Reason and Emotion
Reason and Emotion is a 1943 propaganda short film by Walt Disney Productions, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1943. Released on August 27, 1943 in the United States, the short is eight minutes long.[1]
| Reason and Emotion | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bill Roberts |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Story by | Joe Grant Dick Huemer |
| Starring | Frank Graham |
| Music by | Edward H. Plumb |
| Animation by | Ollie Johnston Milt Kahl Ward Kimball Fred Moore Bill Tytla |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date | August 27, 1943 |
Running time | 8 minutes |
The short has been compared to the 2015 Pixar Animation Studios film Inside Out.[2]
Plot
The short is about how a person adopts their ability to solve problems through logical reasoning (the head) or through emotional passion (the heart). The point is that Adolf Hitler does not have any reasoning and purely relies on emotion, and that "Americans should control the emotion inside our head lest it control us — and make us vulnerable to Hitler's vile fearmongering."[2] Hitler's speeches and motivational tactics are shown as manipulative.[3]
Production
Reason and Emotion was directed by Bill Roberts, and animation was done by Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnson.[4] BlogofDeath explains: "During World War II, [Joe] Grant and animator Dick Huemer created gags and designs for many of Disney’s patriotic-themed cartoons", including this movie.[5]
Home media
The short film was released on Disney Treasures: On the Front Lines.[4]
Critical reception
IndieWire wrote, "Reason and Emotion is exactly the kind of thing that sticks in your mind because it is strange, a wartime film that used a visual metaphor to make a case about Americans keeping their calm during WWII."[6]
References
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 153. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
- "See What 'Inside Out' Has in Common With a Disney World War II Propaganda Short". Yahoo.com. June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
- How was animation utilized to support the American war effort during World War II?, Hillsboro IB History II
- "Reason and Emotion". Disneyshorts.org. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
- Joe Grant, Blog of Death
- Tom Klein (June 8, 2015). "Pixar Finds It's [sic] "Reason and Emotion"". Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved June 20, 2015.