DVDizzy Forum

We all know that "Pinocchio", "Fantasia", and "Bambi" did not do too well at the box office on their releases, thanks to World War II. But what if there had not been a war? Would any of them have done better then? Personally, considering all the time and effort they had put into them, I think "Pinocchio" in particular would have done very well, possibly even outdoing "Snow White", which was what Walt had tried to do with these films in the first place. Certainly, I think the critics reacted just as favorable to "Pinocchio" as they did to "Snow White". I don't know about "Fantasia" or "Bambi", but "Pinocchio" certainly would have done well had it not been for the war.

What are your thoughts?

Fantasia, back in the day, was practically slammed by critics for its unique format. It's amazing given it's reputation today and really helps to remind me that critics are just people with opinions - and opinions can change. I think that Bambi would've probably done much better given better circumstances. There's not much not to love about the movie and it's a shame it flopped innitially.

No WWII?

I'd be typing in German right now probably.

PatrickvD wrote:No WWII?

I'd be typing in German right now probably.

Exactly lol! Also there may not be a Disney anything around today...

I agree with Disney Fan, Pinocchio would've done bet'ter if WW 2 didn't happen, then again, they would've compared it to Snow White anyways, plus we might've got'ten Peter Pan, Alice In WonderLand and Wind In The Willows after Pinocchio.

Always knew that Fantasia was ambitious from an audience view, I remember when I was lil, I always looked forward to the Dance Of The Hours sequence along with Sorcerer's Aprentince. The film paid off for me to appricate classical music more and acknowledge that music can be scores instead of songs.


It's a tough call bout Bambi being successful or not when it was released, it did feel abit too artsy yet it was expressive in detail. Let's remember, when Monsters Inc was released 2 months after 9 11, from what I heard/remember, people didn't go to the movies that much cause of the attack/ anthrax scare.

WonderlandFever wrote:Exactly lol! Also there may not be a Disney anything around today...

Oh there would be Disney everywhere!

Hitler was quite the Disney fangirl:



Imagine a modern day Hitler with a Deviantart account.

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I agree, it did get criticized for its lack of romance and its dark aspects, but considering that it took in $2 million, which, yes, was a little below the cost of $2.7 million, had it not been for the war, it would probably have been a lot more.

PatrickvD wrote:No WWII?

I'd be typing in German right now probably.

That doesn't make much sense, now does it? Had there been no WWII, Germany wouldn't have invaded Holland.

PatrickvD wrote:

WonderlandFever wrote:Exactly lol! Also there may not be a Disney anything around today...

Oh there would be Disney everywhere!

Hitler was quite the Disney fangirl:



Imagine a modern day Hitler with a Deviantart account.

Wait, were these pictures drawn by him? I knew he was an artist before he went political, but I have never seen any of his work. What a wasted talent. I say WWII was the fault of Hitler's art teacher that told him he had no talent!

milojthatch wrote: I say WWII was the fault of Hitler's art teacher that told him he had no talent!

Yep that's what happend *haha* but I thought he was an artist before the 1st war? I recall seein his paintin on a documentay "The Tramp/Dictator" it explained the simlarites of Chaplin/Hitler (in terms of their childhood influencing them in conquerin the world) they showed a panel scan of Hitler's painting of a landscape, it was pretty impressive, kinda reminded me of Ty Wong's Bambi's Background layout, but it was impressive.

milojthatch wrote:

PatrickvD wrote: Oh there would be Disney everywhere!

Hitler was quite the Disney fangirl:



Imagine a modern day Hitler with a Deviantart account.

Wait, were these pictures drawn by him? I knew he was an artist before he went political, but I have never seen any of his work. What a wasted talent. I say WWII was the fault of Hitler's art teacher that told him he had no talent!

Here's the story I found about these paintings....


http://boingboing.net/2008/02/23/adolf- ... isney.html

William Hakvaag, the director of a war museum in northern Norway, said he found the drawings hidden in a painting signed "A. Hitler" that he bought at an auction in Germany...
He found coloured cartoons of the characters Bashful and Doc from the 1937 Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which were signed A.H., and an unsigned sketch of Pinocchio as he appeared in the 1940 Disney film.

^^ That is just so sad, he had some amazing talent. Instead of being known as the worse person on Earth, and the first person people think of when they think of the evilest person ever, he could have been know for so much more positive things. Just goes to show show you, everyone has potential for good or bad. It's up to us as individuals to decide what road we'll travel down. I'm just sorry Hitler choose anger over creativity.

Goliath wrote:

PatrickvD wrote:No WWII?

I'd be typing in German right now probably.

That doesn't make much sense, now does it? Had there been no WWII, Germany wouldn't have invaded Holland.

Yeah, Germany would never have invaded Poland, either. If anything, it would have been content with the agreement made with England in 1938 to allow it take over Czechoslovakia, and left it at that.

Goliath wrote:

PatrickvD wrote:No WWII?

I'd be typing in German right now probably.

That doesn't make much sense, now does it? Had there been no WWII, Germany wouldn't have invaded Holland.

Maybe we would have somehow peacefully surrendered and the Third Reich would be like Disneyland... only better.

Hitler was a failed artist, and his drawings of the Disney characters are not really good. If you look at the originals, you can tell. Hitler's don't have very good structure and stuff.

Take a look at how the drawings were plagarized

WonderlandFever wrote:Also there may not be a Disney anything around today...

Well, the question could also cover "what if there was no cause for WW II, as in no Hitler take-over".

Horror, nothing but Horror. IT would stripe Donald Duck of his arguably best cartoons and many many other brillant WWII cartoons would be no more.

Heil Donald Duck wrote:Horror, nothing but Horror. IT would stripe Donald Duck of his arguably best cartoons and many many other brillant WWII cartoons would be no more.

Good point!

That said, I'd gladly miss out on WWII Disney shorts if it meant all the tragic deaths from that war were avoided.

If there was no WWII, assuming because there was no Hitler and therefore no need for the conflict in Europe, and also no attack on Pearl Harbor:

* Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi would have all made more money on their initial release, due to the overseas market being available.

* The Disney studio would thankfully not have been taken over by the military, and Walt would not have had to make any of the WWII "propaganda shorts", or Victory Through Air Power.

* The Latin American Goodwill Trip would not have happened, and sadly Saludos Amigos and Three Caballeros would not exist.

* The remaining package film DACs would be radically different in appearance, with the Bongo, Mickey and the Beanstalk, Wind In the Willows, and Sleepy Hollow segments likely stretched out to fill up their own "single story" features.

* Cinderella, Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, and perhaps some other DACs would have been completed sooner.

And last but certainly not least...

* Dumbo would have taken his rightful place on the cover of Time Magazine!

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