Historical ‘tooning: Disney, Warner Brothers, the depression and war 1932-1945

This thesis argues that the animation produced by the Disney and Warner Brothers Studios since 1932 presents a particular adaptation of the Depression and New Deal America to its audiences, leaving a heavy ideological imprint for historians to excavate. An analysis of this ideology is completely absent from current literature on animation or feature films during this period. Using unpublished memoranda from the Walt Disney Studios, trade press reviews and qualitative analysis, this thesis draws conclusions on how animation developed into a medium fit for propaganda in 1941. During the 1930s, animation underwent a transition from entertainment, to subjective commentary, before finally undertaking Government sponsored propaganda during the Second World War. It is this development in animation’s history that this thesis will uncover.