Blitz Wolf

We all love to make fun of Adolf Hitler. He's the sort of political figure who's tailor-made for caricature, as Charles Chaplin discovered with 'The Great Dictator (1940).' But it also happens that he was a monster, one whose success spawned the most devastating conflict the human race has ever known. So it's with some uncertainty that comedy and propaganda combine in Tex Avery's 'Blitz Wolf (1942).' That same year, Jack Kinney's 'Der Fuehrer's Face (1942)' won an Oscar for showing Donald Duck's miserable life in "Nutzi" land, where he is continually battered into submission by the machinery of fascism, but Avery's cartoon is rather more open about its hatred towards Germany's leader. An opening title mocks convention by declaring that "the wolf in this photoplay is NOT fictitious. Any similarity between this Wolf and that (*!!*!) jerk Hitler is purely intentional!" Thus, the knives are sharpened, and Adolf Hitler's animated counterpart is about to receive his due.

'Blitz Wolf' is styled around the tale of the Three Little Pigs (particularly the 1933 Disney Silly Symphony) – certainly the most offbeat version of the story you'll ever see – with the Big Bad Wolf having attained a characteristic moustache and a distinctive German accent. The first two pigs, having misguidedly entered into a peace treaty with the Wolf, are surprised to have their homes destroyed by his armies (this Wolf is too weak and cowardly to blow down houses himself, and instead uses mechanical beasts to do his dirty work). The third pig, his home a veritable steel fortress (a sign announcing "No dogs/Japs allowed!"), urges his brothers to help fight their collective enemy, both in combat and by purchasing war bonds. Not surprisingly, the remainder of the film consists of the Hitler-Wolf being continually shot and blasted from all angles, until he eventually wakes to find himself in the fiery dungeons of Hell. It gets a little bit repetitive, but, of course, Hitler deserves to be exploded as many times as possible.

Whereas I found 'Der Fuehrer's Face (1942)' to be a highly rewatchable cartoon, even nearly seventy years later, Avery's take on Nazism isn't quite so fresh. There are some excellent word gags, such as a title on the Wolf's tank reading "Der Fewer (Der Better)," but there are also some self-referential signs that may elicit a disbelieving groan: "Gone with the Wind" when the first pig's house is blown away (despite the animators' acknowledgement of its corniness) and "Long darn thing, isn't it?" when we can clearly already see that the pigs' weaponry is rather lengthy. For the adults, there's also plenty of mischievous sexual innuendo at play, particularly in the comparisons made between the length of each army's cannons. One gag, with a suddenly-limp American cannon being rejuvenated by a dosage of Vitamin B1, was certainly more forward than I'm used to from 1940s children's cartoons. Overall, 'Blitz Wolf' is not the most intelligent of animated shorts, but it's an interesting historical document, and a bit of fun, too.

This is a fairly slick propaganda film, with some pigs being a disinterested citizenry and the wolf being Hitler and the Germans. The third pig builds an armed fortress with bombs and guns. His bullet are war bonds. The wolf eventually meets some people who will become lifelong friends (and then some).

Very well done propaganda piece from the WWII era has the famous story of the three little pigs told with Hitler as the wolf. He's huffing and puffing away the straw and wood houses but then finds himself at war with the third piggies house, a bunker with hundreds of canons in it.

Amusing tale is well told, only to be slowed down by some silly gags with little posts here and there throughout the movie. For instance: when the first pig flees from his blown away house, it says 'gone with the wind', only to be followed by another sign: 'Corny gag, isn't it'. Yes, it sure is!

But overall this short is loads of fun and way better than comparable ones from that time, so if you have a chance of catching this: please do!

7/10.

This cartoon short might be one of the best war-time propaganda pieces ever made, along with 'Der Fuehrer's Face' (Both were nominated for Best Animated Short at the Oscars, with the latter winning). As usual, Tex Avery's visual gags were wild, unruly, all over the place, and top-notch. I love the character design of the Hitler Wolf (though why is the moustache split? Why not draw him with the regular Charlie Chaplin? The inaccuracy of the moustache is the one thing that annoys me) (Also, Adolf is an amalgam of Adal Wulf "Noble Wolf", so the character was of course a no-brainer, but still clever in this context) and his "combat" with the Three Little Pigs (Lead by Sergeant Pork) using an arsenal of gags, goofs, and antics. I've lost count how many times I've watched this cartoon, and I can honestly say it's more well thought-out than most action movies, and a far more brilliant piece of American propaganda than the generic Lone Survivor/Black Hawk Down/American Sniper crap we have today. P.S. This cartoon was made in 1942, and I know it's in reference to the Doolittle raid, but there's a scene where they wipe out Japan with a single bomb, which is oddly prescient the more you think about it.

These WWII propaganda cartoons are really interesting to me because of the history behind them-a look at the War Years. I have a few propaganda favorites from Disney, but this short is my favorite from MGM.

Well, to the nitty-gritty: "Blitz Wolf" is one of Avery's masterpieces, a wild satire of Adolf Hitler disguised as the story of "The Three Little Pigs." Fred Quimby allegedly told Avery to be careful when caricaturing Adolf Hitler, saying, "After all, we don't know who's going to win the war!" The short was a great success and received a nomination for an Academy Award (one of Avery's six nominations). It lost to another excellent WWII propaganda cartoon, Walt Disney's "Der Fuehrer's Face," starring Donald Duck.

This short is also the first short Tex Avery directed and the first voice-acting role for Bill Thompson (Adolf Wolf).