View source for Stop That Tank!

{{italic title}}
{{Infobox film
| name              = Stop That Tank!
| image             = Stop_That_Tank!_title_screen.jpg
| alt               = 
| caption           = Title frame
| director          = [[Ub Iwerks]] (uncredited)<ref name="Grob">[http://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2015/12/02/stop-that-tank/ "Stop That Tank!"] ''Dr. Grob's Animation Review'', December 2, 2015. Retrieved: March 8, 2016.</ref>
| producer          = [[Walt Disney]]
| story             = 
| narrator          = Peter Carter Page (uncredited){{fact|date=January 2024}}
| starring          = [[Billy Bletcher]] as The Devil (voice) (uncredited){{fact|date=January 2024}}<br>Walt Disney as The Cow (voice) (uncredited){{fact|date=January 2024}}<br>[[Pinto Colvig]] as Vocal Effects (voice) (uncredited){{fact|date=January 2024}}
| music             = [[Frank Churchill]] (reused music from ''[[Three Little Wolves (film)|Three Little Wolves]]'' and ''[[The Practical Pig]]'')<br>[[Paul Smith (film and television composer)|Paul J. Smith]] (reused music from ''The Practical Pig'')
| animator          = Peter Carter Page<br>[[Ward Kimball]]<br>[[Fred Moore (animator)|Fred Moore]]
| layout_artist     = 
| background_artist = 
| studio            = [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios]]
| distributor       = [[Department of National Defence (Canada)]]<br>[[National Film Board of Canada]]
| released          = {{Film date|1942|03}}
| color_process     = [[Technicolor]]
| runtime           = 22 minutes
| country           = Canada
| language          = English
}}
'''''Stop That Tank!''''' (aka '''''Boys Anti-Tank Rifle''''') is a 22-minute 1942 [[Training film|instructional film]] created during [[World War II]] by [[Walt Disney Productions]] for the Directorate of Military Training, [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|The Department of National Defence]] and the [[National Film Board of Canada]] (NFB). Its purpose, akin to "[[edutainment]]", was to instruct Canadian soldiers in the handling and care of the [[Boys anti-tank rifle|Boys Mk.1 Anti-tank rifle]] for use in combat against [[Nazi]] tanks. The film presented information in an entertaining manner as well as providing an [[anti-Nazi]] [[propaganda]] message.<ref>McCarthy, Sarah J. [http://sjmccarthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/AnimatedWWIIFilms_Filmography_SarahMcCarthy.pdf "Filmography: WWII Animated Films".] ''SJMcCarthy.com'', July 29, 2012. Retrieved: March 7, 2016.</ref>

''Stop That Tank!'' is organized into two separate sections: the first animated section lasting three minutes, 15 seconds is a comedic demonstration of the anti-tank gun in an anti-Nazi propaganda "sketch", while the second longer section uses both cartoon animation and live action sequences to demonstrate proper use and handling of the Mk.1 Boys Anti-Tank Rifle.<ref name="Van Riper p, 22">Van Riper 2011, p. 22.</ref>{{TOC limit|limit=2}}

==Plot==
An armada of [[Nazi German]] tanks, led by [[Adolf Hitler]] [[der Fuehrer]], approaches a town, with Hitler announcing, "the enemy is asleep" and ordering his troops to "give 'em the works". The tanks rush forward, firing into the sleepy town.

[[Camouflage]]d [[Canada|Canadian]] soldiers, equipped with the Boys Mk.1 rifle, start to emerge from various secret positions to stop the advancing tanks, hitting them repeatedly with accurate rounds. Hitler's tank receives a direct hit from the Canadian troops' fire and tumbles straight down into hell. In front of a huge, red, round-faced Devil, Hitler begins throwing an hysterical tantrum on the floor over his defeat. The Devil, shouting over the increasingly loud and irrational tantrum, indicates Hitler believes that against the anti-tank rifle, he cannot win.

