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Walt Disney's Victory Through Air Power, the 1943 James Algar & Clyde Geronimi Walt Disney World War II (WWII) animated animation cartoon military airplane aviation propaganda movie promoting aerial bombing ("There's a thrill in the air!"; "A super movie quiz about... The stirring story of air power... from Kitty Hawk to victory!"; "Daring! Great! Graphic! Disney! Gripping! Different!"; "Daring! Different! Disney!"; "From the book by Alexander P. De Seversky"; "Based on the Book-of-Month sensation by Major De Seversky"; the movie was advocating the importance of having a strong Air Force, because Germany had already made theirs formidable, and Disney felt that the Allies could only win through having superior air power) featuring Major Alexander de Seversky, Art Baker (the narrator), and Billy Mitchell (the famous general who foresaw World War II, but was court-martialed for speaking his own mind, in archival footage). Major Alexander de Seversky had just written a best-selling book saying that modern wars could only be fought through the use of long range bombing, and this movie was very much in support of that view. It begins with a history of aviation, starting at Kitty Hawk and then moves to the then-present day, and says that the only way to effectively beat the Nazis was through the use of long range missile bombing. It calls America the "Arsenal of Democracy" and that because America was thousands of miles away from where the war was being fought, the only way to win would be with long range missiles. It describes very controversial methods of waging war, such as blowing up a dam to flood the enemy, using bombs that would cause earthquakes, etc. (controversial, because they would surely kill a huge number of civilians). Those "bombs that cause earthquakes" might certainly have been a metaphor for atomic bombs, which were in fact used just two years later, but against Japan, and not against Germany. It is certainly a very unusual cartoon for Disney, especially because it begins in a lighthearted comical tone, and later becomes incredibly downbeat! Part of the cartoon shows Major Alexander de Seversky talking directly to the audience.
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Important Added Info: Note that this still is somewhat of a mystery! It shows a great candid image of Walt Disney and another man standing in a production area, and it surely from the making of "Victory Through Air Power" (because it has that still code), but we don't know anymore about the still, except that it was found in a Disney studio office in London (see below), so it could be an English still, and it might be from the first English showing of the movie, but we just don't know. If anyone knows more about this still, please e-mail us and we will post it here. Also note that this still (and a number of other stills we are currently auctioning, both individuals and sets) was found in the files of the Disney studios in London. These include a number of extremely rare stills (some English and some U.S.), including ones we have never auctioned before! All of the stills we are auctioning from this "find" have this paragraph on them. Also note that this still measures 7 3/4" x 10" [20 x 25 cm], but it has not been trimmed.

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