V FOR VICTORY (1941)
Article 5360 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-1-2017
Directed by Norman McLaren
No cast
Country: Canada
What it is: Victory bonds commercial

Buy Victory Bonds!

This is another one of those shorts that ends up being a virtual fantasy by dint of the simple fact that it’s non-realistic. The action consists of a stick figure man marching to a rousing march; he keeps transfiguring himself into a giant V which causes the words “Victory Bonds” to appear; it’s obviously intended to help the war effort. So, basically I’m reviewing a public service commercial, but I’ve done that before. I couldn’t help but notice that the short basically uses the same animation approach to the work of Emile Cohl, albeit more focused and less given to “stream of consciousness”. It’s entertaining enough, but I’m glad it doesn’t run much longer than two minutes.