Escalation (animated short)
Escalation is a 1968 animated short film, directed by Disney animator Ward Kimball. It's an anti-Vietnam War cartoon mocking US President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The short was made independently from the Disney Studios and is notable for being the only animated cartoon by made in this matter by one of Disney's Nine Old Men. Kimball showed it at film festivals, college campuses during the US presidential elections year in 1968 and personally gave away copies of the film to whoever was interested. [1]
In a 2000 interview shortly before his death Kimball complained that "Escalation" hadn't received the mainstream attention it deserved. In 2007 relatives of Kimball put the film online on YouTube for free. [2] [1]
Plot
A peace dove flies upside down and backwards. Then a giant head statue of Lyndon B. Johnson is slowly wheeled into view, while the melody of The Battle Hymn of the Republic plays. One of his ears is shaped as a dollar sign. An actor imitates Johnson's voice while singing the lyrics. As the song goes on Johnson's nose slowly starts to rise in phallic fashion. When fully erect the nose explodes and images of the Playboy Bunny, bare breasts, hot dogs, John Wayne, Doris Day, Coca Cola, Aunt Jemima, Lassie, Superman, Little Orphan Annie are seen on the screen. The cartoon fades out by having the statue crack into pieces, accompanied by images of an atomic bomb explosion. [1] [3]
It's interesting to note that Johnson's nose brings up images of Pinocchio, whose nose also grew when he lied. Kimball worked on the 1940 Disney adaptation of Pinocchio. [2]
Sources
- 1 2 3 "Ward Kimball's Escalation - Cartoon Brew". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- 1 2 ""Hey, Hey, LBJ
"". art-for-a-change.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015. C1 control character in
|title=at position 15 (help) - ↑ "“Escalation”: This 1968 anti-war animated film by Disney legend Ward Kimball is as timely as ever". Night Flight. Retrieved 29 November 2015.