Line #33 WesternAnimation/TheDucktators


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/30b8f493df3c1afa000421d38243e1f7.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Three fowl fellows indeed.]]
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4	"The Ducktators" is a 1942 WartimeCartoon released by Creator/WarnerBros and directed by Norm [=McCabe=], who would later direct "WesternAnimation/TokioJokio" (1943). It's notable for being a satirical allegory for UsefulNotes/WorldWarII depicting UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/HidekiTojo (though some sources claim that the Japanese duck caricature is, in fact, Emperor Hirohito) as ducks and geese who take over a farm, while a peace dove (possibly based on [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt U.S. President Roosevelt]]) feels powerless to stop them. Near the end, after being trampled in a failed attempt to end the Ducktators' reign of terror peacefully, he decides to muster up the courage to defeat them. The short ends with a propaganda message to buy war bonds.
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6	Since the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, it has been seldom seen on television due to its explicit ties to the era, though on the rare times it has been shown on TV, it has usually been shown edited, barring its sole appearance on the Cartoon Network program Series/ToonHeads. As a result, it has fallen into PublicDomain. It's mostly interesting for historians or people interested in [[WarTimeCartoon wartime cartoons]].
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8	----
9	!!"The Ducktators" provides examples of:
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11	* AdolfHitlarious: Hitler is shown as an angry duck who makes a fool of himself.
12	* AmericaWonWorldWarII: The cartoon is obviously aimed at a U.S. audience, even with shouts like "Give 'em one for Pearl Harbor!" near the end. The Japanese are also the first ones to be beaten up.
13	* AndImTheQueenOfSheba: When the Japanese duck tries to tell a turtle he's not Japanese by showing him a badge that says "I am Chinese"[[note]]with a Made in Japan mark on the bottom[[/note]], the turtle doesn't fall for it and keeps hitting him, saying "Yeah, and I'm mock turtle soup!".
14	* ArtisticLicenceHistory: Mussolini is depicted as getting his ideas from Hitler, when in reality it was Mussolini who invented fascism and inspired Hitler. Further, Hitler and Mussolini [[WeAreStrugglingTogether were not friends in real life]] even as allies (to be fair, the Axis was basically an alliance only in name whose only common aspects were illiberalism and anti-Communism). Mussolini viewed Hitler as a dangerous parvenue who was stealing his spotlight, and Hitler saw Mussolini as a buffoon who wasn't even "Aryan". The two also had conflicting territorial claims in Austria that almost had the two nations [[LetsYouAndHimFight come to military blows]]. The main reason Mussolini entered Hitler's orbit was Italy's ejection from the League of Nations over his invasion of Ethiopia and the resulting international shunning Italy received for the invasion.
15	* BigThinShortTrio: Mussolini goose is big, Hitler duck is thin, and Tojo duck is short.
16	* {{Bowdlerize}}: In the versions distributed by Guild Films, the entire ending where the War Bonds soldier shoots the fleeing dictators and the dove shows his children his enemies as moose heads on the wall, followed by a message to buy War Bonds was cut, making the short end abruptly with the Jerry Colonna-esque rabbit hitting himself on the head. This edited version has been seen on many gray-market public domain VHS cassettes and [=DVD=]s and sometimes crops up on online video channels (though most video sites have the uncut version with the complete ending and the uncut version has been shown on Cartoon Network[[note]]on a ''[=ToonHeads=]'' special about Norm [=McCabe=]'s cartoons, though the clips showing caricatures of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito (though some sources say the caricature is of Hideki Tojo) were shown on the ''[=ToonHeads=]'' special about World War II cartoons[[/note]] and is featured on the last volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series).
17	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The black duck[[note]]Not Daffy[[/note]] claiming to be from "South Germany" winks to the audience after saying his line.
18	* CurbStompBattle: The Axis are defeated extremely easily in the end. They all patiently wait until the dove comes to beat them up and they all fall down after only one good punch.
19	* DarkIsEvil: Hitler duck hatches from a black egg.
20	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The cartoon is in black-and-white, just like all of Norm [=McCabe=]'s cartoons.
21	* DovesMeanPeace: While the ducks and geese start a war, the Dove of Peace tries to end it. Subverted when the Ducktators ignore the Dove of Peace and walk right over him. The Dove is furious and [[BewareTheNiceOnes beats them up]], which encourages the other animals to fight back as well.
22	* EverybodySmokes: The father duck hands out cigars to celebrate the birth of his child.
23	* FailedFutureForecast: Although the defeat of the Axis powers is predicted almost correctly, the Allied forces had a lot more trouble defeating them in real life. Here, Japan is defeated first and in one good blow, but in reality it was the last of the Axis countries to surrender.
24	* FeatheredFiend: Hitler duck, Mussolini goose and Tojo duck, the titular "Ducktators".
25	* FoulWaterfowl: The three dictator ducks and geese.
26	* GratuitousGerman: While all other languages in this cartoon are mostly gibberish, Hitler's father does speak one actual German line: "Ach, mama, was ist los?" (translation: "Oh, mother, what's the matter?")
