he saw at the Disney studio once uniformed men showed up. He also lends some insight to the shorts Der Fuehrer's Face, The New Spirit, Education For Death, Reason and Emotion and Victory Through Air Power. He also touches upon the subject of working with Dick Huemer.

A Conversation With Roy Disney: Walt's nephew recalls his boyhood memories of the Disney studio during the war and also touches on the Disney insignia's popularity and his own method of promoting Victory Through Air Power.