Reason and Emotion
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Reason and Emotion
| image =
| caption =
| director = Bill Roberts
| story = Joe Grant
Dick Huemer
| animator = Ollie Johnston
Milt Kahl
Ward Kimball
Fred Moore
Bill Tytla
| layout_artist =
| background_artist =
| starring = Frank Graham
Sarah Selby
Mary Lennon
Harry E. Lang{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Keith |title=Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 |date=3 October 2022 |publisher=BearManor Media |page=553 |language=en}}
Ward Kimball{{cite web |title=Animation Anecdotes Redux {{!}} |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animation-anecdotes-redux/ |website=cartoonresearch.com |access-date=20 February 2023}}
| music = Oliver Wallace
| producer = Walt Disney
| studio = Walt Disney Productions
| distributor = RKO Radio Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1943|08|28}}
| color_process = Technicolor
| runtime = 8 minutes
}}
Reason and Emotion is a propaganda short film by Walt Disney Productions, released on August 28, 1943, by RKO Radio Pictures. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in the same year. The short film is eight minutes long.{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |page=153}}
The short has been cited as an influence on the 2015 Pixar Animation Studios film Inside Out by the film's director, Pete Docter,{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/inside-out-pixar-disney-propaganda-wwii-while-121861830097.html|title=See What 'Inside Out' Has in Common With a Disney World War II Propaganda Short|date=June 19, 2015|work=Yahoo.com|accessdate=June 20, 2015}} and its sequel released in 2024 which was directed by Kelsey Mann.
Plot
{{tone|section|date=June 2015}}The short demonstrates how a person adopts their ability to solve problems through logical reasoning (the head) or through emotional passion (the heart). Adolf Hitler is shown to not have any reasoning, instead relying purely on emotion; it is explained 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.[https://hillsboroibhistory.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/example-10.pdf How was animation utilized to support the American war effort during World War II?], Hillsboro IB History II
Production
Reason and Emotion was directed by Bill Roberts, with animation by Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston, among others.{{cite web|url=http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=372|title=Reason and Emotion|work=Disneyshorts.org|accessdate=June 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620090910/http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=372#|archive-date=June 20, 2015|url-status=dead}} BlogofDeath explains: "During World War II, [Joe] Grant and animator Dick Huemer created gags and designs for many of Disney's patriotic-themed cartoons", including this film.[http://www.blogofdeath.com/2005/06/02/joe-grant Joe Grant], Blog of Death
Home media
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."{{cite web|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/animationscoop/pixar-finds-its-reason-and-emotion-20150608|title=Pixar Finds It's [sic] "Reason and Emotion"|author=Tom Klein|date=June 8, 2015|work=Blogs.indiewire.com|accessdate=June 20, 2015}}
Additional media appearances
The cartoon characters "Reason" and "Emotion" also appear in the Upjohn Company's educational short animated feature, "Understanding Alcohol Use and Abuse", which was produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1979. This feature was the final installment of Upjohn's Triangle of Health series.
References
{{Reflist}}
External sources
{{external links|date=November 2016}}
- [http://www.openculture.com/2012/04/neuroscience_and_propaganda_come_together_in_disneys_world_war_ii_film_ireason_and_emotioni.html Openculture.com]
- [http://www.ptsnob.com/2014/08/disney-in-1940s-marathon-der-fuhrers.html Ptsnob.com]
- [https://www.academia.edu/6422573/Reason_and_Emotion_RA Academia.edu]
- [http://www.patriotoutreach.org/reason-and-emotion.html Patriotoutreach.org]
- [http://lybio.net/reason-and-emotion-disneys-1943-disney-world-war-ll/film-animation/ Lybio.net]
- [https://d23.com/this-day/reason-and-emotion-is-released/ D23.com]
- [http://www.manic-expression.com/a-look-at-disneys-classic-shorts-showcase-reason-and-emotion/ Manic-expression.com]
- [http://thefw.com/disturbing-classic-disney-cartoons/ Thefw.com]
{{Disney's Short films}}
{{Disney World War II propaganda films}}
Category:American World War II propaganda shorts
Category:1940s educational films
Category:1940s Disney animated short films
Category:Disney educational films
Category:Films directed by Bill Roberts
Category:Films produced by Walt Disney
Category:1943 animated short films
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