The Boys anti-tank rifle is then described in detail through both animated and live action sequences. Using highly detailed schematic views, the design of the .55 calibre anti-tank rifle is analyzed. A demonstration of how to use the weapon stresses the need to accurately aim and "lead" a moving target, locate weak areas on armoured vehicles, and fire effectively at close range. Live action sequences demonstrate loading, firing, reloading, taking the weapon apart, cleaning and maintenance. This footage adds an air of authenticity "by virtues of its photographic realism".<ref name="Cheu p. 27">Cheu 2013, p. 27.</ref>[[File:Boys rifle cropped.JPG|thumb|Boys Anti-Tank Rifle]]

The methodical and precise training section is intersected with moments of comic relief, although these are sparse and further display the educational nature of the film. First, a short, stout soldier attempts to lift the Mk.1 rifle but is not strong enough, and the rifle falls on top of his head and pins him down from the back of his neck. Next, a misjudged shot from the MK.1 Mk.1 rifle hits the backside of a bull in a nearby field, the bull angrily jumps rear end first into a pond and screeching "why don't you shoot where you're looking?" A soldier who underestimates the strength of the internal spring when taking apart his weapon, has the spring comically bouncing out of the [[Magazine (firearms)|magazine]] into the face of the short soldier from earlier in the film.

Finally, in invoking the old saw, "a rifle is like a woman, treat her right and she will never let you down"; the short soldier cuddles in bed with his Mk.1 rifle, giving it a kiss.

==Treatment==
Although mainly focussed on the educational and training side of the film, ''Stop That Tank!'' contains strong anti-Nazi and anti-Hitler propaganda. Disney cartoonists reduce Hitler to a ridiculous and non-threatening laughing stock drawn as a bulbous, red nosed buffoon, whose tongue flaps and waves from his mouth with flushes of hot breath and saliva. He delivers a [[Nazi salute]] and cries "Heil!" to which five faceless and identical soldiers respond with a unanimous "Heil Hitler!" Hitler then begins a speech made up of a string of gibberish and nonsensical noises, punctuated by stereotypical German words such as "[[sauerkraut]]" and "[[schnitzel]]" which has to be subtitled for the audience to understand.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NycDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62 "Movie cartoons show how an anti-tank gun works".] ''Popular Science'', October 1942, pp. 62–63.</ref>

In Hell, the Devil becomes the audience's translator for Hitler's screamed gibberish and tells the audience that Hitler is screaming, "It isn't fair, I'm being oppressed, and it's an outrage!" This representation of Hitler in hell takes a different approach than other cartoon shorts of the same nature from the war period. For example, in [[Frank Capra]]'s ''[[Private Snafu]]''{{'s}} "Spies", Hitler is presented as the Devil himself, a looming, evil figure leering over Private Snafu. In Disney's portrayal, the Devil is seen as not as a purely evil entity, but rather the calmer, sensible counterpart to Hitler's hysterical and nonsensical behaviour. From this, Disney has created a version of Hitler who is laughable and is perceived to be easily defeated in order to reassure and boost the confidence of the Canadian soldiers for whom the film is intended.<ref>Shull and Wilt 2004, pp. 84, 197.</ref>

The style and techniques of creating this tantrum-throwing, childish and incompetent Hitler character were being tested and experimented in early films such as ''Stop That Tank!'' and would be later developed in more prominent works such as ''[[Der Fuehrer's Face|Der Fuehrer’s Face]]'' (1943) and ''[[Education for Death]]'' (1943). Hitler's ridiculous nature is highlighted in his outlandish and exaggerated movement, which sees him bulging and sweeping across the top of his tank, and later writhing on the ground in Hell, unlike the later Disney anti-Nazi film, ''Der Fuhrer's Face''.<ref>Van Riper 2011, p. 27.</ref>

The vaunted Nazi weaponry are also ridiculed, with Nazi tanks depicted as rickety, with their different parts bouncing up and down and coming apart from one another. The tanks develop their own faces to enable them to show their personified terror at the great damage being inflicted on their armoured bodies when, in a frenzied, cowardly retreat, the tanks are almost falling apart in their efforts to run from the bullets of the Canadian Mk.1 rifles.
<!---speculative OR---This film does not intend to create any sense of fear for America's German enemies, instead, this sketches intention is to instil bravery into those soldiers watching by reducing their enemy to a laughable opponent. These comedic skits in the middle of the demonstrations of the weapon provided comic relief to an otherwise dry and long tutorial, and would have helped to maintain the attention of those recruits watching, and allowing them to keep engaged with the material.--->

==Boys Anti-Tank Rifle==
''Stop That Tank!'' is basically a training film intended to be used in the [[Canadian Army]]. The Boys Mk.1 rifles were produced in Canada by [[John Inglis and Company]], and were distinguished primarily from other variants by the flat muzzle brake and V-shaped bipod.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173755/http://www.inglis.ca/index.php/en/about-us/our-heritage "The Inglis Story".] ''web.archive.org''. Retrieved: March 7, 2016.</ref>

