The New Spirit

I don't find "The New Spirit" very interesting simply as a cartoon. But it retroactively brings up an important point: you can't wage unfunded wars. Regardless of what you think about war, there's still no way to wage it unless you tax people. To be certain, Franklin Roosevelt imposed very high taxes on the rich. George W. Bush, on the other hand, cut taxes during wartime and simply told people to go shopping. There can be no doubt that waging the unfunded wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (to say nothing of deregulating Wall Street) contributed to the worldwide economic crisis.

OK, too much analysis. As I said, this cartoon is nothing special.

This is a documentary short done by Disney for the Department of the Treasury to encourage people to pay their taxes early. This was nominated for a Academy Award for Documentary and though it is somewhat dated, it is a fascinating look back in time. Consider Donald's income level, for one thing. The amount he owes in taxes is another eye-opener. Even though this is about a serious subject, the standard Disney flourishes are very much in evidence throughout.

This is on the Disney Treasures On The Front Lines, an extraordinary collection of work produced by the Disney studios to aid in the war effort. Some of this was commissioned by the government and some of the material was produced as entertainment, but with a war-related theme. An exceptional set, well worth getting. New Spirit is recommended, but On The Front Lines is most highly recommended.

This is an odd little propaganda film made by the folks at Disney. During WWII, they made a lot of films for the government as well as the Canadian government--supporting such programs as war bonds, taxes and the like. Here, Donald Duck does his part by showing incredible excitement to help in the war effort--and he is positively giddy with the prospect of paying his yearly IRS bill. In fact, he's so excited, he pays early! What a huge difference between then and now, huh?! Regardless of the VERY dated message, the film is extremely well animated and enjoyable even today...in an era where most folks can't stand the Internal Revenue Service! An interesting little curio that is best enjoyed by HUGE fans of animation as well as historians. Oh, and by the way, that's Cliff Edwards (the voice of Jimminy Cricket) doing the singing in this one.

I didn't quite get this cartoon as the tax system in this country is very, very different from that in America. It appears that if Donald Duck pays his taxes early then somehow it will give the American government a better chance at winning WWII.

This Donald does with worrying eagerness. So much so he races across the country with the envelope in his hand instead of relying on the postal system (do you blame him?).

Nothing much else of interest. It does say on a tax form though, that Donald has adopted his nephews Huey, Duey and Luey. This I never knew. It was also up from an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject.

I had a bit of a 'Disney propaganda' night today (with Der Fuehrer's Face, Education For Death, The New Spirit (or Spirit of '43) and Bugs Bunny Nips The Nips), and I'm afraid to say this was the worst one. All it had to say was: pay your taxes in time so we can spend it all on war-machinery to kill of the nazi's. Perhaps effective in it's time, but pretty lame in retrospect.

The good part of the movie was the ending, with the sky turning into the stars and stripes, as Donald decides to pay his debt instead of wasting it all on idle goods.

But if you want to see a really good WWII propaganda movie, I'd advise you go with Der Fuehrer's Face (also starring Donald Duck) instead. As for this one: 3/10.