Summer Travelling
1945 · 1m · Animation
World War II propaganda trailer asking travellers to have patience and make concessions when travelling on trains. Film mostly consists of rostrum animation of still cartooned images with some very short pieces of true animation. (BFI)
More Like This

Bully Boy
1914 · ★ 7
Lightning sketch propaganda stirs outrage about Reims bombing, and features a British bulldog eating the German sausage.
More info →
School of Assassins
1967
"This anti-Communism film uses animation to tell the story of two brothers, one of whom receives training for hemispheric subversion in Cuba and returns to his own country to spread violence and terror. He realizes his mistake when, in the course of trying to destroy an experimental farm, his actions bring about the death of his brother Gustavo. Produced by Copri International Films, Inc. (Miami, FL) and directed by Jose D. de Villegas" (US National Archives).
More info →
Sea Dreams
1914 · ★ 5
First World War animated propaganda short, extolling Britain's naval history and mocking the German navy.
More info →
Cartoons Go To War
1996 · ★ 10
This remarkable documentary dedicates itself to an extraordinary chapter of the second World War – the psychological warfare of the USA. America’s trusted cartoon darlings from the studios of Warner Bros., Paramount, and the “big animals” of the Disney family were supposed to give courage to the people at the homefront, to educate them, but also to simultaneously entertain them. Out of this mixture grew a genre of its own kind – political cartoons. Insightful Interviews with the animators and producers from back then elucidate in an amusing and astonishing way under which bizarre circumstances these films partially came into existence.
More info →
Victory Through Air Power
1943 · ★ 5.8
Based on the book by Major Alexander de Seversky's about his theories of the practical uses of long range strategic bombing. Using a combination of animation humorously telling about the development of air warfare, the film shows de Seversky illustrating his ideas of how air power could win World War II for the Allies.
More info →
The Right Spirit
1931
Don’t judge a book by its cover but do judge a political party by its garage.
More info →
Der Fuehrer's Face
1943 · ★ 6.9
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.
More info →
Duce Narrates...
1945 · ★ 8
The first Greek animated film was shot by the cartoonist Stamatis Polenakis (1908-1997) with the title "The Duce tells...". The seven-minute "Mickey-Mouse-style" film, as its creator mentions in the credits, satirizes the Italian invasion of Greece on October 28, 1940, and especially Mussolini, who recounts his exploits, but reality constantly contradicts him. Stamatis Polenakis, one of the leading Greek cartoonists of the 20th century and a pioneer of animation in our country, began drawing the sketches for the film in 1942 in his hometown, Sifnos, where he had taken refuge during the Occupation. He worked under the boot of the Italian conqueror, risking arrest. The film was lost during the Civil War and it was not until 1980 that a negative was found and restored.
More info →
Home Defense
1943 · ★ 6.2
Donald is manning a listening post and falls asleep; he blows trumpet calls in his sleep and wakes his nephews. For their revenge, they send up a model airplane filled with gingerbread men with parachutes; Donald shoots it down, and cowers in fear when he sees the parachutes (and hears a simulated battle), until one lands on his beak. Donald kicks his nephews out until he mistakes a bee for an airplane, and calls them back to fight this menace.
More info →Monsters Do Have Their Place
1971
Short animation from the early 1970s made in attempt to stop movie theater patrons from subscribing to pay TV.
More info →
200
1975 · ★ 6.5
A psychedelic animated short celebrating America's bicentennial. The film " provides a short, impressionistic history of the U.S. through famous American symbols, including the Statue of Liberty; the Woodstock logo; the Liberty Bell; and Mt. Rushmore. The symbols are layered on top of each other, as can be seen from a bald eagle hatching from a red, white, and blue egg and flying past the American Gothic farmers, the U.S. Capitol building, the Golden Gate Bridge, Abraham Lincoln’s cabin, and an American bison. The film was directed by Vince Collins" (US National Archives).
More info →
Sea Trial
1976
Lu Dahai and his shipbuilding team want the 10,000-ton ocean freighter "The East" to be given a sea trial. But the ship is made with domestic parts, and Chen Zongjie, a leader of the Party Committee of the Bureau of Foreign Transport, believes that the quality is not sufficient, and orders that the parts be replaced with imported ones before the sea trial takes place. In the end, the sea trial not only sets a successful new record, but also rescues a Taiwanese fishing boat in distress.
More info →