View source for The Spirit of '43

{{short description|1943 Donald Duck cartoon}}
{{Infobox film
| name              = The Spirit of '43
| image             = Spirit 43 - Title card - títol.JPG
| caption           = Theatrical release title card
| director          = [[Jack King (animator)|Jack King]]
| producer          = [[Walt Disney]]
| starring          = [[Clarence Nash]]
| narrator          = Fred Shields
| animator          = [[Ward Kimball]]<ref>[https://mubi.com/films/the-spirit-of-43 MUBI]</ref>
| story             = [[Carl Barks]]
| studio            = [[Walt Disney Productions]]
| distributor       = [[RKO Radio Pictures]]
| released          = {{Film date|1943|01|07}}
| color_process     = [[Technicolor]]
| runtime           = 6 minutes<ref>[https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film784484.html FilmAffinity]</ref>
| country           = United States
| language          = English
}}

'''''The Spirit of '43''''' is an American [[Animated film|animated]] [[World War II]] [[propaganda film]] created by [[Walt Disney Pictures|Walt Disney Studios]] and released in January 1943.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |accessdate=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/74/mode/2up |pages=74–76}}</ref> The film stars [[Donald Duck]] and features [[screenwriter|writer]][[Storyboard artist|/designer]] [[Carl Barks]]' prototype for the character [[Scrooge McDuck]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168184/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv The film's trivia section on IMDb]{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=August 2022}}</ref> It is a sequel to ''[[The New Spirit]]''. The purpose of the film is to encourage patriotic Americans to file and pay their [[income tax]]es faithfully in order to help the [[war effort]]. The repeated theme in the film is "taxes to defeat the [[Axis powers|Axis]]".

The film is in the [[public domain]]<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/244145963 Cartoon craze presents: Donald Duck, Woody Woodpecker: Pantry Panic (DVD video, 2004)-WorldCat.org]</ref> and therefore can be seen on many [[Grey market|gray market]] videos<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Donald-Duck-Spirit-Little-Hooked/dp/B0007LYPC6 Amazon.com: Donald Duck: Spirit of '43, Susie the Little Blue Coupe, Hooked Bear & the Old Shell Game]</ref> as well as official Disney releases.<ref>[https://www.dvdizzy.com/onthefrontlines.html Walt Disney Treasures: Walt Disney on the Front Lines DVD Review-DVDizzy.com]</ref>

==History==
The title is an allusion to the expression "[[Spirit of '76 (sentiment)|Spirit of '76]]" (referring to the sentiment around the [[American Revolution]] in 1776).

The plot of the second film recycled from ''The New Spirit'' involves how taxes are used to develop war materials to destroy the Axis.

''The Spirit of '43'' was released in 2004 as part of the two-disc DVD collection of [[Walt Disney Treasures]]. Since then, it has fallen in the public domain due to wartime films made for the [[Government of the United States|U.S. government]].

==Plot==
In the film, Donald Duck is portrayed as an [[everyman]] who has just received his weekly pay. He is met by two physical manifestations of his personality—the classic "[[shoulder angel|good angel on one shoulder, bad devil on the other shoulder]]" dilemma common to cartoons of the time—identified as the "thrifty saver" and the "[[spendthrift]]".

The "good duck" appears as an elderly duck in Scottish garb who urges Donald to be thrifty with his money so he can pay his [[taxes]] and help the war effort. The "bad duck" appears as a [[zoot suit]]-wearing [[Hipster (1940s subculture)|hipster]] who urges Donald to spend his money on idle pleasures such as "good dates". The good duck reminds him of other "dates": the dates when his taxes are due.<ref>In the 1940s, unlike modern times, income taxes were paid directly by workers every three months rather than directly deducted from employee paychecks and paid by employers on behalf of the employees.</ref> The narrator explains that Americans should "gladly and proudly" pay their income taxes which are higher than ever that year "thanks to [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] and [[Hirohito]]".

[[File:Spirit 43 - Scrooge - Oncle Picsou - Garrepa.JPG|thumb|The good duck trying to get Donald to save his pay for taxes.]]
A tug-of-war ensues between "spend" and "save" with Donald caught in the middle. Eventually the two burst apart and Donald sees them for who they really are: one a friend of Hitler, the other an American patriot. The narrator asks the audience whether they will "spend for the Axis" or "save for taxes". Donald chooses the latter and goes to pay his taxes with the good duck.

The second part of the film is a montage entirely recycled from ''The New Spirit'', showing how the taxes are being used to make planes, bombs, ships, and other war materials. It then shows them being used against Axis forces, along with the repeated slogan "taxes to (bury, sink, etc.) the Axis", accompanied by the opening bars of [[Beethoven's Fifth Symphony]] (the "[[V sign#The V campaign and the victory.2Ffreedom sign|V for Victory]]" theme).<ref>[https://archive.org/details/TheSpiritOf43_56 Internet Archive]</ref>

==Voice cast==
* [[Clarence Nash]] as [[Donald Duck]]

==Home media==
The short was released on May 18, 2004, on ''[[Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Three#Walt Disney on the Front Lines|Walt Disney Treasures: Walt Disney on the Front Lines]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Walt Disney on the Front Lines DVD Review |url=https://www.dvdizzy.com/onthefrontlines.html |website=DVD Dizzy |access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://publicdomainmovie.net/movie/the-spirit-of-43 ''The Spirit of '43''] on publicdomainmovie.net
* {{YouTube|XNMrMFuk-bo|''The Spirit of '43''}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{DisneyAtoZ|title=''The Spirit of '43''}}

{{Disney World War II propaganda films}}
{{Donald Duck World War II}}
{{Donald Duck in animation}}
{{Jack King}}
{{Scrooge McDuck in animation}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit of 43, The}}
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:1940s Disney animated short films]]
[[Category:Donald Duck short films]]
[[Category:American World War II propaganda shorts]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jack King]]
[[Category:Films produced by Walt Disney]]
[[Category:Films set on the home front during World War II]]
[[Category:World War II films made in wartime]]
[[Category:Animated films about birds]]
[[Category:American animated short films]]
[[Category:Films about ducks]]
[[Category:RKO Pictures short films]]
[[Category:RKO Pictures animated short films]]
[[Category:Films about old age]]
[[Category:English-language short films]]
[[Category:English-language war films]]
[[Category:1943 animated short films]]