Der Fuehrer's Face

"The picture from which the song sensation was taken!"

1943 0h 8m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 177

AnimationComedyMusic

Synopsis

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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.

“The picture from which the song sensation was taken!”

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Cast

Clarence Nash
Donald Duck (voice) (uncredited)
Billy Bletcher
Nazi (voice) (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jack Kinney
Writers: Dick Huemer, Joe Grant
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 8-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

83 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Oliver Wallace. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Clarence Nash and Billy Bletcher carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The picture from which the song sensation was taken!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0035794 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jack Kinney directs. Oliver Wallace scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 8-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
283 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Original score by Oliver Wallace. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Clarence Nash and Billy Bletcher carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The picture from which the song sensation was taken!".
7IMDB entry: tt0035794 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "propaganda", "fascism", "world war ii", "wartime".

The technical file

Original score: Oliver Wallace
Runtime: 8 min · 0h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Der Fuehrer's Face (1943)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jack Kinney

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-02-15
★ 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.

Production companies