After the [[Dunkirk evacuation]] in 1940, the Boys anti-tank rifle had gained the reputation from British and Canadian soldiers as a "[[jinx]]" gun, due to its ineffectiveness on German tanks.<ref name="Jinx"/> With the introduction of more heavily armoured German vehicles, the Boys Mk.1 quickly lost its effectiveness as an anti-tank weapon. The recommended firing range was subsequently reduced from 500 yards to 300 yards with its true effectiveness limited to within 100 yards of the target.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140224120517/http://www.forgottenweapons.com/disney-goes-to-war-or-stop-that-tank/ "Boys Anti Tank Rifle".] ''Forgotten Weapons'', 2011. Retrieved: March 7, 2016.</ref>

''Stop That Tank!'' was not only intended to educate Canadian troops on the operation of the Mk.1 rifle but also put new recruits and existing soldiers at ease regarding doubts about their weaponry.<ref name="Jinx"/> The extended "textbook" style treatment, interspersed with humour as well as a propaganda message, was considered a very effective instructional tool. In a screening for members of the public, civilians felt that they had gained enough information "... to pick up a Mk.1 and blast a German tank out of existence".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NycDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62 "Movie cartoons show how an anti-tank gun works".] ''Popular Science'', October 1942, p. 63.</ref>

==Production==  
With the outbreak of a global war, [[Walt Disney Studios California|Walt Disney Studios]] felt a great pinch in their finances due to the loss of much of their European market - further limited by the Nazi [[Invasion of France (Nazi Germany)|invasion of France]] in 1940. This meant that the next Disney release ''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]'' (1940) was only dubbed in Spanish and Portuguese, many fewer languages than previous Disney works.<ref name="Barrier p. 272">Barrier 2003, p. 272.</ref>

This loss of profit, combined with losses on recent films, meant that Disney studios faced a bleak outlook, with a deficit of over half a million dollars, layoffs and pay cuts for the first time in the studio's history, and a $2.23 million ceiling on their credit allowance. With bleak prospects, the studio was made into a corporation in April 1940, which raised $3.6 million to help pay off debts owed by the studio.<ref name="Barrier p. 272"/> To enable his studios to keep afloat and producing films, Walt Disney sought out external funding to cover production costs, which would allow him to keep employees on the payroll and keep the studio working.<ref name="Cheu p. 27"/>

In March 1941, Disney invited over three dozen representatives of various national defence industries to a lunch meeting, in an attempt to solicit work from them.<ref>Stillich, Sven. [http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/donald-versus-hitler-walt-disney-and-the-art-of-wwii-propaganda-a-641547.html ''Donald versus Hitler: Walt Disney and the Art of WWII Propaganda''.] ''Spiegel online'', August 10, 2009. Retrieved: March 7, 2016.</ref> He followed this luncheon with formal letters offering work "for national defence industries at cost, and without profit. In making this offer, I am motivated solely by a desire to help as best I can in the present emergency."<ref name="Barrier  p. 360">Barrier 2003, p. 360.</ref> ''Four Methods of Flush Riveting'' (1941) was the first training film made by the studio, commissioned by [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed Aircraft]].<ref name="war"/>

In response to Disney's efforts, [[John Grierson]], the head of the National Film Board of Canada, entered into a co-production agreement for four animated films to promote the [[War bond|Canadian War Savings Plan]].<ref>Maltin 2000, p. 16.</ref> In addition, a training film for the Canadian Army was commissioned, eventually becoming ''Stop That Tank!''.<ref name="war">St. Pierre, Marc. [http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2011/11/30/70-years-of-animation-part-1-when-animation-marches-off-to-war/ "70 years of animation, Part 1 – When animation marches off to war".] ''NFB.ca'', 2011. Retrieved: March 7, 2016.</ref>

The day after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], the [[United States Navy]] issued Disney a contract for 20 training films.<ref name="Barrier p. 360"/> Later, Disney had contracts totalling 50 training films for the navy, and went on to become the most important producer of training films for the United States military.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=iU4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61 "Walt Disney goes to War".] ''Life'', October 31, 1942, p. 61.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Disney Studios would eventually make 200 wartime training films.<ref>Telotte 2010, p. 128.</ref>|group=Note}}

