Two young squirrels ask their grandfather on Christmas Eve who the "men" are in the lyric "Peace on Earth, good will to men." The grandfather squirrel then tells them a history of the human race, focusing on the never-ending wars men waged. Ultimately the wars do end, with the deaths of the last men on Earth, two soldiers shooting each other, one shoots the other soldier and the injured soldier kills the last, but slowly dies as he sinks into a watery foxhole while his hand grasps into the water. Afterwards, the surviving animals discover a copy of an implied Bible in the ruins of a church. Inspired by the book's teachings, they decide to rebuild a society dedicated to peace and non-violence. The short features a version of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" with rewritten lyrics, and a trio of carolers sing this song outside of the squirrels' house.
Accolades
According to Hugh Harman's obituary in The New York Times and Ben Mankiewicz, host of Cartoon Alley, the cartoon was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. However, it is not listed in the official Nobel Prize nomination database. Mankiewicz also claimed that the cartoon was the first about a serious subject by a major studio. In 1994, it was voted #40 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. It was also nominated for the 1939 Academy Award for Short Subjects. It did not claim that honor.
Remake
, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera remade the cartoon in CinemaScope in 1955. This post-World War II version of the film, entitled Good Will to Men, featured updated and even more destructive forms of warfare technology such as flamethrowers, bazookas, missiles, and nuclear weapons. This version used a choir of mice as the main characters including a deacon mouse who tells the story to his charges, and also had more direct religious references. This new version was also nominated for the Best Animated Short Subject Oscar. This film would be the last animated production for producer Fred Quimby before he went into retirement in 1955 and died in 1965.
