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The journey itself was not necessary to remind Disney of the fact that his fairy-book animals are loved literally by everybody everywhere, even by the warriors of World War II. He had been swamped by requests for insignia for the Allied armed forces. To date his men have supplied 66, have 300 outfits on the waiting list.
Donald Duck, in aviator's clothing, pulling a worm with a Hitler head out of the ground, is flying with General de Gaulle's Free French Forces. Decked out in a British Admiral's uniform, he is also treading the decks of the aircraft carrier Illustrious.
The Three Little Pigs are busily persuading Canadians to buy defense bonds; the Seven Dwarfs will soon join them in the new series of war shorts. Three new characters made of carrots (Dr. Carrot, Carroty George, Clara Carrot) have been photo-wired to London, are advising the British that if they want to see better during blackouts, they had better munch carrots.
Dumbo has yet to be drafted, but his number is about up. The little fellow's good fortune has not only served to restore Disneymen's faith in themselves as artists, he has also rekindled the light in Disney's eye. He didn't cost much ($600,000), and he is expected to gross almost as much as Snow White did in the U.S. He may get his boss out of debt, and he has once again proved to him that, in cartooning, personality is the thing.
* Julius Caesar, Lord Byron, Columbus, Socrates, Lincoln, Mussolini, P. T. Barnum, Michelangelo, Clark Gable, et al. *To date, Snow White (cost: $1,300,000) has grossed a healthy $7,157,000; Pinocchio is $300,000 shy of its $2,500,000 investment; The Reluctant Dragon has earned a little more than a third of its $686,000 production cost; Fantasia, scheduled for general release soon, is within $500,000 of paying for itself.