27	* HeroicResolve: Only when the peace dove is trampled by Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo and their soldiers does he finally snap and fight back.
28	* HumanHeadOnTheWall: Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo are subjected to the avian equivalent of this trope, and this is presented as good triumphing over evil.
29	* HurricaneOfPuns:
30	** The title.
31	** The ''storm troopers'' walk in an actual storm cloud. One of them even gets hit by lightning.
32	** When Hitler orders everybody to "Sieg Heil", one soldier claims "I'm a sick heiler too!", while coughing and looking delirious.
33	** The Tojo duck is introduced as "making a silly Axis of himself".
34	** The Gestapo headquarters has the title ''Gestinko Gestapo''.
35	** [[StealthPun Goosestepping]].
36	* ILied: Hitler signs peace treaties, but puts them in a shredder, then beats up everybody in the room.
37	* IncomingHam: Hitler is born ''screaming'' the words "SIEG HEIL!" at the top of his lungs.
38	* IronicNurseryRhyme: Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo sing about invasions to the tune of "One, two, buckle my shoe".
39	* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: The Japanese duck puts a sign reading "Japanese Mandate Island" on the back of a turtle.
40	* LemonyNarrator: The narrator has a very dry, sarcastic tone.
41	* MistakenNationality: To avoid being beaten up, Hideki Tojo tries to invoke this trope by claiming he is Chinese instead of Japanese, presenting an "I am Chinese" badge, but the badge has a subtitle ''Made in Japan'' label, which prevents the turtle from buying the ruse.
42	* NationalStereotypes:
43	** The black duck[[note]]Again, not Daffy[[/note]] claiming to be from "South Germany" is an Afro-American man from the DeepSouth.
44	*** This joke actually becomes 10 times funnier when South Germans in real life are ACTUALLY stereotyped to be rural hicks like their southern American counterparts. A German unfamiliar with American stereotypes would still find the joke funny for unintended reasons.
45	** The Mussolini goose gives a speech with "a lotsa Italian-a accentuations" and lists things like "tutti frutti", while the aria from Music/GioachinoRossini's ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville'' plays in the background.
46	** The Tojo duck is caricatured as a small pathetic wimp with rounded glasses, AsianBuckTeeth and an AsianSpeekeeEngrish accent. He sings "I'm The Japanese Sandman", apologizes insincerely for infuriating the turtle and rubs his hands wickedly.
47	* NoFourthWall: A title card comes up with the note "Apologies to all the NICE DUCKS and GEESE who may be in the audience", an acknowledgment on the part of the writers and animators of the many innocent German and Italian citizens suffering under the regime of these tyrants.
48	* PacifismBreakingPoint: The dove reaches this point after his attempts to compromise with the ducks fail (and gets literally trod on by them). After this, [[RageBreakingPoint he decides enough is enough]] and leads a violent revolt against them.
49	-->'''Dove:''' I hate war, but once begun... Well, I just didn't choose to run.
50	* PropagandaPiece: This is a straight out US propaganda cartoon.
51	* ProudPapaPassesOutTheCigars: Aduck Hitler's father displays the trope in the opening scene.
52	* PublicDomainAnimation: The cartoon has fallen into the public domain.
53	* PunBasedTitle: "The Ducktators" instead of "The Dictators".
54	* {{Satire}}: The cartoon is a satirical allegory of World War Two.
55	* ShoutOut: The rabbit with a moustache who says "Busy little bee, aren't I?" is a caricature of comedian Jerry Colonna.
56	* StandardSnippet:
57	** The title music is "Oh, du Lieber Augustin", often played whenever Germans are around in old cartoons.
58	** When Mussolini speeches the "Figaro" chorus from ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville'' can be heard.
59	** The Tojo duck sings "I'm The Japanese Sandman".
60	* StealthPun: ''goosestepping''.
61	* ThoseWackyNazis: The Axis are depicted as barnyard ducks and geese.
62	* TookALevelInBadass: The peace dove once he musters the courage to take on the Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo birds head-on.
63	* ToothyBird: Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo.
64	* TurtleIsland: The Tojo duck mistakes a turtle for an island.
65	* UncleTomfoolery: The "I'm from South Germany" duck may be this, depending on whether you interpret him as intending to be a parody of black people, southern people, [[TakeAThirdOption or]] [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs both]].
66	* WarIsGlorious: The cartoon tells the audience to buy war bonds to make the defeat of the Axis come true.
67	* WarTimeCartoon: One of the most famous for its' particularly biting satire of the war.
68	* YellowPeril: Implied. Hitler and Mussolini, who are very obviously caricatured as themselves, are followed up by a card that says "we like to apologize to all the nice ducks and geese in the audience", which shows the audience that they are not representative of all Germans and Italians. The Tojo duck arrives only after the apology and, unlike the other two, is presented as a racial caricature that just happens to be wearing his real life counterpart's military hat.

Context WesternAnimation / TheDucktators