Reason and Emotion


Reason and Emotion is a 1943 propaganda short film by Walt Disney Productions, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1943. Released on August 27, 1943 in the United States, the short is eight minutes long.
The short has been compared to the 2015 Pixar Animation Studios film Inside Out.

Plot

The short is about how a person adopts their ability to solve problems through logical reasoning or through emotional passion. The point is that Adolf Hitler does not have any reasoning and purely relies on emotion, and that "Americans should control the emotion inside our head lest it control us — and make us vulnerable to Hitler's vile fearmongering." Hitler's speeches and motivational tactics are shown as manipulative.

Production

Reason and Emotion was directed by Bill Roberts, and animation was done by Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnson. BlogofDeath explains: "During World War II, Joe Grant| Grant and animator Dick Huemer created gags and designs for many of Disney’s patriotic-themed cartoons", including this movie.

Home media

The short film was released on Disney Treasures: On the Front Lines.

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."

External sources