Any Bonds Today? (1942)
Bugs Bunny plays Irving Berlin's title tune on a carrot fife directly to the audience, then is joined by a uniformed Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd for a final chorus urging moviegoers to buy war bonds and stamps.
Built around a patriotic song Irving Berlin wrote at the Treasury Department’s request, Any Bonds Today? was produced free of charge by Leon Schlesinger’s studio and completed within days of Pearl Harbor before being rushed into theaters in early 1942, making it one of the earliest cartoon responses to America’s entry into the war.
Background
Any Bonds Today? was built around a patriotic song that composer Irving Berlin wrote at the request of the United States Treasury Department to help promote the sale of war bonds and stamps during the Second World War. Produced by Leon Schlesinger’s studio, the makers of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, free of charge as a contribution to the war effort, it was completed within days of the attack on Pearl Harbor and rushed into theaters in early 1942, making it one of the earliest cartoon responses to America’s entry into the war.
What to watch for
Watch for Bugs Bunny performing the song directly to the audience before Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd join him in a closing chorus, a format that treats the cartoon almost like a short advertisement rather than a conventional story-driven comedy. It is a useful example of how quickly the animation industry mobilized its most popular characters for wartime propaganda purposes once the United States entered the war.
