Existing comment:
The War Time Designs:
Walt Disney Productions created over 1,200 unit insignia during World War II for all branches of the U.S. armed forces. In addition to U.S. military units, designs were also accomplished at the request of Allied military units from Britain, Canada, China, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Poland. Individual units were allowed to request designs directly from the Disney organization and accept finished work without having to go through any higher headquarters.
Virtually all of the Disney characters appeared in Unit insignia. The most requested was Donald Duck who appeared in at least 216 unit designs. Donald's quick temper and fighting spirit had universal appeal to all services. Pluto appeared in 45 designs, Goofy in 38 insignia, and Dumbo the Elephant in 20. Mickey Mouse was featured in 37 designs, but none associated with combat units. Mickey's nice-guy persona seemed better suited to represent home front and defense industry activities. Snow White, while unofficially utilized in aircraft nose art, was used only once for a medical unit. Additional Disney characters appearing on insignia included Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio, the Reluctant Dragon, Flower, Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey & Louie, Little Hiawatha, all of the seven Dwarfs, Ferdinand the Bull, Peg Leg Pete and others. The only major Disney character that did not appear in any insignia designs was Bambi.
In addition to the established Disney characters, the design team also created hundreds of new, original characters. Included in this menagerie were 90 new cats, 50 dogs as well as apes, owls, octopi, roosters, and storks. While most of the designs were cartoon in nature, there were some done in a more serious and traditional manner representing the best commercial art practices and styles of the time. |