History WesternAnimation / PeaceOnEarth

* The50GreatestCartoons: #40

* TheRemake: The Creator/HannaBarbera team at MGM remade the short in 1955 (at the height of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar) as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBRkJBHpQ-I Good Will to Men]]"; after the terrible carnage of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, its message was even more poignant. This version specifically addresses the postwar arms race and its escalation -- both sides using "the biggest bomb of all" at the same time resulted in two explosions that blanketed the entire planet, [[NukeEm wiping out humanity]]. Though the religious overtones were amped up a notch further in this version.

In the 1950's, [[Creator/HannaBarbera William Hanna and Joe Barbera]] remade the cartoon as ''Good Will to Men'', updating the story with an anti-nuclear warfare message. Either way, the anti-war message is relevant.

* HumansAreCthulhu: [-"As I remember them, they were great big beasts with long snouts that went into their stomachs!"-]

* CrapsaccharineWorld: The adorable WoodlandCreatures build a colorful and happy little village...out of discarded soldier's helmets, shrapnel, and other debris.

'''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY Peace on Earth]]''''' was a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] WesternAnimation/MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]]. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (Creator/MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio[[labelnote:*]] (Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator)[[/labelnote]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

* CockroachesWillRuleTheEarth: Made in 1939 (just before World War II would be set off), and is set after a war in Humans have gone extinct after fatal global war as told by a kindly old squirrel (voiced by Creator/MelBlanc) to his grandchildren in which the animals of the earth build a new civilization following this self inflicted omnicide. This was also remade in 1955 as "Good Will to Men" and modified with an anti-nuclear warfare message.

* ReligiousAnimals: The animals all turn to Christianity. The religious aspect especially prominent in the 50s remake.

* TitleDrop: "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" is reworked into a less overtly religious song that does this (the phrase "peace on earth" is in the original hymn, but not in the same place)

'''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY Peace on Earth]]''''' was a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] WesternAnimation/MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]]. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (Creator/MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio[[labelnote:•]] (Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator)[[/labelnote]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

* CockroachesWillRuleTheEarth: Made in 1939 (just before World War II would be set off), and is set after a war in Humans have gone extinct after fatal global war as told by a kindly old squirrel (voiced by Mel Blanc) to his grandchildren in which the animals of the earth build a new civilization following this self inflicted omnicide. This was also remade in 1955 as "Good Will to Men" and modified with an anti-nuclear warfare message.

* UnusualAnimalAlliance: Owls and squirrels are natural enemies. One wonders why the wise old owl didn't just eat the others right then and there.

* SugarApocalypse: {{Inverted}}.

* SugarApocalypse: {{Played straight}}, and then {{inverted}}.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1466726812026956500
%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

'''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY Peace on Earth]]''''' was a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] WesternAnimation/MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]]. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio[[labelnote:•]] (Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator)[[/labelnote]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MGMPeaceOnEarth_3506.jpg]]

* MutualKill: The way the last two humans on Earth meet their demise, each killed by the another's last shot.

* SugarApocalypse: Played straight, and then Inverted.

'''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY Peace on Earth]]''''' was a [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] WesternAnimation/MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]]. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio[[labelnote:•]] (Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator)[[/labelnote]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

'''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY Peace on Earth]]''''' was a [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] WesternAnimation/MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]], and considered to be his MagnumOpus. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio[[labelnote:•]] (Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator)[[/labelnote]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

* SillyReasonForWar: The warring factions eventually include meat-eaters fighting vegetarians, and flat-footed people fighting buck-toothed people.

'''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY Peace on Earth]]''''' was a [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]], and considered to be his MagnumOpus. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio[[labelnote:•]] (Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator)[[/labelnote]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

'''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY Peace on Earth]]''''' was a [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]], and considered to be his MagnumOpus. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio [[note]]Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator[[/note]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

The short begins with a snowy panorama of the scattered relics of mankind's existence, over a chorus of "Peace on Earth " (to the tune of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"), which is revealed to be sung by [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter a trio of squirrels]] living in a village made of discarded war materials; the most prevailing image is that of soldiers' helmets used as houses. An old squirrel greets them with a "Merry Christmas" and goes to visit his daughter and her two young children. When the children ask what one of the lyrics to "Peace on Earth" (namely "goodwill to men") means, their grandfather begins to tell them all he remembers about men. We are then shown masterly [[{{Rotoscoping}} rotoscoped]], nightmarish scenes of human soldiers going to war with one another, [[SillyReasonForWar fighting over anything they could think of fighting over]] until the last two humans alive shoot each other. With the humans all gone, the only ones left are the furry woodland creatures, who gather in the ruins of a cathedral, and find an old [[Literature/TheBible "book of rules"]], which the humans unfortunately didn't follow. The wise owl among them reads first a few of the ten commandments (ThouShaltNotKill, thou shalt not steal; "Looks like a mighty good book of rules.") and then a passage which states "Ye shall rebuild the old wastes."[[note]]Isaiah 58:12 "''And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
''" King James Version[[/note]] The animals consider that a very good idea, and decide to build a civilization for themselves out of the scattered débris left by mankind. The grandfather then puts his two sleeping grandchildren to bed, seemingly glad that with the humans gone, there is now peace on Earth.

%%* AfterTheEnd

%%* AnAssKickingChristmas
* AsTheGoodBookSays: The title is derived from Luke ''II, xiv''. (in the King James translation): "Glory to God in the highest; and on earth, peace, good will toward men." The re-building passage read by the owl is based on Isaiah, ''LXI, iv''.: "And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations."

-->"Thou shalt not kill! ...Looks like a mighty fine rule."-

* CrapsaccharineWorld: The adorable WoodlandCreatures build a colorful and happy little village...out of discarded soldier's helmets, shrapnel and other debris.

%%* EverythingsNuttierWithSquirrels
* GasMaskMooks: Humans (''see'' HumansAreCthulhu, ''below'').

* MoodWhiplash: We go from seeing the last two humans on Earth shoot each other to a colorful scene of [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter cute little squirrels]] gleefully building themselves a little town in the span of a couple minutes - which somehow just makes the NightmareFuel worse.

%%* {{Rotoscoping}}

* SinisterSchnoz: Grandpa Squirrel mistakes the filter hose of the human's gas masks for "long snoots that... fasened onto their stomachs".

* SpiritualPredecessor: A short story by Creator/RayBradbury (and the 1984 Russian film of it) ''ThereWillComeSoftRains'' does the same thing, but with an automated house instead of furry critters.

%%* TitleDrop
%%* UnusualAnimalAlliance

%%* WoodlandCreatures

'''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY Peace on Earth]]''''' was a [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of WorldWarTwo, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]], and considered to be his MagnumOpus. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio [[note]]Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator[[/note]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

'''''[[Peace on Earth''''' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY here]] was a [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of WorldWarTwo, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]], and considered to be his MagnumOpus. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio [[note]]Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator[[/note]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.

'''''Peace on Earth''''' (found [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY here]]) was a [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1939]] MGMOneshotCartoon, released while Europe was on the verge of WorldWarTwo, directed by [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Hugh Harman]], and considered to be his MagnumOpus. {{Anvilicious}} in its anti-war message, this short illustrates the evils of warfare through the narration of a kindly old squirrel (MelBlanc), one of the only squirrels in his village [[AfterTheEnd old enough]] to have encountered [[HumansAreCthulhu humans]]. It was perhaps the first animated short by a major studio [[note]]Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918) was almost certainly the earliest by any animator[[/note]] to deal with serious subject matter. Also a source of quite a bit of nightmares, especially for those caught off guard by the cute little squirrels in the opening scenes.