Disney Era Analysis – The Wartime Era

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Now that I’ve finished reviewing and analysing Disney’s Golden Age, the next era I will be exploring is the Wartime Era.

The Wartime Era consisted of six animated feature films, and lasted for six years from 1943 until 1949:

  • Saludos Amigos
  • The Three Caballeros
  • Make Mine Music
  • Fun and Fancy Free
  • Melody Time
  • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The Wartime Era is also known as the “package era” as the films during this era were famous for consisting of multiple segments or short films with varying plots (or sometimes no plots at all) that were put together, as opposed to being a film focusing on or telling one concrete story. This era was also known for combining live action with animation.

The Wartime Era was also known for showing how World War II affected the Walt Disney Animation Studios. These affects included the Studios having lower budgets, and a smaller team of animators being available due to strikes and then some of them being drafted. In addition to these six films, Walt Disney also agreed to make propaganda films to receive funding from the U.S. government to keep his Studios afloat.

The Wartime Era was not even considered an era by some due to a lack of consistency and tone with each film, which is also a big factor in why the films of the era varied in both critical and commercial success.

The Wartime Era ended with The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, with the Silver Age kicking off the following year in 1950 with Cinderella, which would see Disney return to its roots of feature-length narratives, adaptations of famous narratives, and the boundaries of animation being pushed even further.

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