The style of realistic animation in ''Stop That Tank!'' was similar to that of the earlier Disney instructional film, ''Four Methods of Flush Riveting''.<ref>Lesjak, David. [http://www.americainwwii.com/galleries/disney-to-the-front/ "Disney to the front".] ''America in WWII''. Retrieved: March 6, 2016.</ref> The need for accuracy in depicting the Boys Mk.1 and its inner workings necessitated a Mk.1 rifle being shipped from Canada to California for Disney animators to study.<ref name="Van Riper p, 22"/> After the release of four animated [[short film]]s that were screened in Canada from November 1941 until early 1942, ''Stop That Tank!'' was the first internationally commissioned "technical" film by the Disney Studios and represented a "milestone" in the studio's history.<ref name="Jinx">[https://books.google.com/books?id=iU4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61 "Stop that tank".] ''Life'', October 31, 1942, p. 62.</ref>

==Reception==
Although not intended for a theatrical audience, ''Stop That Tank!'' was effective in delivering its message to Canadian troops through the Directorate of Military Training, [[Department of National Defence (Canada)]].

In a modern assessment of the film, a reviewer noted: "... comic reliefs were very welcome during the otherwise extremely dry and boring instruction film. However, for contemporary audiences only the opening sequence remains of interest. Its strong and rather vicious propaganda was going to be echoed in a lot of cartoons during the war era."<ref name="Grob"/>

In a 2015 ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' review, Eric Limer described ''Stop That Tank!'' as "... an especially good illustration of Disney's instructional work, but ''Stop that Tank'' was far from the only example of Disney's more explanatory work during the war. Between 1942 and 1945, Disney contributed footage to dozens upon dozens of films, often in the form of animated maps or diagrams that were plugged in-between lengthier live-action footage. Everything from methods for riveting to a crash-course in meteorology for pilots. While revisiting the more pungent animated propaganda of the time can be a little cringe-inducing, these instructional videos still hold up pretty well. They're educational artifacts about the weapons of a bygone area, as well as remnants of a fascinating partnership."<ref>Limer, Eric. [http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a18400/that-disney-cartoon-that-teaches-you-how-to-fire-an-anti-tank-rifle/ "The Disney cartoon that teaches you how to fire an anti-tank rifle: The finer points of tank-busting in animated form".] ''Popular Mechanics'', December 2, 2015. Retrieved: March 7, 2016.</ref>

==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>

==See also==
* [[List of World War II short films]]
* [[Walt Disney's World War II propaganda production]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* Barrier, Michael. ''Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-1951-6729-0}}.
* Cheu, Johnson. (Ed.). ''Diversity in Disney Films: Critical Essays on Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Disability''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-4601-8}}.
* Crafton, Donald. ''Shadow of a Mouse: Performance, Belief, and World-making in Animation''. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2012. {{ISBN|978-0-5202-6104-4}}.
* Maltin, Leonard. ''The Disney Films'' (4th Edition). New York: JessieFilms Ltd., 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-7868-8527-5}}.
* Shull, Michael S. and David E. Wilt. ''Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939-1945'' (2nd ed.) Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-1555-7}}.
* Telotte, J. P. ''Animating Space: From Mickey to WALL-E''. United States: The University Press of Kentucky, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-8131-2586-2}}. 
* Van Riper, Bowdoin A. ''Learning from Mickey, Donald and Walt: Essays on Disney’s Edutainment films''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-5957-5}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|1235808|Stop That Tank!}}
* {{Internet Archive short film | StopThatTank | Stop That Tank!}}

{{Ub Iwerks}}
{{Disney's Short films}}
{{Disney World War II propaganda films}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stop That Tank!}}
[[Category:1942 short documentary films]]
[[Category:1940s educational films]]
[[Category:1942 animated short films]]
[[Category:Canadian World War II propaganda films]]
[[Category:Disney educational films]]
[[Category:1940s Disney animated short films]]
[[Category:Films with live action and animation]]
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada documentaries]]
[[Category:Canadian animated documentary films]]
[[Category:Canadian animated short films]]
[[Category:Quebec films]]
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada animated short films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Walt Disney]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ub Iwerks]]
[[Category:Canadian short documentary films]]
[[Category:Films about Adolf Hitler]]
[[Category:1940s Canadian animated films]]
[[Category:Canadian educational films]]