Reason and Emotion
Directed byBill Roberts
Story byJoe Grant
Dick Huemer
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringFrank Graham
Sarah Selby
Mary Lennon
Harry E. Lang[1]
Ward Kimball[2]
Music byOliver Wallace
Animation byOllie Johnston
Milt Kahl
Ward Kimball
Fred Moore
Bill Tytla
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
August 28, 1943
Running time
8 minutes

Reason and Emotion is a propaganda short film by Walt Disney Productions, released on August 28, 1943, by RKO Radio Pictures. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in the same year. The short is eight minutes long.[3]

The short has been cited as an influence on the 2015 Pixar Animation Studios film Inside Out by the latter film's director, Pete Docter.[4]

Plot

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The short demonstrates how a person adopts their ability to solve problems through logical reasoning (the head) or through emotional passion (the heart). Adolf Hitler is shown to not have any reasoning, instead relying purely on emotion; it is explained that "Americans should control the emotion inside our head lest it control us — and make us vulnerable to Hitler's vile fearmongering".[4] Hitler's speeches and motivational tactics are shown as manipulative.[5]

Production

Reason and Emotion was directed by Bill Roberts, with animation by Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston, among others.[6] 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 film.[7]

Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on Walt Disney Treasures: Walt Disney on the Front Lines.[8]

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".[9]

Additional media appearances

The cartoon characters "Reason" and "Emotion" also appear in the Upjohn Company's, educational health, short animated feature, "Understanding Alcohol Use and Abuse", which was produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1979, being the final installment of Upjohn's Triangle of Health series.

References

  1. ^ Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media. p. 553.
  2. ^ "Animation Anecdotes Redux |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 153. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
  4. ^ a b "See What 'Inside Out' Has in Common With a Disney World War II Propaganda Short". Yahoo.com. June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  5. ^ How was animation utilized to support the American war effort during World War II?, Hillsboro IB History II
  6. ^ "Reason and Emotion". Disneyshorts.org. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  7. ^ Joe Grant, Blog of Death
  8. ^ "Walt Disney on the Front Lines DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Tom Klein (June 8, 2015). "Pixar Finds It's [sic] "Reason and Emotion"". Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved June 20, 2015.

External sources

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